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Blockers (film)
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Wikipedia article
{{Infobox film
| name = Blockers
| image = Blockers (film).png
| caption = Theatrical release poster
| director = Kay Cannon
| producer =
| writer =
| starring =
| music = Mateo Messina
| cinematography = Russ Alsobrook
| editing = Stacey Schroeder
| production_companies =
| distributor = Universal Pictures
| released =
| runtime = 102 minutes
| country = United States
| language = English
| budget = $21 million
| gross = $94 million
}}
'Blockers' is a 2018 American sex comedy film directed by Kay Cannon in her directorial debut and written by Brian and Jim Kehoe, and starring John Cena, Leslie Mann, and Ike Barinholtz with supporting roles by Kathryn Newton, Geraldine Viswanathan, Gideon Adlon, Graham Phillips, Miles Robbins, Jimmy Bellinger, Colton Dunn, Sarayu Blue, Gary Cole, Gina Gershon, June Diane Raphael, and Hannibal Buress. It tells the story of a trio of parents who try to stop their respective daughters from losing their virginity on prom night. The title of the film is a reference to the act of "cockblocking", with marketing materials displaying a rooster (also known as a cock) above the title.
The film premiered at South by Southwest on March 10, 2018, and was theatrically released in the United States on April 6, 2018, by Universal Pictures. It grossed $94 million worldwide and received generally positive reviews from critics, with praise for its "humor and performances", as well as for "intelligence and empathy" not often found in the genre.
Plot
Single mother Lisa Decker drops off her young daughter, Julie, for her first day of kindergarten. She watches on as Julie is befriended by two other girls, Kayla and Sam. Kayla's father Mitchell and Sam's father Hunter introduce themselves and become close friends after seeing the bond between their children.
Twelve years later, Julie shares with Kayla and Sam that she plans to lose her virginity to her boyfriend Austin at prom. Kayla pledges to do so as well, though on a casual basis with her lab partner, Connor. Sam, a closeted lesbian, also joins the pact and arranges to attend the prom with the harmless Chad.
Lisa throws a pre-party for the parents and kids. The girls then head to the prom, texting each other about their sex pact. The three parents hear Julie's laptop and intercept the messages. Hunter deciphers their emoji codes and uncovers their plan. Lisa and Mitchell rush to stop their daughters, but Hunter tries to dissuade them from interfering and shares his intuition that Sam is gay. At the prom he sees her awkwardly kiss Chad. Wanting to protect Sam from doing something she does not want to do, he joins Lisa and Mitchell's scheme.
Having been told that the after-party would be at Austin's house, the parents go there but find only Austin's parents Ron and Cathy engaging in sex games. Ron reveals that the after-party is at a lake house but refuses to give the address. The trio realizes that Mitchell's wife Marcie may have it and return to his house. They retrieve the address against Marcie's wishes, who supports their daughter's right to privacy.
It becomes clear that each parent has their own motivation; Mitchell is in denial over his daughter growing up, Lisa is struggling to let go of her only child and is offended by Julie's plans to go to distant UCLA, and Hunter feels guilty for neglecting Sam during his bitter separation from her mother, who cheated on him.
Knowing that Austin and Ron have been texting, the parents return to Ron's house, intending to grab his phone. After barging in on the couple playing a blindfold sex game, Hunter is forced to go along with it as Mitchell grabs the phone, which reveals that the girls are at a hotel. There a drunk Sam goes to bed with Chad but decides she does not want to have sex. Kayla and Connor go off together, but she also changes her mind and they limit their intimacy to Connor performing oral sex on Kayla.
Mitch finds Kayla with Connor and throws him against the wall, infuriating Kayla. Mitch confesses his struggles, his good intentions ultimately making amends with Kayla. Hunter finds Sam and they also share a tender moment, where he reveals that a good night was the best he could give her in return for his neglect. Sam comes out to her father, who is deeply moved at being the first person she told. Lisa sneaks into Julie and Austin's room and, realizing how much they clearly love each other, leaves unnoticed. Sam comes out to Julie and Kayla, who embrace her and affirm their lifelong friendships. They leave Sam with her crush Angelica who shares a romantic kiss with her. Mitch, Lisa and Hunter acknowledge their own friendships have been strengthened and drink to their daughters' futures.
Three months later, Sam, Kayla, Julie and Conor ready to drive to California. As they leave, Lisa starts receiving the girls' group text, filled with plans to use drugs and have unprotected sex. The three parents run for the car only for the girls to text that it was a prank, and a final "I love you" to them.
In a post-credits scene, Kayla walks in on Mitchell and Marcie playing a version of Austin's parents' blindfold sex game and the three scream in shock.
Cast
* Leslie Mann as Lisa Decker, Julie's single mother.
* John Cena as Mitchell Mannes, Kayla's headstrong father.
* Ike Barinholtz as Hunter Lockwood, Sam's absentee divorced father.
* Kathryn Newton as Julie Decker, Lisa's daughter.
** Anniston Almond as 6-year-old Julie
** Audrey Casson as 12-year-old Julie
* Geraldine Viswanathan as Kayla Mannes, Mitchell and Marcie's daughter.
** Noor Anna Maher as 6-year-old Kayla
** Madeline Paris Erwin as 12-year-old Kayla
* Gideon Adlon as Sam Lockwood, Hunter's daughter.
