'The Sleepover' Preview: Will the redundant narrative work for the now 'woke' Netflix audience?
Netflix has been a killer platform when it comes to international releases, family-friendly storylines and coming-of-age narratives in the recent past, although we're wondering if enough is enough? It's no news that many of the comedies and dramas have storylines either ripped off another production or redundant storylines. The streamer's newest family-oriented film is titled 'The Sleepover' and while many thought it was the 2004 Joe Nussbaum 'Sleepover' reboot, it wasn't - it's a comedy revolving around the theme of a witness protection program. While the movie aims at teens and kids of this millennia, we're wondering if this redundant narrative works for the now 'woke' youngsters? We say 'redundant' because the synopsis brings many early classic releases to mind - 'Madea's Witness Protection,' 'The Pacifier,' 'Did You Hear About the Morgans?' 'The Family,' and many more.
'The Sleepover' is directed by 'Pitch Perfect 3' filmmaker Trish Sie and it chronicles the life of a "normal" mother who doubled as a former thief and is now in the witness protection program. While she is called to pull off her last commitment, her children find out her secret and have to rescue their parents over a night filled with comedic action. The movie does have big names involved such as Ken Marino, Joe Manganiello and Malin Akerman and while we're glad to see the stars on a comedic run, we were hoping for more of an original narrative. It seems as though the movie uses the theme of being in the witness protection program as a crutch because it gives a leeway to deliver many action-packed scenes involving what many think kids and teens are hoping for - police car chases, undercover agents, crime-bosses etc. But, in this day and age, especially in the year 2020, we think narratives like this may be outdated. This is not to say that the movie won't do well or bring in laughs, but after its release it will sit in the subsection of movies of repeated narratives and is that worth the time and effort?
While the movie release is yet to make a huge buzz considering its late August release, some people have taken to Twitter asking why it's even needed at this time. "We don't need this now, we need educational movies," wrote one user under a tweet listing the streamers upcoming released. "Teens need to learn about the real world and less about fiction," the user continued. It's an interesting aspect to look at and while we understand that the film was probably set to be released before 2020's grand challenges, it's still a repeated narrative. Teenagers and young adults are now facing a completely different online presence that children in the '90s or early 2000s did - we now have social, political, and environmental issues being highlighted on platforms. A comedy about a family in witness protection might just bite the dust. This is not to say that the streamer has lacked in educational releases - there are countless documentaries on Netflix - but will a teenager watch them?
Even so, comedy is a comedy and the movie is set to bring a few laughs in this time of crisis. While it may not be educational, 'woke' or even remotely related to real-world family issues, another way to look at it is that you can watch it at home with your family during the pandemic. For what it's worth, we're hoping at least the comedy is on point and stands out among the many other comedies being released on the streamer in August.
While the trailer of the movie is yet to be released, Sadie Stanley who plays Clancy Finch uploaded a teaser to her Instagram page. You can watch it here.
The synopsis reads, "In this family adventure-comedy, Clancy (Sadie Stanley) and her kid brother Kevin (Maxwell Simkins) discover that their seemingly normal stay-at-home mom Margot (Malin Åkerman) is actually a former high-end thief in the witness protection program. When both their mom and dad (Ken Marino) are kidnapped and forced to pull one last job with an ex-flame of Margot’s (Joe Manganiello), the siblings must team up to rescue their parents over the course of one action-packed night that they’ll never forget. 'The Sleepover' is directed by Trish Sie ('Pitch Perfect 3')."
Catch 'The Sleepover' on August 21, 2020, on Netflix.
