Its evident adolescent wild night comedies are here to stay. You know, films like Superbad which owe their inspiration to a darker single night comedy after hours. And in a way, cinema focused on children is much the more expanded because of it. I mean without that constant push, the industry wouldn’t have given us the boundary pushing witticism of blockers or the sophisticated humor of booksmart, high intensity “Bodies Bodies Bodies” or the best of the bunch emergency which happens to be a hilarious college comedy which surprisingly rather poignantly explored the race gender and class dynamics in America.
The chernin brothers, Dave and John from the It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia fame are writers directors for the film Incoming, which you can safely say is the best entry in this subgenre. It may be because they are a little rude at times that people find the jokes funny (like really funny) oh wait, annoying people no terrified people, the active comedy in comedies that many maligned and fake recent releases could learn from one or two things. In that, the kids in “Incoming” are chaotic messes who at times even lack manners and civility and are mean and ignorant, as most of us have been in real life.
But most notably, “Incoming” does well on points for its casting instincts. Performing as Benjamin “Benj” Nielsen is Mason Thames, a boyish actor with floppy hair and kind spark in his eyes–a seemingly perfect fit for an 80’s romcom, such as during something like “Adventures in Babysitting” (Speaking of which, the picture itself does pay a nice homage to 80’s teenage films). The only intact relationships he has are with his big sisters’ friends he is obsessed with–a rather misanthropic girl called Alyssa (played by Ali Gallo and Isabella Ferreira respectively). Meanwhile, after being dumped by her ex for another woman, Alyssa becomes a stalker obsessed with her ex’s features aid because she believes being hot and desperate are the only things in the world that can help her out.
In the distance, Benj’s childhood friends Eddie, Connor, and Danah “Koosh” Koushani, portrayed by actors Ramon Reed, Raphael Alejandro, and Bardia Seiri respectively, have trouble on their first day of the school as well. Koosh, who comes from a very rich background, is always overshadowed by his elder and more successful brother and is making an effort to co-hosts the back-to-school party which gets out of control with alcohol and drugs. Eddie and Connor, on the other hand, have little issues, hoping to go through the academic year unscathed, most especially Connor who struggles not to be called ‘Poopyhead’–as per the bullies in the school who tagged him that. There is of course a popular girl, too–it is Katrina, played by Loren Gray, who in their school makes the boys very desperate to be friends with her.
However, the quartet heads to Koosh’s party where they only learn that one of them can be Koosh’s +1 which elicits those insecurities to resurface. Benj naggingly persuades the rest clansmen to accompany him as he wants to be with Bailey, while Eddie and Connor are having their own trip around the city. Also involved in the chaos is the kids’ fun-loving chemistry teacher Mr. Studebaker, played by Bobby Cannavale, whose irresponsible actions throughout the film are questionable at first and outright outrageous within minutes.
In “Incoming,” kids come as the main showcase, and they do not disappoint. In one amusing particular part of their mansion, the well-meaning but often misguided Koosh uses crafty tricks to get a girl to agree to a spa treatment that she later finds out. In regard to this scene, Benj has hopes to impress Bailey, in another corner of the mansion, only to do it in the wrong way very soon. And in the film’s best subplot and probably the best pay-off, the two of them, Connor and Eddie, honorably babysit a drunken Katrina overnight through the filthiest of nights.
There are many lessons to be learnt though, as indicated by the laughter that some scenes invite. Everyone in “Incoming,” from Alyssa to Mr. Studebaker, reaps what they sow, be it good or bad, because the Chernins’ movie is neither storyteller’s heavy-handed sermon, nor does it allow its characters an easy way out. There is no question about it: this is a raunchy little escapade where everything that’s done has repercussions.
The desire remains that they should’ve let Benj get to win something a practical or an apparently intangible, such as absolution or an allowance for a reprieve. In the absence of such, it is hard to escape the point that “Incoming” fails to clinch its conclusion in the resounding fashion that it truly deserves. Nonetheless, as is the case with every teenage comedy, so do some friendships and traditions. Perhaps that is the only thing that counts at the end of it all.
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