MOVIE OF THE WEEK #3 (10/12/12): HERE COMES THE BOOM
"Please let the dude I'm fighting know he can be fired if he lays one finger on me for real!" Teacher turned MMA fighter Scott Voss (Kevin James, shirtless) prepares to lay the smack down as Niko (MMA legend Bas Rutten), Marty (Henry Winkler) and real life owner of Sityodtong USA Branch Muay Thai owner Mark Dellagrotte cheer him on in a scene from director Frank Coraci's comedy HERE COMES THE BOOM. Credit: Tracey Bennett © 2012 CTMG Inc. All Rights Reserved.
KEY CAST MEMBERS: Kevin James, Henry Winkler, Salma Hayek, Bas Rutten, Charice, Greg Germann, Nikki Tyler-Flynn and a bunch of a MMA celebrities/athletes you may or may not know
WRITER(S): Kevin James and Allan Loeb (screenplay)
WRITER(S): Kevin James and Allan Loeb (screenplay)
DIRECTOR: Frank Coraci
THE PLOT: Co-written by its lead, Here Comes the Boom stars Kevin James as Scott Voss, a Boston public school biology teacher. Not the best teacher, Voss is only consistent when it comes to two things: Hitting on Bella, the school nurse (Salma Hayek), and being late to teach his own class where the musically inclined Malia (YouTube singing sensation Charice) is the only students who really pays attention.
Voss' lateness is what leads him to down to visit the class of fellow teacher Marty (Henry Winkler), whom he hopes he can get to take on the lowly task of bus duty for an afternoon. But once he and Marty get called into a group staff meeting, Voss learns the school is facing much bigger problems: The budget is getting tighter every day, which means Principal Betcher (Greg Germann) has to make some pretty significant cuts – including the music program that Marty just so happens to teach.
Upset at the news – especially since he stumbled upon the fact Marty's 48 year-old wife (Nikki Tyler-Flynn) is miraculously pregnant – Voss makes a bold statement: He and the fellow teachers will raise the 48,000 necessary to save Marty's job. But once he, Marty and Bella are the only ones that show up to the meeting to discuss exactly how they will do that, it becomes clear to Voss that he'll have to come up with another plan.
Going back to his old night job of preparing immigrants to take their citizenship tests, Voss discovers he has one student, Niko (Mixed martial arts legend Sebastian "Bas" Rutten), who stands out. Eager to get his citizenship, Niko asks Voss over to his apartment to help him study – and that's where Voss not only discovers mixed martial arts (MMA for those in the know), but that you can make big money quickly ... Especially when you know a former international superstar like Niko.
So, what happens when a 42 year former Division I wrestler decides to become a MMA fighter to save an extra curricular program at the school where he (barely) teaches? You'll have to see the movie to find out!
Voss' lateness is what leads him to down to visit the class of fellow teacher Marty (Henry Winkler), whom he hopes he can get to take on the lowly task of bus duty for an afternoon. But once he and Marty get called into a group staff meeting, Voss learns the school is facing much bigger problems: The budget is getting tighter every day, which means Principal Betcher (Greg Germann) has to make some pretty significant cuts – including the music program that Marty just so happens to teach.
Upset at the news – especially since he stumbled upon the fact Marty's 48 year-old wife (Nikki Tyler-Flynn) is miraculously pregnant – Voss makes a bold statement: He and the fellow teachers will raise the 48,000 necessary to save Marty's job. But once he, Marty and Bella are the only ones that show up to the meeting to discuss exactly how they will do that, it becomes clear to Voss that he'll have to come up with another plan.
Going back to his old night job of preparing immigrants to take their citizenship tests, Voss discovers he has one student, Niko (Mixed martial arts legend Sebastian "Bas" Rutten), who stands out. Eager to get his citizenship, Niko asks Voss over to his apartment to help him study – and that's where Voss not only discovers mixed martial arts (MMA for those in the know), but that you can make big money quickly ... Especially when you know a former international superstar like Niko.
So, what happens when a 42 year former Division I wrestler decides to become a MMA fighter to save an extra curricular program at the school where he (barely) teaches? You'll have to see the movie to find out!
THE TAKE: Confession time: I am an admitted Kevin James fan dating back to the dates when he was just a stand-up comic perfecting his now famous bit on greeting card shopping. The quintessential everyman of the modern comedy age, James has proven his track record in playing regular guys just trying to do good by their selves for years, be it his sitcom The King of Queens to Hitch (a personal favorite) to his recent hit Paul Blart: Mall Cop. And even though he may stumble (whether purposefully where he plays his weight for laughs or when paired up with Adam Sandler in the so-atrocious-I-still-can't-believe-if-ever-got-made I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry), James always gets back up again.