** Hannah Goergen as 6-year-old Sam
** Aburey Michele Katz as 12-year-old Sam
* Ramona Young as Angelica, Sam's crush.
* Graham Phillips as Austin, Julie's boyfriend.
* Miles Robbins as Connor Aldrich, Kayla's prom date.
* Jimmy Bellinger as Chad, Sam's fedora-wearing prom date.
* Colton Dunn as Rudy, an overeager limo driver.
* Sarayu Blue as Marcie Mannes, Mitchell's wife and Kayla's mother.
* Gary Cole as Ron, Cathy's husband and Austin's father.
* Gina Gershon as Cathy, Ron's wife and Austin's mother.
* June Diane Raphael as Brenda Lockwood, Sam's mother and Hunter's ex-wife.
* Hannibal Buress as Frank, Brenda's husband and Sam's stepfather.
* Andrew Lopez as Jake Donahue
* Jake Picking as Kyler
* T.C. Carter as Jayden
Production
Principal photography on the film began on May 2, 2017, in Atlanta, Georgia. During filming, Ike Barinholtz suffered a neck injury while performing a falling stunt.
Release
'Blockers' was released by Universal Pictures on April 6, 2018. The film was originally produced under the name 'The Pact', referring to the girls' agreement to lose their virginity.
Reception
Box office
'Blockers' grossed $60.3 million in the United States and Canada, and $33.7 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $94 million, against a production budget of $21 million.In the United States and Canada, 'Blockers' was released alongside 'A Quiet Place', 'Chappaquiddick' and 'The Miracle Season', and was projected to gross $1620 million from 3,379 theaters in its opening weekend. The film made $7.8 million on its first day (including $1.5 million from Thursday night previews). It went on to debut to $20.6 million, finishing third, behind 'A Quiet Place' ($50 million) and 'Ready Player One' ($25.1 million). In its second weekend the film dropped 47.6% to $10.8 million, finishing fourth.
Critical response
On review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of based on reviews, with an average rating of . The website's critical consensus reads, "'Blockers' puts a gender-swapped spin on the teen sex comedy one elevated by strong performances, a smartly funny script, and a surprisingly enlightened perspective." On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 69 out of 100, based on 46 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews." Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B" on an A+ to F scale, while PostTrak reported filmgoers gave it a 76% overall positive score.Brian Lowry of 'CNN.com' found that "the movie gets by on sheer energy" and praised director Kay Cannon for creating "some truly blue sequences and sight gags that yield explosive laughs [and] largely compensate for the arid patches, as do the warm/fuzzy exchanges, which smartly play off the idea of raising your children and then trusting them enough to let go."
Describing 'Blockers' as "absurd and funny", Amy Nicholson of 'Uproxx' favorably compared screenwriters Brian and Jim Kehoe to 'American Pie' directors Chris and Paul Weitz as "brothers trying to do right by the sexual politics of the time."
Joshua Rothkopf of 'Time Out' gave the film four out of five stars, calling it "a wonderfully crude film... in which the overall vibe is sweet" and a "hilarious, parents'-eye view of teenage sexuality."
Adam Graham of 'The Detroit News' called the film "highly dubious and not very funny," and stated that the film "awkwardly tries to balance gross-out gags with tender, warm-and-fuzzy moments. It's a tough trick to pull off, and 'Blockers' gets stuffed at every turn."
David Sims of 'The Atlantic' stated that the film "works because of the time it invests in its teenaged characters. Each is a delight, particularly the supremely chilled-out Kayla (who decides to lose her virginity largely on a whim) and the more introverted Sam (who knows shes gay but hasnt quite figured out how to tell her friends and family)."
Ann Hornaday from 'The Washington Post' wrote: "The underlying values of "Blockers" are refreshingly healthy and affirming, proclaimed not only by Kayla's pointedly levelheaded mom (Sarayu Blue)in a fiery speech about the double standards and the dubious politics of policing female sexualitybut by the girls themselves."
Richard Roeper of the 'Chicago Sun-Times' gave the film two out of four stars, giving credit to the cast but saying they were not given much to do: "Despite the best efforts of reliable comedic veterans Leslie Mann and Ike Barinholtz, not to mention a game and always likable John Cena...'Blockers' becomes less interesting and less funny as the onscreen hijinks grow more outlandish and stupid and demeaning and crotch-oriented."
Brian Tallerico of RogerEbert.com gave the film two-and-a-half stars, saying that it is "the kind of comedy one could stumble upon late at night on HBO and thoroughly enjoy, but it strains under the weight of its tonal inconsistencies in a movie theater."
Accolades
In 2019, the film was nominated for a GLAAD Media Award for Outstanding Film Wide Release. 'Blockers' was among 20 of 2018's 100 highest-grossing films awarded The ReFrame Stamp for recognition in "standout, gender-balanced" films, and also one out of four Stamp recipients with a female director.Music
The single "Love Myself" by Hailee Steinfeld appears twice in the film. In her review of 'Blockers', 'Insider' writer Kim Renfro wrote, "The anthem carried throughout the movie, Hailee Steinfeld's 'Love Myself,' drives the message home: 'I love me, gonna love myself, no I don't need anybody else.'"
References
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