My Review of "The Sleepover"

The Sleepover is a Netflix exclusive that recently came out. It's a lot more fun than you would have expected. Sure there are a lot of cheesiness and a ton of it is predictable but you have to consider what the target audience for this movie is. It's a family film that is sure to entertain kids and adults alike and I for one was entertained by this movie.

This movie starts off with the main character Clancy. It's kind of weird because in some ways she doesn't really feel like the main character. The main character of this movie is sort of the family ensemble. Anyways Clancy is in high school and we see how awkward she is with her fellow students. She's in the school band and may actually get a scholarship for another school because she plays the cello so well.

One day a popular boy that she has a crush on asks her to go to his party but she isn't able to give him her phone number because she doesn't have a cell phone. I find it kind of weird that they're talking about phone numbers when nowadays everyone's all about social media. This may have been a clue that the writers for this movie might just be as old as me.

So she's all a huff because she doesn't have a cell phone so she wasn't able to give this boy her phone number. Meanwhile her younger brother Kevin is kind of the polar opposite of Clancy. He's extremely confident with himself and walks with tons of poise. He's caught in the bathroom checking himself out and dancing. It's all caught on social media and his mother is caught in the video as she's a volunteer at the school.

Their father picks them up from school and is a very unassuming but yet very quirky person. He's a pastry chef that is your stereotypical good dad. Picking up the kids at school and having tons of patience with the kids. This guy is a riot for most of the movie and in some ways steals a lot of the scenes.

When they all get home there's this huge argument with Clancy and her mother resulting in her being grounded. Still Clancy and her friend Mim make a pact to sneak out to Clancy's crush's house party. Meanwhile Kevin's overly cautious friend Lewis is staying overnight for a sleepover.

All of these kids somehow start hanging out in the back tent not realizing that the video of Kevin's dancing had become viral on the internet. Some bad people soon realize who their mother is. They soon come into the house unbeknownst of the kids and kidnap their parents.

Before the parents are caught the mother sets up some elaborate clues for the kids to figure out. That's where the movie really starts. You really have to throw away logic while watching this movie because none of it is based on reality. It's a family flick, what do you expect?

Still despite all of the childish humor surrounding the movie they weren't all fart and crotch jokes. There were a few sight gags that had to do with how flamboyant Kevin and his friend are. They seem to have no problems making fun of themselves throughout the movie. It makes sense too because they already established his character as super confident.

The way they all got together trying to solve riddles really reminded me of Goonies especially since their personalities were somewhat similar to the Goonies as well. Even Kevin looks like the main character in Goonies. The facial similarities are uncanny.

As an adult the whole storyline of the mother having a jewelry thief past was pretty fun. It really reminded me of the True Lies. A very low budget version but the same. The father really stole the show with his quibbles with his wife's ex-fiancé. He obviously has an inferiority complex because she used to have a pretty exciting life and her ex seems to be a much more attractive man. His character really kind of stole the show for me.

I had a lot of fun even though there wasn't really enough attention to one particular character. The story still sort of belongs to Clancy but they shine the light on so many characters that she kind of loses her shine. It's too bad too because I honestly think that Clancy's character could have held up for the whole movie.

Overall, I enjoyed this movie from start to finish and gave me little glimpses of nostalgia because of their homages to so many old movies that I fondly remember. It's not a revolutionary movie because it's a safe family flick. It does the job right and I don't fault them for that. I have to give this movie a 7 out of 10. It is enjoyable enough to maybe watch once again.