Netflix’s The Main Event is the best kind of kid movie

On paper, a Netflix wrestling film from WWE Studios doesn’t look like it’d be something greater than a showcase for wrestling strikes and WWE superstars. However via intelligent subversions of drained kid-movie tropes and an entire lot of coronary heart, The Predominant Occasion stands out as one of the genuinely endearing titles on the platform. From tv director Jay Karas, whose earlier work consists of episodes of Superstore and Workaholics, The Predominant Occasion is a surprisingly refreshing debut.

The film follows 11-year-old Leo (Seth Carr), a wrestling superfan who’s coping with college bullies, an overworked father (Adam Pally), and an absent mom. After discovering a magic luchador masks, he enters a WWE contest that simply occurs to be happening in his small generic suburban city. (No less than the movie lampshades this exceptional coincidence.) The idea of a child getting magical powers that assist him escape his mundane life isn’t something new, however The Predominant Occasion stands out by avoiding overplayed clichés and specializing in the emotional message.

Picture: Netflix / Bettina Strauss

For one factor, Leo is a reasonably savvy protagonist. As a wrestling superfan, he is aware of the ins and outs of the WWE. As a child who reads fantasy books like Rick Riordan’s Percy Jackson sequence and its spinoffs, he is aware of find out how to navigate his new supernatural talents. As a substitute of being completely bewildered by the masks and its powers, he places it via a reverse Google picture search, and manages to seek out an previous information story revealing a few of its secrets and techniques.

And the movie skips different widespread plot units, too. No less than considered one of Leo’s lecturers really believes that the college bullies are being jerks, and sends them to the principal’s workplace. Misunderstandings that may often make up the majority of a kid-geared film are smoothed out comparatively shortly, permitting extra deal with the true conflicts — Leo grappling along with his mom’s departure, his wavering vanity, and his tense relationship along with his father.

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Juggling that many plot factors typically wears every barely skinny, however as a result of they’re all interconnected, they culminate in a satisfying decision. Leo’s insecurity in his life and at school, alongside along with his father’s distance, stem from his mom leaving them. Their tense relationship comes from his father’s refusal to speak about it — and likewise the truth that his father is juggling two jobs to repay their mortgage. These relationships and conflicts weave cohesively with the gimmick of Leo coming into the wrestling contest, grounding the in any other case wacky plot in one thing actual.

As an excellent magical wrestler, Leo will get a deeper voice, super-strength, and most significantly, confidence. It’s like 1994’s The Masks in that manner, since this magical masks provides Leo the gumption to be an enhanced, cooler model of himself. And as with The Masks, the top message is clearly that he doesn’t want this masks to be the individual he desires to be. In fact, although The Predominant Occasion indulges in outlandish feats of magical energy and tacky particular results like The Masks, the final word supply is extra family-friendly, with a deal with Leo repairing household and friendship bonds, and being true to himself.

Picture: Netflix / Bettina Strauss

Leo’s buddies are admittedly a bit one-note, and the performing on the children’ elements veers a bit stiff. However Leo’s friendship along with his crush Erica (Momona Tamada) blossoms naturally as he figures out find out how to be himself round her with out using his magic masks. One of the best a part of the solid is Leo’s grandmother, performed by Tichina Arnold, who serves as his mentor determine all through the film — a gregarious, wrestling-loving mentor who brazenly gushes about her crush on WWE celebrity Kofi Kingston. Leo navigates his difficult relationship along with his father, however having his grandmother each as an anchor and a supply of comedy provides his familial relationships extra dimension.

The Predominant Occasion has its justifiable share of over-the-top wrestling theatrics. To safe a slot within the large event, Leo and the opposite contestants compete at duties like strolling on wires and throwing barrels. The event matches themselves are deliciously grandiose, with little regard for logic. Watching tiny Leo face off towards bulked-up opponents is humorous, however there’s additionally gleeful infantile satisfaction in seeing his confidence construct as he faces more durable and more durable opponents. It’s a staple of films like Spy Children, which bask in outlandish, outsized fantasy, however extra importantly, permit children to see themselves as heroes.

Leo’s wrestling profession folds seamlessly into his private struggles. Permitting the zanier points of the film to mix with the extra grounded ones transcends the film from a cute good time to one thing with emotional resonance. The Predominant Occasion manages to be one of the best sort of child film, one which neatly avoids style pitfalls and manages to say one thing important — whereas limiting itself to just one gratuitous fart joke.

The Predominant Occasion is streaming on Netflix now.

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