Movie Review: ‘The Underdoggs’

Review by James Lindorf

In partnership with Amazon MGM Studios, Director Charles Stone III will complete the American sports trifecta with his latest movie, “The Underdoggs”. Having directed “Mr. 3000” in 2004, which focused on America’s pastime, and the basketball-centered “Uncle Drew” in 2018, Stone has finally turned his attention to the most popular sport in America, football. Stone also has a successful history of directing music-themed films, including “Crazy Sexy Cool: The TLC Story,” and his most financially successful film, “Drumline,” starred Nick Cannon. With “The Underdoggs” Stone combines both passions by collaborating with Rap icon Snoop Dogg. “The Underdoggs” take the field via Prime Video on January 26th.

Following in the rich tradition of movies where a ragtag group of kids are shepherded by an even raggedier adult that started with “The Bad News Bears,” the only actual distinction “The Underdoggs” earns is being the most foul-mouthed. This time, the adult searching for redemption is Jaycen “Two Js” Jennings (Snoop Dogg), a former professional football star who has hit rock bottom. No one wants to work with him, and he hosts a fledgling podcast with only 200 subscribers. When Jaycen is sentenced to hundreds of hours of embarrassing community service, he sees an opportunity to rehab his image by coaching the Green Team, an underfunded and unruly pee-wee football team in his hometown of Long Beach, California. As he attempts to transform the team from a laughing stock into champions, Jaycen reconnects with his past, including an old flame, ex-teammates, and his love of the game. The supporting cast includes Tika Sumpter (Sonic the Hedgehog franchise) as love interest Cherise and comedians George Lopez, Mike Epps, and Andrew Schulz as his mentor, friend, and rival.

The script from first-time screenwriters Danny Segal and Isaac Schamis offers comfort in the familiar, and being adjacent to beloved films buys it a lot of leeway. Thankfully, they went more “Mighty Ducks” and less “Hardball.” This was not the film to try to include tragedy; it is all about fun and laughs. Depending on how amused you are by people of all ages, trading insults will drive your ultimate enjoyment of the movie. There are some laugh-out-loud moments early on, but the jokes quickly grow stale as the subject of their taunts is exceptionally narrow, with 90% of the jokes being about either someone’s sexual prowess or how much money they have.

While the script is a knockoff of a series of knockoffs, some good filmmaking is present in “The Underdoggs.” For featuring children, the action cinematography is quite good, and frankly, the movie could have used a lot more of it to space out the jokes. The other standout element is thanks to the casting department and Stone because the kids all give good, naturalistic performances. Performance-wise, Snoop is by far the weakest link. I never believe he is playing a character for one moment, but oddly, it does not hamper the film. It was a case of lowered expectations lending a hand because I never expected a moving performance.

For the last 18 years, the Snoop Youth Football League has made a difference in the lives of more than 60,000 kids between the ages of 5 and 13, and “The Underdoggs” tries to capture some of that magic. Unfortunately, it falls well short by forgoing the kind of real stories they have experienced daily for the most basic characterizations. While it is unlikely to unseat your current favorite sports movie, the football action and the comfort food level story offer an overall enjoyable experience that is well worth a Prime Video stream, especially during the cold winter days. “The Underdoggs” aren’t elite, only managing to earn a score of 2.5 out of 5 from me.

Rating: R for Underage Drinking, Drug Use, Sexual References, and Pervasive Language
Genre: Comedy, Sports
Original Language: English
Director: Charles Stone III
Producer: Snoop Dogg, Kenya Barris, Mychelle Deschamps, Constance Schwartz, Jonathan Glickman
Writer: Danny Segal, Isaac Schamis
Release Date (Streaming): Jan 26, 2024
Runtime: 1h 41m
Distributor: Amazon MGM Studios
Production Co: Death Row Pictures, SMAC Entertainment, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM), Khalabo Ink Society, Panoramic Media Co