My Review of "The Main Event"

In the past I remember a bunch of movies with a similar plot line to The Main Event. There was Rookie of the Year in 1993, Angels in the Outfield in 1994, Like Mike in 2002 and Thunderstruck in 2012. I guess it's about time for another one in 2020. I had very fond memories of those aforementioned movies so I thought this movie could capture the formula.

This movie starts with a bullied kid (they always have to start with a bullied kid) by the name Leo. He and his two friends Caleb and Riyaz are constantly bullied. Leo also happens to live in a broken home. He lives with his father and his amazing grandmother. His mother had moved out to New York with a new man and doesn't contact the family anymore.

Leo and his grandmother are huge fans of the WWE. Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that this is a WWE movie. The WWE happen to be in his city to promote a WWE NXT competition. They're asking all amateur wrestlers to compete in this competition so that they can win $50000 and a WWE NXT contract.

One day Leo gets chased by the usual bullies and runs into a house. He finds a magical smelly luchador mask while hiding from his pursuers. As a wrestling fan he has to have the mask even though it smells rancid. He puts the mask on one night and discovers that the mask has granted him new confidence and superhuman powers.

Throughout the movie there are some constant reminders of what matters. One of the big things they try to teach in this movie is that family and friend relations are key to a happy life. They also mention the usual Dumbo the elephant lesson that true strength comes from your head and your heart. Another lesson they try to give is know your enemy, there's always a weak spot. Finally being yourself is the most important person you should be. All very good lessons for kids and really this is a movie meant for kids.

There's a plethora of stink jokes throughout the movie. One of the wrestler's special movie is to fart his opponents to submission for crying out loud. So don't take this movie very seriously they have a specific demographic and they cater to them. I thought it was very well done for a movie for kids.

Although there were a lot of kids in this movie I thought all of the kids did a great job in their roles. They have bright acting futures if they continue to gain roles. I would say Tichina Arnold in particular stole the show as Leo's grandmother. Whatever scene she was in she practically stole the show. All eyes would always wander to her because of her huge charisma and charm. She should gain a lot more roles after this movie.

I'm also happy that they didn't rely too much on the wrestlers to tell this story. As a WWE movie about wrestling I was a little worried that they were going to use their WWE wrestlers to tell the story but they really took a backseat to the main hero of the movie.

Overall, I thought this was a really good kid movie. As an adult you have to watch this movie with your mind turned off. With that said you can still have fun with your kids with this movie. I have to give this movie a 6.5 out of 10. It's nothing that I would want to watch again but I think this is a great diversion movie for adults with children. Obviously the kids will enjoy it much more than their adult counterparts.