To steal a line that has been used for other endeavours, it’s a hard way to make an easy living. Or putting it another way regarding mixed martial arts, losing a fight isn’t as easy as one might think.
That’s one of the lessons learned by Kevin James’ character in the comedic actor’s latest film Here Comes the Boom, an action/comedy that explores the popularity of the world’s fastest-growing sport in a new and fun way. It’s also the first MMA movie fully endorsed by its biggest promotion, the Ultimate Fighting Championship.
James (Grown Ups, Hitch) plays Scott Voss, a high school biology teacher, who once had a real passion for molding young minds, evidenced by his “Teacher of the Year” award. But that was 10 years ago. Now he’s more content in riding out his tenure while doing the least amount of actual classwork and instead focusing any of his efforts on asking out a fellow staffer Bella Flores, played by Salma Hayek (Savages, Frida) — and getting rejected each time, I might add.
Directed by Frank Coraci (Zookeeper, The Water Boy) and from the creators of another James film Paul Blart: Mall Cop, the movie opens in a predictably stereotypical manner with a lazy-looking Scott asleep in a contorted position and snoring in comedic fashion just before waking up to realize he has drastically overslept his alarm and now must race to school despite already being ridiculously late. While this scene sets the tone for what will be a movie filled with slapstick and humour that strains maturity, it actually does go uphill from there.
Enter the infamous Henry Winkler, considerably aged from his Happy Days but still oh so lovable in an “I just want to hug him” sort of way. Winkler plays Marty Streb, the school’s dedicated music teacher whose life just took a big twist and the staff soon discover that due to lack of money the school will have to cut some activities, including music, which could cost Marty his job. Through a newfound appreciation for Marty and their common students’ love for the music program, Scott decides he must do something to raise the money to save it.
His motivations appear mostly genuine, with the nice side effect of impressing Bella. But the options for raising the amount of money required to save the music program — $48,000 — are limited.
Enter the infamous (at least to the MMA community) Bas Rutten, who plays Niko, a Dutch immigrant in the citizenship class that Scott teaches on the side. Niko also happens to be a former MMA fighter and current trainer. After learning from Niko that UFC fighters can earn in the neighbourhood for $10,000 to simply lose a fight, he decides he has what it takes to do that.
Even as an arguably overweight but definitely out of shape high-school teacher, he isn’t completely out of his element, having wrestled very competitively in college. But to be an MMA fighter, he must pick it up a notch — and fast. Niko gives him his “trial by fire,” immediately throwing him into the underground circuits, which have questionable sanctioning and definitely unsafe fighting conditions — naturally a recipe for hilarity. Not beneficial for erasing the stigma of the sport among the non-MMA community, but, oh well, it is just a movie after all.
In terms of Scott’s motivations for fighting, it’s fairly similar to last year’s MMA drama Warrior. Only here the plot is much simpler. No complex psychological issues and family drama at play. Scott is trying to get a quick payday and then get out. But along the way he discovers it is much more than that — his pursuit of a goal for a greater good has become an inspiration for his students and others.
James’ acting in the movie is actually quite good — he puts on an honest and even moving performance at times, mostly when he’s not trying to be funny. That’s not to say he isn’t good when he is trying to be funny, but he is actually upstaged by his supporting cast, namely the longtime actor and beloved personality Winkler, and the by-no-means-an-actor but quite a personality Rutten. Yes Rutten, the MMA coach, TV analyst and instructional video host whose rambunctiousness is well known, delivers more laughs in his performance than James.
But Winkler is spectacular — even a show-stealer at times– as his character Marty takes on the job of Scott’s lead cornerman despite not knowing the first thing about professional fighting. In this case, The King of Queens bows down to The Fonz.
The cast is also boosted by the inclusion of Boston-based MMA trainer Mark DellaGrotte and UFC colour commentator Joe Rogan, who play themselves. DellaGrotte teaches Scott the finer points of striking while Rogan offers him a chance to fight in the UFC after making waves with some big victories that end up, where else, on YouTube.
Will Scott take the fight? And more importantly, will he fight to lose, just for the paycheque? Or will fight to win?
Is it ridiculous that he could earn his way into the UFC in such a short time frame? Yes. But at the same time it’s not unrealistic seeing as sometimes fighters get there based on marketability. Look at the internet streetfighting sensation Kimbo Slice, who had no business making it as a professional fighter but ended up in the UFC for a couple of fights and even won one.
It’s actually appropriate that James took on this role. According to Rogan, who has been friends with him for 20 years, James is a “legitimate martial artist” and has been a black belt for as long as he’s known him. Who knew?
If you’re a fan of the UFC, you’ll certainly appreciate the last half hour or so of the film as it almost feels like you’re watching a live pay-per-view with all the genuine elements of a live show, filled with the intensity, excitement and arena sights and sounds. Almost all the usual UFC personalities are there, including Mike Goldberg, Bruce Buffer, Herb Dean and Jacob (Stitch) Duran. (Unfortunately, no Dana White.)
There are also plenty of UFC fighters in small roles, including Jason (Mayhem) Miller — who basically plays himself, complete with green hair and walkout antics as he goes by the name (Lucky) Patrick Murphy — as well as Mark Munoz, Wanderlei Silva and even Chael Sonnen, who plays one of the lower-tier fighters that ends up arguing with the referee after losing — a moment worth a chuckle if you catch it.
The biggest such acting job was given to Canadian UFC fighter Krzysztof Soszynski, who plays top heavyweight Ken Dietrich, and the Polish-born fighter from Winnipeg — who now lives near Hollywood and is eyeing more acting opportunities — does a great job of it.
Rogan said Here Comes the Boom, which opens in theatres Friday, is the first MMA movie the UFC has ever 100 per cent approved and he called it “a worthy one.” I would have to agree. It’s well-made, funny and even heart-warming, and for the most part, it highlights the best aspects of the sport for both the viewer and its competitors.
Big Game Brydon’s rating: 3½ out 5 stars