This would a classic example of a guilty pleasure. I know I’m not watching great art, great drama, nor even great humor, and yet here I am smiling. Joe Manganiello did not win me over as Flash Thompson or Big Dick Richie, but as Leo, the underworld ex- for witness protection soccer mom Malin Akerman? Yes, I like him much better.
There is nothing on the surface to recommend The Sleepover. The plot is ridiculous – a suburban mom and her milquetoast husband are kidnapped by villains in a larger effort to steal a royal crown at a gala in downtown Boston and the only ones who can save the day are their kids, of course, who just happen to be hosting The Sleepover.
Even the names seem second rate. The former international kickass jewel thief turned got-it-all mom is played by Malin Akerman, a poor man’s Margot Robbie. Her mediocre “seems lame now, but wait until you get to know him, then he’ll seem super lame” husband is played by Ken Marino, a poor man’s Ray Romano. I’m not going to sugar coat this; if you want to scoff at this film right now, I shan’t stop you.
And I’m not big on child actors; I’m even less impressed by comic child actors. Spencer Breslin immediately comes to mind. And yet, when Kevin (Maxwell Simkins) get up in front of the class with a sob
story about his father and starts recalling the plot to The Martian, I giggled.
Grounded for behavior unbecoming, Clancy (Sadie Stanley) and her galpal Mim (Cree Cicchino) decide to defy the gravity of their situation. In the process, Kevin’s sleepover friend Lewis (Lucas Jaye) spies something wrong going down in the house which leads the four kids to attack and confine a US Marshal, on the scene in the wake. When you ask me why I could enjoy such a disaster as The Sleepover, I’m going to point to the fact that the kids tied up the Marshal with Christmas lights and when he protests, Mim returns to him and … plugs the lights in. If that doesn’t make you laugh, nothing in this film will.
I’m not going to pretend The Sleepover wasn’t occasionally stupid or unrealistic … although putting a finger on the most unrealistic part …? A theft of a crown on crowded, patrolled dance floor? Mom not losing a single spygame step after two decades and two children? Or how about four children swimming the Muddy Chuck by themselves at night? It doesn’t stop there, of course. Did it matter? No. This film left the documentary stages the second black ops showed up to kidnap mom. You’ll either like this film or you won’t. I did.
Punished for an attitude display
Clancy had a dilemma to weigh:
If she saves the rents
From cruel dissidents
Will she still be grounded the next day?
Rated TV-PG, 100 Minutes
Director: Trish Sie
Writers: Sarah Rothschild
Genre: The one where ordinary children foil international criminals
Type of being most likely to enjoy this film: Your mouthy eight-year-old
Type of being least likely to enjoy this film: Law enforcement
