Here Comes the Boom

Comedies! Sometimes you can't live with them and you can't live without them. The last really tightly written comedy I've seen on screen was the very smart "Thank You for Smoking" '06-- an extremely satirical look at how bad smoking is for people. In this week offing we have "Here Comes the Boom" which is, to say the least, not as well written.

A High School Biology teacher, Scott Voss (Kevin James) looks to become a successful mixed-martial arts fighter in an effort to raise a much needed $48,000.00 to prevent extra-curricular activities from being axed by the hand of Principal Betcher (Greg Germann) at his cash-strapped school.
Voss, for extra income, teaches a US citizenship class in the evenings and one of his students he tutors, Niko (Bas Rutten) happened to be a fighter at one point in his life. So when Scott learned that even as the loser of a fight, one can still make good money, he asks Niko to train him so as to save Marty Streb's (Henry Winkler) music problem which Marty so passionately loves, as for other programs also. So, through a fellow colleague, Bell Flores (Salma Hayek), one of his students, Malia (Charice) and others, he fights, quite literally, to raise this much needed cash. Can he pull it off?

This was very adequately directed by Frank Coraci ("Murdered Innocence" '96, "the Wedding Singer" '98, "The Waterboy" '98, Around the World in 80 Days" '04, "Click" '06, "I'm in Hell" (TV movie) '07, "Zookeeper" '11). This guy has certainly done a lot for Adam Sandler-- even in this, this being a HappyMadison Productions, Sandler's company. It has definitely worked well for him. It was written by Kevin James, Allan Loeb, and Rock Reuben. Again, this was no "Thank You for Smoking", but the story is original and timely, seeing how our schools are being 'hit' so bad these days. Think this year's "Won't Back Down". This is kind of a comedic turn on this subject.

This film does have merit, so don't throw the baby out with the bath water. It's not badly written, considering how bad, over all, the comedy writing is these days, but it still could have been a bit tighter and a little more unpredictable in it's screenplay. It was an admirable attempt by one and all on a subject that needs much addressing in today's world.

Out of 4 stars: 2.5                   Rated: PG                    105mins.