I was hoping for this film to be a surprise much like Game Night was. Fortunately, this film is surprising just in very different ways.
Let me start with the good.
The script is the best thing about this film. The story is your general losing of the virginity fare that use to be abundant back in the late 90's and early 00's but this film takes that kernel and reinvents it. The first difference is that the perspective is mostly with the parents. and the second is the one's losing their virginity, isn't your typical frat boys, or shy guy learning to become a man. Instead, its three young women. The Script tackles these two differences pretty much head on. Conversations in the film even acknowledges the hypocrisy of people, especially parents, that see young women losing their virginity as a 'Deflowering' or 'A loss of innocence' And those moments I truly loved. The Screenwriters, Brian and Jim Kehoe did a fantastic job. Also, the handling of the parents’ perspective was great and its where the film find its heartfelt core.
Now I do wish the script had more honest moments with the children, and less of the typically R-Rated gross out moments, not that they were bad, they just weren't very funny to me and added very little to nothing to the themes of the movie, and most of them were spoiled in the trailers.
On to the direction! This is Kay Cannon's Directorial Debut. And unfortunately, this is where the film is the weakest in my view. She presents the film exactly what you would expect from an R-Rated comedy. But the flaw in my perspective, is that you have a script that at times challenges the status quo and is trying actively to show something different. But I never felt her images push those things further in any way. I constantly wished that she as a director pushed herself a little further to truly showcase this film in a better light. I'm not saying this film is badly shot or directed, I'm just saying there wasn't any shots, or designs, or compositions that I could point out as anything more than what was needed to tell the story.
So, in ending,
--- 6/10 - Good -
I think this film is definitely an interesting one to see, the Script successfully takes a tired trope, and reinvents it with two new refreshing perspectives, young women, and parents. And it’s all wrapped up in a sex positive R-Rated comedy with heart. unfortunately, the Direction doesn't push the same boundaries that the script does.