I’m not a fan of the “feel good” movie. Mostly because they are formulaic and too good to be true. Most of the plot is telegraphed from the beginning and you can already figure out the ending about five minutes after the movie began. A lot of this applies to Here Comes the Boom, however it was still a watchable movie.
Scott Voss (Kevin James) is a biology teacher who for the most part is just showing up for the paycheck. It’s not so much that he hates his job as he finds his job lacking any real impact or meaning. Marty Streb (Henry Winkler) on the other hand maintains a love of teaching music.
One day the staff are all brought together and told the school can’t afford to keep going the way it has and cuts have to be made. Raises are taken back, supply budgets are frozen and, of course, the music program is eliminated.
Voss comes to the defense of his friend but there is nothing really that can be done unless the money needed to keep the program is somehow raised. Apparently how to raise it is by Voss becoming a Mixed Martial Arts fighter (MMA). Okay there is a little plausibility here. Apparently his character was a competitive wrestler in college (20 years ago) and he starts fighting at the very bottom of the MMA ladder. Besides he loses a lot. I’m willing to suspend disbelief here and give him the benefit of the doubt.
Of course as he embarks on this journey he changes, as well as the students and the administration. I’m not going to reveal the end, but like I said formulaic.
Though a cute movie I kept feeling the story was rushed. Side stories were thrown in there but they weren’t given enough meat. Probably trying to keep the run time low. Plus there was a lot of conflict missing and the little conflict that was shown got wrapped up way to conveniently. I guess in the name of making it family friendly.
Filled with a bevy of MMA fighter cameos, and overall feel good theme, this movie is a definite watch for some. For me it was just okay, when it could’ve been great.
Defying Normal 