Great comedies require a key ingredient: an all-in effort to create an atmosphere that is both original and sustainable. Baywatch, the cinematic take on the popular 1980s television series, doesn't waste anytime making you laugh and pulling you into its world of wild fun. Leave the thinking glasses at home and get a kick out of this spring dose.
Powered by Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson and Zac Efron, the jokes in Damian Shannon and Mark Swift's screenplay land easy and often, with the two hunks playing well off each other's cinematic and real life personas. Johnson takes over David Hasselhoff's (who has a great cameo) role of Baywatch post leader Mitch Buchannon and Efron is the new recruit, Matt Brody. The rest of the roster is full of signature players: Kelly Rohrbach's C.J. Parker; Ilfenish Hadera's Stephanie Holden; Jon Bass' Ronnie Greenbaum; Alexandra Daddario's Summer Quinn.
Don't forget about the comically gifted supporting player Rob Huebel as Captain Thorpe and Quantico's Priyanka Chopra as the evil Victoria. The plot isn't really necessary for the laughs, but the simplicity of it allows the cast to have some fun. Victoria Leeds is aiming to buy up enough real estate to expand her drug empire throughout the heart of Miami, and Buchannon's team must stop them. Why does a glorified group of lifeguards have to stop a drug kingpin? Well, that's part of the tongue in cheek nature of the comedy.
While the action adventures and amateur detective work may act like a deterrent for the beach bod slow motion shots and easy flowing jokes between Johnson and Efron, it allows the players to roast each other and create more laughs. At one point, Johnson even teases the High School Musical star about his television singing days. Nothing is out of bounds here, and the winking nature of the cast with the screenplay keeps Seth Gordon's direction afloat and never allows the movie to even get close to serious waters.
You'll want to pay the piper for the interactions between Johnson and Efron. When I was walking into the screening, I told a friend that if these two are good, the movie will be fine. When you have a versatile presence like Johnson that can switch between comedy mastery and action bravado during the same scene and a foil like Efron to play off of it, the rhythm of the film can't get lost. Gordon and the writers wisely keep most of the comedy raunchy, but they never become overly reliant on it. It's always the two stars who carry the weight. Johnson and Efron are a dream team.
Baywatch may cause a smirk on your face when you see the poster and trailer, but know this: it's a very funny adventure that didn't blow its worth in the teaser trailer releases earlier this year. There are plenty of goods spread out around this comedy table.
Come get a piece. You may see me sitting next to you taking it all in again. It's like the Ron Burgundy version of the beach. Self-deprecating in the best way and star powered.
