Incoming Parent Guide

Best friends Benj (Mason Thames), Eddie (Ramon Reed), and Connor (Raphael Alejandro) have been looking forward to starting high school, but their first week as freshmen is tougher than they thought. When they score an exclusive invite to a senior’s house party, the boys jump at the chance to turn their high school careers around. But the party turns out to be wilder than they expected, turning into a night they’ll never forget.

There is a long history of raunchy teen party films. Most fade quickly into obscurity, with only a handful taking their place in the cultural zeitgeist. In my experience, the ones that stick tend to be one of two things: wildly hilarious or deeply sincere. (Bonus if they’re both.) I realize that this genre isn’t for everyone, but I can appreciate it when it’s well done. Unfortunately, Incoming is not.

For a production that’s supposed to be a comedy, this flick is completely lacking in jokes. I don’t think I cracked a single smile in the mercifully short 91-minute runtime. I’m okay with a teen movie that’s more about coming-of-age than humor, but this production doesn’t tick that box either. Most of the kids don’t learn or mature, and there’s no heartfelt messaging about growing up. The script shoehorns in a message about being yourself, but it’s not effective or well handled.

The word that most comes to mind for me to describe this film is pointless. Most of the characters are either flat or annoying, the plot just kind of happens without much rhyme or reason, and there’s no satisfying resolution. The main character is particularly annoying because he somehow manages to have zero personality, and no consistent character traits.

Worst of all, because the writers weren’t capable of writing jokes they tried to hide this flaw behind extreme raunchiness in the hopes that the shock value would distract viewers from the un-funniness of the film. Based on the plot synopsis you won’t be surprised to learn that the majority of the runtime features underage drinking and smoking, all with very little consequence. But apparently that wasn’t enough because those teenagers also snort ketamine and swear constantly. I expected some sexual innuendo, but I did not expect underage nudity (a girl’s visible breasts), which I was shocked to see in a movie aimed at teens. On top of all of that there are major gross out scenes involving bodily fluids and injuries.

Don’t watch this movie. It’s bad and uncomfortable and gross. The writers should be put on some sort of watchlist for this atrocity, and not just for the underage nudity, but because they can’t write a single joke to save their lives.