Here Comes the Boom

 

Despite the fact that I was not surprised by a single plot element contained within Here Comes the Boom, the movie itself still ended up surprising me greatly.  I was surprised by how much I found myself enjoying it.  This is a great starring vehicle for Kevin James, who shows a lot of warmth and likability here.  Actually, what lifted this movie above its cliched and predictable course is just how likable everyone in this movie comes across.  This is just a very charming movie.

James plays Scott Voss, a Biology teacher at a struggling high school who once inspired his students, and was even voted "teacher of the year" 10 years ago.  These days, Scott can barely make it to class on time, and largely shows up just to collect his pay check.  He still cares about some things, though, especially when his best friend, the school's music teacher Marty Streb (Henry Winkler), finds out that his music program is going to be cut due to school budget concerns.  Scott becomes passionate about finding a way to raise the money required to save his friend's job.  He tries teaching a night school Citizenship class to immigrants, but the pay's not enough to reach the goal required.  Luckily, one of his students at the night school course, a Dutchman named Nico (former UFC fighter, Bas Rutten) turns him on to the idea of mixed martial arts, which Nico teaches.  And when Scott finds out just how much a fighter can earn from one of those competitions, even if he loses the match, he becomes oddly inspired.

The plot that follows is pretty much engraved in stone in the time-honored tradition of sports underdog stories.  At first, most people won't support his plan, but then he slowly starts to win them over with his determination to pull through.  He will slowly gain the attention of a love interest, this time the school nurse (Salma Hayek), who will end up pulling him through his darkest moments when he wants to quit.  And, of course, he will regain his love for teaching, and inspire his students once again.  All of this is expected.  But Here Comes the Boom has a lot more heart.  It's not just going through the motions, it gives these characters individual moments to get us attached to them.  The three main heroes, Scott, Marty, and Nico all develop a great bond with each other, and we want to see them succeed at their individual goals.

I credit a lot of the film's success to Kevin James, whom I have admired in other films, but here gets some really big laughs, and even a couple serious heart-tugging moments.  He co-wrote the film along with Allan Loeb (Rock of Ages), and does a great job showing his talents for physical and verbal comedy.  I also found that the entire cast was written with the same level of care - from the main supporting characters (Winkler is funny in a low key way here), to the smaller roles, such as one of the students in Scott's class that he bonds with (young recording artist Charice).  I also appreciated that the movie did not shy away from the brutality of MMA, or make it out to be a joke.  The fact that many real life fighters are used in the film adds to this realism.

 

This is a fine example of a movie that doesn't really do anything new, but still managed to win me over with a lot of good will.  I knew where it was going every step of the way, and didn't care.  I actually found myself caring about the characters, and kind of cheering for Scott when he stepped into the ring for the championship match.  Does he win, and save the music program?  I wouldn't dream of spoiling the ending.

See the movie times in your area or buy the DVD at Amazon.com!

0 comments