Blockers is a gamechanger when it comes to teen comedy.
Blockers is a gamechanger when it comes to teen comedy.
Since time immemorial, the teenage sex comedy has been told from the perspective of horny young men. The likes of Porky's, Risky Business, Revenge of the Nerds all the way through to American Pie and even Superbad – all existed to explore male desire.
In the rare cases where the female perspective has been presented, it's generally argued that chasteness is the only viable path for any teenager who wants to consider herself virtuous.
The new film Blockers seeks to combat that prevailing trend by acknowledging that teenage girls are sexual creatures with wants and desires of their own. The film's director, Kay Cannon, tells TimeOut that was the driving force behind her accepting the job.
"It's the only reason to make it," says Cannon. "It's an underserved story that we haven't ever really seen, not in a big studio movie."
Director Kay Cannon said she was excited to change how Hollywood portrays teenage girls in comedy.
Blockers follows one eventful evening in the life of graduating high schoolers Julie (Kathryn Newton), Kayla (Geraldine Viswanathan) and Sam (Gideon Adlon), best friends who make a pact to lose their virginity on prom night. The only problem is their respective parents Lisa (Leslie Mann), Mitchell (John Cena) and Hunter (Ike Barinholtz) catch wind of the pact, and resolve to put the kibosh on their daughters' cherry-popping plans.
Cannon is making her directorial debut on the film, having previously written all three Pitch Perfect movies in addition to working on TV shows 30 Rock and New Girl. She goes on to tell TimeOut that the original screenplay, which had been kicking around Hollywood for some time, focused more on the parents' perspective until she came on board.
"When I read the script I thought it was super funny, but there wasn't a lot for the girls. So ... I was excited to make something of those three and make them really specific and really fun and funny. And then I'm also a parent, I'm a mother, so I felt like I related to what Lisa was going through."
Female sexuality in popular culture is currently undergoing something of a re-evaluation and remains a tricky topic to navigate. Cannon says she relied on her own experiences to ensure Blockers rang true.
"It's only tricky because it's not talked about enough. Being a woman who was a teenage girl and lost my virginity and went through this and knowing the friends that I had in high school, I know how we talked and how we were and what our thoughts were on sexuality."
Cannon says she had to push back against some of the film's male producers, who felt that the girls were being too crass with certain lines.
"It was a nice learning lesson," she says with a smile.
Blockers stars Ike Barinholtz, Leslie Mann and John Cena.
Cannon has a twenty-year history with Barinholtz (Sisters, The Mindy Project), who plays Sam's mildly useless father, Hunter – they came up together in the Chicago improv scene. Barinholtz tells TimeOut he too was excited by the fertile new comedic ground that Blockers sought to explore.
"Putting a lady in charge of this typically male-driven story that we've seen a million times is interesting to me," says Barinholtz. "Hollywood is still is trying to run away from the fact that the entire town was lock, stock and barrel run by six men for so long. We still have a very long way to go."
"Representation matters, it just does. I'm thrilled that we are finally able to tell these stories and have a big studio behind [them], as opposed to just having a random independent film about young women on prom night."
Blockers is being billed as one of the funniest comedies of the year.
Like Cannon, Barinholtz cites the films of John Hughes as being an inspiration for what they are trying to achieve with Blockers.
"A big part of my life was John Hughes. Maybe the greatest writer ever. I think in terms of capturing teen angst, no one did that better than him, he really just nailed that. I really got shades of The Breakfast Club and Sixteen Candles in this."
Movies take a long time to come together, and youth culture is evolving faster than ever, but Barinholtz is confident that Blockers captures something timeless.
"It doesn't matter if it's 1940, 1980 or 2020, 17-year-old kids are always going to be interested in sex and drugs and alcohol on some level, so I think we felt safe that that would still be relevant."
