Back in the mid-1980s, Robert Downey Jr., who just won an Oscar earlier this year, and Anthony Michael Hall were on Saturday Night Live. During a skit on Weekend Update next to Dennis Miller, they started making flatulent noise with their armpits and hands, blowing raspberry as the saying goes, when discussing a new book by William F. Buckley. Miller, who at least was somewhat funny back then, quips, “Hard to believe, but I believe the boys wrote that themselves.”
It’s hard to believe, but a movie like Incoming is of a group of freshman at a California high school who could easily be the grandkids of the John Hughes era where RDJ and Hall became household names. It’s so crazy it’s been 40 years since Hall played a geeky high school freshman named Farmer Ted who went after Molly Ringwald in Sixteen Candles. Yet the jokes in the movie Netflix feel as if they could’ve been written back during the National Lampoon‘s hey days in the 1970s where Hughes started out as a writer.
One good thing about Incoming is that the main protagonists are teenagers themselves instead of 20-somethings trying to look young. And they’re less annoying that Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem movie and the gross-out humor is used conservatively. But if you’ve seen one hot young woman have explosive diarrhea, you’ve seen them all.
Benj Nielsen (Masen Thames) is the main character who is trying to reinvent himself now he’s a high school. He is smitten with his Bailey (Isabella Ferreria), the friend of his sister, Alyssa (Ali Gallo), who seems like she’s going to be a bigger character but something must’ve happened either during filming or editing. Alyssa just got a nose job after much build-up in the first act, she seems to remain the background except for a crucial scene.
Benj has to carpool with a senior, Ruby (Thomas Barbusca), who does drugs and sells OTC meds to skateboarders as MDMA. His friends, Eddie (Ramon Reed), and Connor (Raphael Alejandro), are also wanting to make a name for themselves, but Eddie is frustrated over the loser boyfriend dating his mom. And Connor immediately gets called “Fetus” by upper classmen. They are fascinated with the popular Katrina Aurienna (Loren Gray), who has half a million followers on social media.
Their other friend, Danah “Koosh” Koushani (Bardia Seiri), pretends to be suave but is constantly bullied by his older brother, Kayvan (Kayvon Shai), who is throwing a huge back to school party at his house since the parents will be gone. Koosh is angry because Kayvan will only allow him to bring one friend to the party and chooses Benj. Eddie is grateful because he doesn’t want to go but Connor wants to have some fun so they steal the boyfriend’s sports car and go for a joyride that turns crazy.
Benj tries to woo Bailey who is at the party with her friends while Koosh tries to play his smooth ways on some of the young women at the party, taking an interest in Gabrielle (Victoria Moroles of Plan B fame). Of course, if you’ve seen any other teen comedy like this, you know what happens next. I liked some parts but felt some of the main characters to be very annoying. What made the kids in American Pie, Superbad or the more recent Good Boys and Booksmart so sympathetic is they felt like three-dimensional versions of American teens.
Here, Koosh is so annoying you feel his brother is justified. Benj is nice but the movie’s ending has him doing something so wrong that makes him obnoxious. And I’m not believing how it turns out. Ferreria is given so little to do as the object of his obsession, I would’ve liked to seen a better movie of her and Thames together. Also, the Eddie and Connor story, which has great moments, feels like it was part of a different movie idea that didn’t really come to fruition.
Bobby Cannavale has a nice small role as Mr. Studebaker, the school’s chemistry teacher, who talks to the kids like he’s their buddy. He shows up at the party where he goes off the rails, obviously. Dave and John Chernin, are the writers and directors. Their previous credits include The Mick and It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia. So, you wonder why this feels like it’s so sophomoric. I understand what they were trying to do with this movie and I’m glad they set it in modern times rather than the 1980s and 1990s.
Yet, I felt like it was a lot of stuff we’ve seen already. I commend them for having a diverse cast. But many of the characters are too one-dimensional even for a teen comedy like this. Also, Kaitlin Olson, of It’s Always Sunny, brings nothing to the two scenes she’s in.
What do you think? Please comment.
Zane Says 