Director: Frank Coraci
Starring: Kevin James, Salma Hayek, and Henry Winkler
Box Office Gross: $45,193,961 (USA)
DVD Review
Another year, another Happy Madison production. After last year's stinker That's My Boy, there was no where to go but up for this production company - named after Adam Sandler's two most successful films Happy Gilmore and Billy Madison. Unfortunately, we didn't quite get there with Here Comes the Boom.
James stars as Scott Voss, a 42-year-old biology teacher who has become jaded and bored in his career. Budget cutbacks at his school have forced the school to cancel the music program, leading to Marty (Winkler) being laid off. Voss, angered by this decision, takes it upon himself to help raise the necessary funds to keep the music program and his friend's job. He struggles to find ways to raise the money and takes a part time job as a night instructor for a citizenship class. Niko (Bas Rutten) a student in the class, recruit's his help to for outside tutoring and Voss quickly discovers that Niko was a former mixed martial arts (MMA) fighter. He learns that even the loser in the fight wins a substantial amount of money, which gives him the idea of becoming a MMA fighter himself.
If this plot sounds familiar, there's a reason why: it's the exact premise of Sandler's film, Happy Gilmore. Just like in the 1996 film, the main character tries to raise money to save someone who is in dire need. In order to raise that money, they must partake in a sport that they have never participated in before but conveniently have an athletic background that gives them a competitive edge on their opponents. Though there are many similarities with these two films, there is one major difference: Here Comes the Boom was not nearly as funny as Happy Gilmore.
It's disappointing that this film lacked any of the comedic punch previous Happy Madison films had. This film had all the right ingredients: good cast, decent premise, and a great fish-out-of-water premise. However the writing just wasn't there. James was decent as the main character; he had a few bright moments but nothing that made him shine. He has proven in numerous roles (The King of Queens, Grown Ups, Paul Blart: Mall Cop) that he has the comedic presence to carry a film. And to write a story (he wrote Paul Blart and various King of Queens episodes). Unfortunately this one turned out to be a dud. There were a few "ha-ha" moments, but only a few.
The supporting cast was okay - but again, they didn't have much to work with so it's not fair to criticize their work in this film. Winkler delivered a convincing performance as the down-on-his-luck music teacher, Marty. He provided a good chunk of the light humour in this film with his shy, dim-witted approach to every situation his character was involved in.
Unlike previous Happy Madison films, this movie did not have a stellar soundtrack. The song choices were weak, save Neil Diamond's "Holly Holy" that was used both as the original and a remix featuring Ultralove.
Final Verdict: Skip it. Nothing about this film makes it stand out amongst a sea of other great comedies. It wasn't bad - but it wasn't good either. A decent film to watch if you're in the mood for something extremely light but don't expect it to have to you falling down in a fit of laughter. Here's hoping with his next film, James can really bring the "Boom".
(Kevin James' next film will be this summer's Grown Ups 2 which will once again pair him with Sandler, Chris Rock, David Spade, and Steve Buscemi as well as be produced by Happy Madison).
Rotten Tomatoes
PS: The title of this post comes from The Simpsons episode where Homer becomes a boxer after it is discovered that he doesn't feel pain when he is punched in the face. Check out the clip I am referencing here:
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