BAYWATCH Review

To what do we owe the pleasure of a Baywatch movie? In the wake of 21 Jump Street (and maybe Dukes of Hazard prior to that?) the idea of a big screen Baywatch movie seems like a treat, right? Granted that Jonah Hill/Channing Tatum spoof balanced the lampooning of its source material with being a legitimate and legitimately funny action/comedy it would seem that to apply that same formula to Baywatch would, at the very least, be a lot of fun if not obviously derivative. The possibility of this type of board room mentality where one thing works to great success so obviously it should be repeated until the general public is fed up with the trend would seem all the more likely to work in favor of a property like Baywatch when you factor in that Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson is starring and producing. Johnson is easily the most beloved movie stars on the planet at the moment and whatever he decides to invest his time in his fans will undoubtedly see-add to that mix the tried and true R-rated comedy buddy that currently is Zac Efron and you have a winning combo, right? Efron, along with Johnson, provide eye candy for the ladies as Alexandra Daddario, Kelly Rohrbach, and Ilfenesha Hadera do the same for the guys (or whatever you're into, no judgement here) with the overall point being: there would seemingly be something attractive to everyone in Baywatch-especially as we immerse ourselves in the summer movie season and summer in and of itself where cases of beach fever are running rampant. Unfortunately, it seems the thought process behind the Baywatch movie was more in the vein of, "What else do we need? We have The Rock and Zac Efron! Let's just point the camera and shoot!" Baywatch is four minutes short of being an unnecessary two hours long and while everyone involved likely doesn't see an issue with this as they seemingly had a lot of fun making the movie (stay through the credits to see outtakes more fun than much of the movie) the final product viewers actually receive is very much a compilation of what that aforementioned board room thought would work rather than anything resembling an inspired idea.

Official Trailer for BAYWATCH

We've been seeing trailers for the reboot of Baywatch since early in December, but as the warmer weather finally begins to set in and the summer movie season inches ever closer it's beginning to make a lot more sense why we may not necessarily need a reboot of Baywatch, but why this thing was obviously greenlit. In what is seemingly a mix of the Jump Street movies and Bad Boys with Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson and Zac Efron taking on the buddy cop archetypes, except they're lifeguards...get it? They think they're cops, but they're only lifeguards. While the trailer again wears this joke thin in it's appreciated, but overcompensating self-awareness there is enough other fun chemistry and good laughs to go around here for me to totally be game. Directed by Seth Gordon, whose initial Horrible Bosses felt edgy and was great, the guy has somewhat turned into a director-for-hire when it comes to comedy as he's helmed several sitcoms as well as the forgettable Four Christmases and Identity Thief (he also made the documentary The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters which I've heard is solid, but never saw). That's not to say the project is doomed to be generic, but more that The Rock probably had a hand in hiring this guy who was reliable and could competently execute what he wanted this reboot he was spearheading to be without putting up a fight. It makes sense and as long as someone has a vision I'm not going to be too doubtful. It's clear The Rock, who is very obviously a smart businessman and producer, saw untapped potential here in today's market of brand recognition and nostalgia-fueled spending and has taken attractive elements to bring as much together. This looks like a fun, Memorial Day weekend movie and I'm sure that will be exactly what it is. Baywatch stars Priyanka Chopra, Alexandra Daddarrio, Kelly Rohrbach, Jon Bass, Hannibal Buress, Rob Huebel, and opens on May 26th, 2017.