The Underdoggs

• Directed by Charles Stone III
• January 26, 2024
• Amazon Prime

A washed-up football player finds himself coaching a children’s football team while trying to get back with an old flame.

I really didn’t expect much from The Underdoggs. Not only is this movie direct-to-streaming but it stars Snoop Dogg who has not exactly been a compelling performer in anything he’s appeared in. Plus it reeked of trying to reframe somebody’s image (in this case Snoop Dogg) into something they previously were never viewed as which is family friendly. While it clearly is an attempt to give Snoop Dogg something a little more uplifting and moving, it’s also really a funny movie that is far from family friendly. This is a crass sports comedy with a message. Not perfect but better than it has any right to be for something that got shuffled around until it was unceremoniously dumped on Amazon Prime.

Snoop plays washed up has been football player Jaycen “Two-J’s” Jennings who gets one last chance. This is a story where he learns a lesson and then grows up and by doing so helps the kids grow. That’s been done 1000 times but not usually with this much humor. The main goal of those that made is The Underdoggs to entertain and often logic gets tossed out the window as they go for a laugh.

They dive into raunchy comedy but the narrative itself is very family friendly. The narrative is a very family friendly narrative but the execution is very un-family friendly. There’s talk of titties and lots of weed smoking and just generally humorous things you wouldn’t want your kids to repeat or see. Yet without that it would’ve been a very boring movie. That inappropriateness is what makes this movie. This is the first really raunchy comedy I have seen released in a long time and it shows there is still life in the genre.

Jaycen “Two-J’s” Jennings whole reason for coaching youth football is he finds his former high school girlfriend Cherise’s (Tika Sumpter) kid is on the team and they are short a coach so in order just to sleep with her he decides to give it a spin. It is clear he still has feelings for her and leaving her behind is one of his many regrets. 

The chemistry between Snoop Dogg and Tika Sumpter is genuine. I’m not saying they are a great screen couple but it is believable. Snoop Dogg put his maximum effort into his performance and he gets it to work. Sumpter is way out of Snoop’s league in real life but she convinces you here character is attracted to Jennings.

If there is a villain of this is a man called Chip Collins (Andrew Schulz) who is a sports commentator that has a real axe to grind with Two-J’s. Not a major thorn in anyone’s side though. He’s just lingering in the background to give our main character something to overcome but it’s funny. The focus of the story is Two-J’s and what is going on with him as he grows as a person and learns how to be a better person.

While going for the funny, Danny Segal and Isaac Schamis used a little brains that solidified the becoming a better person message if The Underdoggs. What I liked was how the team won but not by actually winning the big game. They won by stepping up to the challenge and giving it their all. They won by growing as individuals either by being honest about themselves to others or just overcoming their differences to become a real team. Two-J’s won by realizing that what he was after was not real. Being there for others and being responsible was.

They pretty much drive that message home with Snoop Dogg’s voice over narration as well as a little text blurb at the end. Inspirational raunchy comedy that is also built around a family-friendly plot? This movie is a series of contradictions but one that still works.

Underdoggs is not a surprising revelation or something out of left field, but it is very good. It’s funny, it’s humorous, and it has some heart. And it has a good message and never tries to really undercut that. The direction is okay with the acting in general good as well. Even the kids managed to sell it and that is very difficult with children. 

Ultimately The Underdoggs was a very pleasant surprise. It’s funny and has heart and something you could revisit again and again and still enjoy. Not for kids but certainly for adults and I highly recommend it to them.