EXCELLENCE
The Underdoggs is a foul-mouthed football comedy that I enjoyed from the minute I hit play. It’s available on Prime Video for free-ninety-nine and not in theaters. The movie idea was conceived by Snoop Dogg and was actually inspired by his true life involvement with youth football.
Is this movie for kids? I would say – no. Which is strange, because this movie features a lot of kids.
The humor and language in this movie are crude, sexual, and profane, and a portion of this profanity-laden dialogue is delivered by the younger cast members. So, if you’re trying to keep your kid away from foul language and sexual connotations, this movie isn’t for them. Is the profanity in this movie a strike against it? Not at all. In fact, it’s one of the reasons why this story gets five stars from me. Like it or not, the truth is that a lot of kids have the mouth of a sailor these days, and you can blame social media for it. This is just honest writing.
LET’S START WITH THE SCRIPT
The Underdoggs is written by Isaac Schamis and Danny Segal, TV writers for #BlackAF and Grownish. They don’t have a lot of episodes under their belt, but that honestly doesn’t matter. What matters most to me, is that they are TV writers.
And TV writers are really good. “Why?” you ask.
Well, everything is exact on a television show. Opening scenes are exactly a certain length, scenes are a certain length, turning points happen on an exact page, the number of scene changes can be exact. Scripts usually go through reads, rehearsals, a handful of punch-ups, and rewrites before the start of production. Can writers be creative on a TV script? Somewhat. But all ideas must pass through the Showrunner, who is basically the god of the production.
So when a producer hires a TV writer for their film, they are hiring someone who knows how to work with a team. Someone who knows how to take criticism. Someone who will not be a diva on set, can stick to a budget, and can understand the characters the producers/directors are trying to create. Plus, you’re going to usually get really tight scenes, dialogue, and a lot of story pushed into a small window.
The only challenge that many TV writers have when transferring to film is the pacing. TV’s are written in 7 acts, while most movies are written in 3 acts. And because there are no commercials, scenes can play themselves out a little more. And, all the characters don’t need to deliver punchlines, like sitcoms do.
Now, what makes The Underdogg’s script great is that it’s funny, entertaining, and not agenda-driven. Characters are also very honest. When I say honest, is that they follow an arc that is true to reality.
GRADE: A+
DIRECTION AND ACTING
Charles Stone III directed The Underdoggs and has a decorated resume dating back to 1989, when he made his living as a music director. Ah, those were the good old days. Remember when MTV actually played music videos and wasn’t about advancing a woke agenda? Stone also directed Mr. 3000 and Drumline, both great movies. Looking at his resume, I can tell that Stone makes his living as a television director, which honestly, is a big strength. Most television directors are not part of the production family. They are there to direct one or a few episodes, and then, they’re out. They understand they are not there to bring a creative vision to the script. That creative vision is the responsibility of the showrunner. The director’s responsibility is to deliver a great product on time. And, to make sure that episode falls in line with the continuity of the other shows.
So, why am I so big on television directors? Well, it’s because they know how to put aside their creative ego, and to get things done. This film was pitched by Snoop Dogg and Constance Schwartz-Morini. It was their idea. Charles Stone was hired to bring their idea to screen, not his.
The movie was great from start to finish. There were a lot of genres of comedy in here, all of which made me laugh out loud. A lot of the humor was directed towards Snoop, which is almost self-deprecating, given that he’s the producer of this movie.
As for the actors. They all did a great job. They were believable, funny, honest, and heartful. Yes, Snoop did a great job of acting. It won’t win him an Oscar, but what the hell do the Oscars know, anyway?
GRADE: A
FINAL THOUGHTS
Am I surprised that Snoop Dogg can produce a great movie? Not really? He got to where he is, by being a great storyteller. He can tell a story in a rap, cooking with Martha Stewart, on a sports talk show, he’s extremely talented.
Steve Young
