“Tacky” and “hacky”. Those are the first words that spring to mind when describing The Underdoggs, an R-rated, pee-wee sports comedy from director Charles Stone III (Mr. 3000, Uncle Drew), and starring rapper Snoop Dogg.  “Tacky” because the humour derives from the stale gag of having adults swearing around, or at, kids.  “Hacky” because Snoop should feel guilty for aiming at such low-hanging comedic fruit.

Snoop Dogg plays blacklisted ex-football player Jaycen “Two Js” Jennings, a foul-mouthed man-child who’s inconsiderate behaviour lands him mandatory community service.  Begrudgingly, he chooses to coach a junior football team of misfits.  Not because he sees this as an opportunity to inspire the youth of today, but because it’s a prime chance to improve his public image.  Jaycen doesn’t sugarcoat anything.  He snarls distain towards his team, and he assigns everyone – young and old – the same crass twelve-letter nickname.  What rhymes with “smother punter”?  Or, “huddle ducker”?

Snoop Dogg’s anarchist attitude towards authority made him an infamous personality on the music scene, and added edge to his performances when given the chance to star in movies.  But at 52 years or age, hasn’t he moved on from this tough guy schtick?  A rhetorical question because, recently, he has.  To name a few of his achievements, the musician has: co-hosted a tongue-in-cheek variety show with Martha Stewart, brought more awareness around the benefits of medical cannabis, educates kids through songs and nursery rhymes on YouTube’s Doggyland, wrote a family-friendly cookbook and, to bring it back around, he co-performed at the Superbowl halftime show in 2022.  Snoop Dogg has developed so much as an artist and public figure, that it’s actually off-putting and awkward watching him try to find humour in a situation that features him shouting curse words at unassuming strangers.  Jaycen is an unbearably ugly character that follows a predictable arc while maintaining hostility towards anyone who looks at him.  This routine is briefly amusing before quickly exhausting the audience within the first 10 minutes of The Underdoggs.

The supporting cast doesn’t fare well either.  The adults are uninteresting stooges, and the loud kids play on unmemorable clichés.  Comedian Mike Epps plays Jaycen’s fair-weather friend Kareem, and he’s been given the task to create the same loose dynamic between him and Snoop as he helped develop between him and Ice Cube in the Friday franchise.  Unfortunately, for as clever as the musician has proven to be, Snoop Dogg doesn’t give Epps anything to work with other than some side glares.  Epps gets a few funny lines in on his own accord, but flounders otherwise.

The Underdoggs ends with an information card, stating that the movie was inspired by the Snoop Youth Football League.  The Snoop Youth Football League, which has been captured on the Netflix docu-series Coach Snoop, is a successful athletic effort to assist a diversity of kids with wholesome values.  What’s supposed to send audiences off on a wave of positivity ends up suggesting that The Underdoggs may only exist as quality control for Snoop Dogg’s own public image.  Silly Snoop, the only thing that will negatively effect your reputation is making bad movies like The Underdoggs.

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Addison Wylie: @AddisonWylie