Jackpot!

Review: One of those movies which just such a clever idea. Especially since it’s an original with no source material! It’s no secret to anyone that I LOVE John Cena. I thought both he & Awkwafina had a handful of funny lines (e.g. ‘I don’t know why I just farted’). I also thought all the roasts she had of his character were funny, like saying his whole face looks like an ear and that he looks like a bulldog who made a wish to become a human. The gag of people just pulling weapons from nowhere was a decent one too. I will say who better to be the sole nice guy than John Cena? What a great choice! The line at the end about YouTubers and wrestlers being actors now was meta and got me pretty good. And I also enjoyed all the TMNT references & I love when movies take something like that and choose to make it a running gag (like ‘Bullet Train’ did with the ‘Thomas the Tank Engine’ thing).

High: I enjoyed Awkwafina’s performance. I know some folks don’t like her, but I don’t mind her even though she is in literally everything (good for her). But this was different than any performance I’ve seen her in. She’s usually delegated to a supporting role and since she took the lead her character was much more grounded and subdued than she normally is. Which is kind of ironic due to how ungrounded and unsubdued the movie is.

Low: Overall, it had some funny quips, but it just did too much and was really cheesy. It was a little endearing, but really it made it pretty cringey.

Rating: 6/10