Every technical aspect, direction, soundtrack, performances gets a gold star. But the story just gets sillier with each second, culminating in a preachy ending which seems to want to shoehorn depth into a film which has been lacking it for the most part.
The easiest comparison here is with House Party, but where the comedy in that film was outlandish, it was at least believable and organic. Malcolm as the hero is given many a test, but whereas a typical Hero will meet these tests in a way that really says something specifically about him, the waves really part suspiciously quickly for Malcolm. He gets jumped by his high school bullies and he gets them to back down by pointing a gun at them. Implausibly, they are not packing. He is made to sell the MDMA he found in his backpack - like a drug king pin would trust someone who he had never met, and surprise surprise this is Malcolm's opportunity to screw the screwer.
It ends up a clichéd, lazy exercise that, apart from some early set-pieces, manages to be neither funny nor dramatic.
The easiest comparison here is with House Party, but where the comedy in that film was outlandish, it was at least believable and organic. Malcolm as the hero is given many a test, but whereas a typical Hero will meet these tests in a way that really says something specifically about him, the waves really part suspiciously quickly for Malcolm. He gets jumped by his high school bullies and he gets them to back down by pointing a gun at them. Implausibly, they are not packing. He is made to sell the MDMA he found in his backpack - like a drug king pin would trust someone who he had never met, and surprise surprise this is Malcolm's opportunity to screw the screwer.
It ends up a clichéd, lazy exercise that, apart from some early set-pieces, manages to be neither funny nor dramatic.