From Jeremy Kibler

The Underdoggs is basically The Bad News Bears (or The Mighty Ducks or Little Giants, take your pick) with Snoop Dogg saying “motherfucker” a whole lot. It’s an underdog sports comedy with a foul mouth but no actual laughs, and that’s the real bad news bears. 

Dogg plays Jaycen ‘2 Js’ Jennings, a football legend once upon a time in high school before becoming an outstanding wide receiver with a championship ring. A bad attitude and an inflated ego later, Jaycen tarnishes his cereal-box public image and can’t even get his own agent (Kal Penn) to return his calls. Speeding off in a huff and causing damage of city property, he’s ordered to his old neighborhood of Long Beach to complete 300 hours of community service. Instead, the has-been ends up coaching a ragtag peewee football team, and hilarity should ensue. Right? Bueller? 

A crass, expletive-filled disclaimer is very funny, and then the actual movie begins. America may love an underdog (no matter the number of Gs), but The Underdoggs is so by-the-numbers and instantly forgettable that it’s bound to go up in a puff of ganja smoke. Director Charles Stone III and writers Isaac Schamis & Danny Segal seem to have relied wholly on the mere presence of Snoop Dogg because every underdog sports movie cliché gets checked off without any clever tweaks or surprises. Will Jaycen reconnect with his former flame, Cherise (Tika Sumpter), who just so happens to be the mom to one of the players? Will Jaycen learn to be less selfish and become a leader for these kids? Is water wet? 

Asked to carry an entire movie after so many supporting parts, Snoop certainly has swagger and a laid-back presence, but his arc from insufferable narcissist to a caring coach comes out of thin air (and, of course, happens on Fox NFL Sunday alongside Michael Strahan). Mike Epps has more charisma and gets a little more amusement out of playing the obnoxious Kareem, Jaycen’s loser homeboy who appoints himself the team’s assistant coach. A few of the kids even make an impression, especially Adan James Carrillo and Kylah Davila (the lone girl on the team, surprise!), but Tika Sumpter is most appealing of all and finds moments of honesty in a mostly thankless role as The Ex. 

Being based on the Snoop Youth Football League (a real-life organization he founded in 2005), The Underdoggs does have its heart in the right place. That’s all well and good, except the movie is lazy, blasé, and just kind of there. There are plenty of heart-to-hearts, and the importance of family gets as beaten into the ground as it would in an Adam Sandler comedy (or a later Fast and the Furious sequel), but none of the attempts feel honestly inspiring. Even the peewee football scenes are haphazardly edited and look slapped-together. 

Predictable formulas work all the time, but it’s all in the execution. The Underdoggs isn’t unpleasant enough to offend — just don’t expect many laughs to go with its swears. 

Rating: 1.5/5

The Underdoggs hits Prime Video on January 26, 2025.

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