by Shane Conto, Staff Writer
Who doesn’t love a good underdog story in a sports movie? We have been watching that kind of film for decades! Throw in a team of kids and it’s even more fun. We want to see the kids succeed, especially against a team of little jerks like the rivals usually are. We want to see great veteran actors swooping in to take over the team and deliver. Look at Walter Matthau, Billy Bob Thornton, Rick Moranis, Will Ferrell, and more. But… what if Snoop Dogg took over a young group of football players? That’s what happens in The Underdoggs!
Does Amazon’s new sports comedy make best use of its crazy concept? Probably the most interesting thing is that Snoop already runs a football league for youth, and it is extremely successful. I would be surprised though if he acts the way his character of Double J does in The Underdoggs. On the surface, the film is as by-the-numbers as it can get. Reluctant new coach doing this for ulterior motives. The team is a ragtag crew of misfits. There is even a love interest built into the situation. If you have seen Rocky or, especially, The Bad News Bears, you have seen this film before.
Is director Charles Stone III able to shake things up behind the camera? Not really. The Underdoggs has a bright sheen to every shot in the artificial manner of many modern movies. There just isn’t enough personality shining through; it feels like anyone could have directed this film. The only things that remotely feel different are some of the meta elements. You have the Fox NFL Sunday crew making appearances. You have the whole NFL acknowledged, but with Snoop’s Jaycen being a part of it. Then you have the fact that the film represents an authentically Black community, which opens it to a few of its most impactful emotional moments (of which there are not many).
But this film is at least watchable and fun… why? Two reasons: Snoop and Mike Epps. These two performers are hilarious. We have seen kids dropping F-bombs in movies before, specifically in sports movies (thank you once again, The Bad News Bears), so that gets a little tired. But Snoop being a complete and utter jerk to a bunch of kids and saying a bunch of inappropriate things to them? It shouldn’t be that funny… but it honestly is. Then Epps is completely unhinged in his small-time criminal and old-time friend role. He makes for a great comedic pairing with Snoop, and the two of them garner tons of laughs. Much of the rest of the humor is low quality and awkward, but at least these two deliver some genuinely funny moments.
But does The Underdoggs come together to be a new sports movie mainstay? Unfortunately, it is just too derivative of other better films to be at that level. There are certainly some laughs. Tika Sumpter is charismatic, but her love interest character does not have depth. Still, it really isn’t a big commitment as a 90-minute film on Prime Video. This could have been a train wreck, but at least it is a passable underdog story that Snoop and crew have some fun with.
Rating: It Was Just Okay
The Underdoggs is currently streaming on Prime Video
You can read more from Shane Conto, and follow him on Instagram, and Letterboxd