HERE COMES THE BOOM (Frank Coraci). 105 minutes. Opens Friday (October 12). See times. Rating: N
Wouldn’t it be funny if a high school biology teacher got to lay the smackdown in MMA? Kevin James must think so. That’s why he co-wrote, co-produced and stars in Here Comes The Boom.
Layabout high school teacher Scott Voss’s educational mojo dried up long ago. To him, the effort to inspire kids is a lost cause, and, in the movie’s sloppily tacked-on moment of political relevance, he blames the education system.
Things change when he’s motivated by a popular music teacher who’s about to get fired unless money can be raised. Apparently the only way to do that is to fight in MMA.
The movie’s best joke is that while it talks about educating kids, it’s bound to make audiences dumber. We spend almost two hours watching James kick, punch, fall and repeat, waiting for that laugh. All the while, the movie has you in a chokehold while force-feeding you redundancy, lame gags and faux inspiration.
Here Comes The Boom is about as funny as being tickled by Chuck Liddell, which would really just hurt. Unfortunately for this reviewer, there was no tapping out.