With his latest work, James proves that he [1] Is no longer a fat guy falling down for your comedic enjoyment but a genuinely funny guy [2] Knows talent when he sees it given Rutten's breakout performance and [3] Can convincingly kick ass when it looks like he's kicking ass on screen, because Here Comes the Boom is much better than you might expect it to be – even if you are a self-admitted fan of his work like yours truly.
With Here Comes the Boom being a Happy Madison production, one might go into the film expecting something extremely cheesy or just rude like this summer's forgettable That's My Boy. Boom falls into neither extreme, however, by instead by making sure its funny parts are actually funny without being ridiculous, its heartfelt moments are well constructed and most importantly, the fight scenes look – and feel – like real MMA action.
James drives Boom by setting the tone for the film early on; sure, his character might be a slacker, but he is a good-natured slacker that sees a problem and approaches it seriously. Instead of playing Voss for laughs as an idiotic, stumbling buffoon, James approaches it with a dedication necessary to make the story seem plausible. Then again, it doesn't hurt that James - who is well into his 40s now - actually does MMA training in his private life. Much like Hilary Swank in Million Dollar Baby, you never doubt James' physical prowess or have trouble buying into him as a fighter. Boom finds James in the best shape of his life on screen, showing he can be physical in much more than a comedic sense to great effect.
Rutten, however, is arguably the films breakout performer as he shows comedic timing, a serious side AND a real sensibility as Niko. In a role that requires him to dive in with both feet to be effect, Rutten makes you submit to his presence much like he did when he was breaking bones in the octagon. Throw in solid supporting performances by Hayek, Winkler and newcomer Charice (and yes, she gets to sing in the movie) and Boom is the rare movie that is both family-friendly and truly funny/heartfelt.
While the movie is essentially James' baby (he did co-write, produce and star in it after all), director Frank Coraci sets everything in motion with a good pace. Be it the film's more intimate moments or the final climatic fight sequence, Coraci helps build James' modern day Rocky well. And by establishing a tone where the cast takes the film seriously, Coraci helps make the movie one you can, too.
With his latest work, James proves that he [1] Is no longer a fat guy falling down for your comedic enjoyment but a genuinely funny guy [2] Knows talent when he sees it given Rutten's breakout performance and [3] Can convincingly kick ass when it looks like he's kicking ass on screen, because Here Comes the Boom is much better than you might expect it to be – even if you are a self-admitted fan of his work like yours truly.
With Here Comes the Boom being a Happy Madison production, one might go into the film expecting something extremely cheesy or just rude like this summer's forgettable That's My Boy. Boom falls into neither extreme, however, by instead by making sure its funny parts are actually funny without being ridiculous, its heartfelt moments are well constructed and most importantly, the fight scenes look – and feel – like real MMA action.
James drives Boom by setting the tone for the film early on; sure, his character might be a slacker, but he is a good-natured slacker that sees a problem and approaches it seriously. Instead of playing Voss for laughs as an idiotic, stumbling buffoon, James approaches it with a dedication necessary to make the story seem plausible. Then again, it doesn't hurt that James - who is well into his 40s now - actually does MMA training in his private life. Much like Hilary Swank in Million Dollar Baby, you never doubt James' physical prowess or have trouble buying into him as a fighter. Boom finds James in the best shape of his life on screen, showing he can be physical in much more than a comedic sense to great effect.
Rutten, however, is arguably the films breakout performer as he shows comedic timing, a serious side AND a real sensibility as Niko. In a role that requires him to dive in with both feet to be effect, Rutten makes you submit to his presence much like he did when he was breaking bones in the octagon. Throw in solid supporting performances by Hayek, Winkler and newcomer Charice (and yes, she gets to sing in the movie) and Boom is the rare movie that is both family-friendly and truly funny/heartfelt.
While the movie is essentially James' baby (he did co-write, produce and star in it after all), director Frank Coraci sets everything in motion with a good pace. Be it the film's more intimate moments or the final climatic fight sequence, Coraci helps build James' modern day Rocky well. And by establishing a tone where the cast takes the film seriously, Coraci helps make the movie one you can, too.
PARTING SHOT: A movie that proves there's a serious guy – and actor – just waiting to bust out of Kevin James, Here Comes the Boom is a family-friendly film that will make you laugh, maybe even cry a little, but definitely entertain audiences instead of making them tap out.
RATING (OUT OF FOUR BUCKETS OF POPCORN):
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