Here Comes the Boom: Fighting for love, music and a little respect

Comedian Kevin James is really good at playing the lovable loser. He did it for years on the sit-com King of Queens and has embraced the role in the various films. This, combined with his particular brand of physical comedy makes him the perfect lead for Here Comes the Boom, a film he wrote (with Rock Reuben and Allan Loeb) about a high school teacher who starts competing in mixed-martial arts so he can donate the proceeds to bail out the bankrupt music department that’s in danger of getting axed due to budget cuts.

The plot is simple. Scott Voss (James) has lost his enthusiasm for teaching and can barely drag himself out of bed to get to school every morning. Still, when Principal Becher (Greg Germann) announces he has plans to scrap the music department and downsize Marty (Henry Winkler), the well-meaning and inspiring music instructor who buys old instruments and fixes them up for the students, Scott takes up Marty’s cause. He commits to raising the $48K needed to keep the music department from getting shut down. After pursuing a few less-than-successful options, he gets the crazy idea to enter the world of amateur mixed martial arts where he can potentially make a few grand at a time just losing matches.

He gets some help from Niko (Bas Rutten an actual Dutch mixed martial arts master), a retired fighter who trains Marty in exchange for lessons that will help him pass his citizenship test. With his pronounced accent and exaggerated emotional responses, Rutten keeps pace with James. There aren’t any surprises here. From the start, we know Scott will get his ass kicked and that there will be some of final showdown with a guy much bigger and meaner than him. Despite all that, James plays Scott as a guy who’s charming despite his flaws, and Winkler is equally funny and likeable as the doddering Marty.

There is going to be a group of critics who will refuse to embrace this film because its basic plot arc is familiar, its premise is ridiculous and its director is Frank Coraci, the guy who directed last year’s Zookeeper and its star is Kevin James (who was also in that inexorable film). But, especially if you go in and think this movie is going to disappoint like Adam Sandler’s Jack and Jill or Jim Carrey in Mr. Popper’s Penguins, you’ll be pleasantly surprised. Here Comes the Boom is a heart-filled family-friendly comedy that, while not breaking any new ground, manages to pack a bit of a punch. So, if you feel yourself cracking a smile at Henry Winkler jumping around to Neil Diamond’s Holly Holy, don’t fight it.