WWhen the laconic rapper and actor Snoop Dogg is called upon to appear in a film, more often than not he plays himself or a version thereof – and so it goes again in this salty but ultimately very wholesome sports movie. There’s even a sly parallel between the character Snoop plays and the efforts he made in the real world to set up an American football league for kids. Yes, his stage range may be quite limited, but there’s no denying that Snoop has palpable on-screen charisma and a fine sense of comedic timing that director Charles Stone III expertly directs.
The plot, as old as time – or at least as old as the vintage 1976 comedy The Bad New Bears – introduces Snoop as JJ, a once-celebrated professional football player best known for his mildly disappointing career despite early promise and lack of loyalty to anyone. a team. Struggling to make a comeback as a commentator, JJ hits rock bottom when his reckless driving causes an accident and a judge he knew sentences him to 30 days of community service, cleaning up dog poop in a Long Beach city park. California. There, JJ notices Cerise (Tika Sumpter), an ex-girlfriend from high school who is now a hard-working single mother trying to support her pre-pubescent son Tre (Jonigan Booth, a find) while he plays ball with a team that is of course at the bottom of the rankings. Before you can remember how to spell Walter Matthau, JJ has signed on to coach the team, aiming to turn these ‘Underdoggs’ into a viral success story that he can hype on his own podcast and thus better career prospects for himself can create.
Lo and behold, the ensuing events play out pretty much as you’d expect, but few admirable plays exceed expectations. The young cast, given permission to swear like ground workers, are clearly having a good time, and it’s nice to see the general sausage fest broken up with a young female character (Kyla Davila) playing a crucial role in the team’s ultimate success. Comedian Andrew Schultz is another bright spot as JJ’s nemesis, the coach of the Underdoggs’ biggest rivals. Given how different his character’s humor is, I wouldn’t be surprised if he improvised most of his material, like the bit where he gets the team to thank God for the invention of plastic helmets hard enough to crush rival players cause brain damage.