Movie review by Greg Carlson

A welcome addition to the teen canon’s virginity-loss-quest subgenre, “Blockers” is a confident feature directing debut for multi-talented screenwriter/producer/performer Kay Cannon, previously best known for her work on “30 Rock” and the “Pitch Perfect” series. Smoothly mixing the hallmarks of bawdy situational humiliations and of-the-moment slang/profanity with the earnestness and sentimentality of many an afterschool special, Cannon does not need to clear a particularly high bar — but “Blockers” turns out to be mostly funny and sweet.

Lisa (Leslie Mann), Mitch (John Cena), and Hunter (Ike Barinholtz) are parents to a trio of childhood best friends now approaching the conclusion of high school. An on-a-whim pact made by Julie (Kathryn Newton), Kayla (Geraldine Viswanathan), and Sam (Gideon Adlon) to engage in prom night sex is discovered — the emoji and hashtag-heavy translation sequence in which the grown-ups figure it out is a highlight — and the desperate mama and papas rush to prevent any and all carnal relations. The subsequent action toggles between the foolhardy misadventures of the hapless protectors and the casual will-they-or-won’t-they turnarounds of the young women.

Nothing in “Blockers” is particularly innovative or unexpected, but several self-congratulatory articles, including Joanna Robinson’s “Vanity Fair” pieces, applaud the film’s handling of homosexuality, sex positivity, and affirmative consent. Robinson’s observations point to the incremental changes taking place within the studio system, but also serve as a reminder that for the time being, stories featuring central female characters consistently depicted with agency — especially in this genre — are the exception and not the rule.

Despite the big laughs and the big heart, “Blockers” does not hit a grand slam. Cannon errs on the safe side by spending a little more quality time with Mann, Cena, and Barinholtz during a crucial stretch when being with the kids would have added strength and depth to their characterizations. Even so, the director deftly handles a central theme that might have easily been lost: parents struggling to accept the impending adulthood and independence of their offspring and the looming reality of no longer being needed by their children in the same reassuring and familiar way.

That reality check shows up in a number of successful gags. Mitch may have the body of a professional fighter, but he cries easily and often. Hunter, a perpetual screw-up and embarrassment to Sam, is fully tuned-in to her fears and anxieties. Lisa, in a circumstance of supreme awkwardness that mirrors a nearly identical moment in “Why Him?,” realizes when it’s time to walk away and stop interfering. In parallel, the daughters make decisions of such responsibility that Manohla Dargis lamented the movie’s “aggressive squareness” and overall lack of freakiness/weirdness in her “New York Times” review.

I won’t disagree with the great Dargis, but I was satisfied by Cannon’s efforts large and small. Gary Cole and Gina Gershon roleplaying their own prom night fantasies top the heavily trailer-featured “butt chugging” ridiculousness. Viswanathan’s foulmouthed frankness works every time. Sarayu Blue, Hannibal Buress, June Diane Raphael, and Colton Dunn make the most of limited screen time. And the commitment of the film’s core sextet stays on target enough to imagine that “Blockers” will one day be remembered at least as fondly as “American Pie,” if not “Fast Times at Ridgemont High.”