Movie Review: Snoop lights up, cusses-out and coaches “The Underdoggs”

Sleepy-eyed stoner Snoop Dogg takes his shot at a “Bad News Bear” kiddie comedy with “The Underdoggs,” a sometimes funny and always-foul-mouthed romp about PeeWee/Pop Warner Football.

Playing an ex-NFL star wideout and something of a burnout, Dogg wears shades and drops shade — and F-bombs and N-bombs — all in a kids’ movie in which the players have their profane and N-word moments as well.

“You know as well as I do that kids who aren’t supposed to be watching this s–t curse more than the rest of us mother—–s,” Snoop writes in the film’s opening “disclaimer” credit. True enough.

“Drumline” director Charles Stone III, Snoop and a couple of screenwriters cobble together a story of an arrogant has-been who is sentenced to do community service in his native Long Beach after he carelessly piles-up his Lambo.

In his day, Jaycen “Two Js” Jennings was one of the greats. Just ask him. A high school and college star, he lived up to his draft hype with a string of poster-worthy catches during his playing days.

“I’m the pick that got picked before all the other picks!”

Now he’s been left out of a “greatest wideouts ever” list and is feuding with fans and provocative sports talkers like Chip Collins (Andrew Schulz).

“I know they say ‘Black don’t crack,’ but I’m seeing FRACTURES” his nemesis taunts.

Jayecen’s “Harold and Kumar-looking mother—-er” agent (Kal Penn) won’t return his calls.

There’s nothing for it but to do his time, rehab his image by working with kids, aka “dirty-ass booger eaters,” and posting about it on social media. Because no good deed is worth doing if you don’t brag about it online.

The kids? They aren’t impressed with the guy whose sunglasses don’t hide his narcotic daze. This “hip hop pirate” in the gold-plated G-wagon is just another “fake-ass coach.”

Jaycen will have to commit if he wants to impress his hot ex (Tika Sumpter) who has a son (Jonigan Booth) on the team.

“Let me do the math,” he flirts when he meets her again. “NAAaaaaaah, he ain’t mine!”

Mike Epps plays his low-rent robber pal from back in the day who wants to join him on the sideline. A few real-life jocks/NFL TV show hosts turn up talking about Jaycen’s fate and Jaycen’s coaching style, once he’s made these “Underdoggs, the dog UNDERNEATH the dog” into winners.

And George Lopez cameos as the coach who coached the kiddie coach back when he was in high school.

Snoop is funny, in all his unfiltered fury. But the problem with shock-value comical profanity is its numbing effect. It stops being funny after awhile. We get used to it.

The kid-bonding stuff comes close to “warmth,” but not that close.

The kids are OK in their roles, but none are really given the chance to stand out and make an impression, even the girl (Kylah Davla).

Cracks about “white history class” in high school, and Jaycen’s protest that he expected “the Martha Stewart” treatment from his judge land. Epps is always good for a few hyper, bugged-out laughs.

And the football games are competently shot if not cleverly conceived.

But this one wears outs its welcome before the midpoint and never recovers.

Top tip — you wanna do a “Bad News Bears” riff, you’ve got to have a decent villain/nemesis. If you don’t write and pay a Vic Morrow to show up, don’t make the movie. These pics aren’t just about the Friend of Martha doing his shtick, even if he is as “unfiltered” in his words as he is in his smokes.

Rating: R, pot use and profanity in copius quantities

Cast: Snoop Dogg, Tika Sumpter, Mike Epps, Jonigan Booth, Kylah Davila, Adan James Carrillo, Kal Penn, Andrew Schulz and George Lopez.

Credits: Directed by Charles Stone III, scripted by Isaac Shamis and Danny Segal. An MGM/Amazon release.

Running time: 1:36

About Roger Moore

Movie Critic, formerly with McClatchy-Tribune News Service, Orlando Sentinel, published in Spin Magazine, The World and now published here, Orlando Magazine, Autoweek Magazine
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