Netflix’s new movie Incoming has all of the elements of a classic teenage raunch-fest, including a few scenes that feel more like a tribute than a nod to the ’80s, ’90s, and 2000s movies that came before them.
Stop me if you’ve seen this one: A group of freshmen misfits starts high school and attends their first big party. There’s a pretty girl, a bully, a would-be Lothario, a popular girl who gets too drunk, a stolen car … You get the picture. Incoming doesn’t offer much in the way of new ideas, but the characters are likable, the acting is decent, and quite frankly, I laughed at a lot of those silly jokes. Then again, I enjoy the teen movie genre as a whole, and this movie borrows from them heavily while still upping the ante for a modern audience.
Incoming was written and directed by Dave Chernin and John Chernin. It’s the brothers’ first feature length film; before this, they wrote for the hit comedy It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia. Incoming was released on Netflix on August 23, 2024.
The story follows Benj (Mason Thomas), a 14-year-old who reminds me inextricably of another hapless freshman, Mitch Kramer (Wiley Wiggins) in the 1993 comedy Dazed and Confused. The similarities don’t end with his looks, either. Like Mitch, Benj has a cooler older sister who isn’t thrilled that her baby brother is now attending the same parties. Also like Mitch, his mom (the hilarious Kaitlin Olson) is not going to be too happy with him once morning rolls around.
The house party trope is tired, but still fun
Most of Incoming takes place at a giant house party hosted by Benj’s smarmy friend Danah (Bardia Seiri), who shares the nickname “Koosh” with his much cooler (and tougher) brother. While Benj attempts to woo his sister’s friend Bailey (Isabelle Ferreira), his two pals Connor (Raphael Alejandro) and Eddie (Ramon Reed) find themselves caring for the most popular and beautiful girl in school (Loren Gray as Katrina) after she mistakes them for her Uber. These scenes, filmed inside a Tesla the teens “borrowed” from Eddie’s mom’s detestable boyfriend, are certainly the grossest part of the entire movie.
Remember how in 16 Candles, The Geek (Anthony Michael Hall) winds up spending the whole night driving Caroline (Haviland Morris) around in his friend’s dad’s Rolls Royce? Well, this is like that, but with 100 percent more diarrhea. Gross? Definitely! Yet I still laughed, even as I cringed and watched the scene through my fingers.
There are plenty of nods to other teen movies, including Fast Times at Ridgemont High, Superbad, Booksmart, American Pie, Can’t Hardly Wait, and others. If you enjoy watching movies like those, you’ll probably like Incoming as well.
This movie is not reinventing the wheel, but it’s got quirky characters (Bobby Cannavale is hilarious as a cringeworthy science teacher who gets a bit too chummy with his students), an adorable cast, and enough jokes that land to make up for the ones that fall flat. All in all, it’s a fun way to spend 90 minutes.
Incoming is currently streaming on Netflix.
Published: Aug 29, 2024 02:45 pm