Here Comes the Boom

Here Comes the Boom is currently streaming in Australia on Netflix, and in the US on Paramount Plus Essential and YouTube TV, and it delivers exactly the kind of comedy that earns a loyal following. The runtime earns every minute, with nothing here that feels like padding. 1,592 people have weighed in on TMDB, and the verdict leans heavily positive. Watch it for Kevin James — stay for everyone else around them. Put it on tonight on Netflix and see for yourself.

Whatever else is competing for your attention this week, Here Comes the Boom is worth clearing space for. Here Comes the Boom does what great comedies rarely manage — it is actually funny, consistently, across the whole run. A high school biology teacher moonlights as a mixed-martial arts fighter in an effort to raise money to save the school's music program. Kevin James and Salma Hayek Pinault lead a cast that brings real weight to the material. It was released in 2012. Here Comes the Boom earns its laughs from character rather than situation, which is why it does not wear thin the way pure farce tends to. There is real craft here, even in the moments that do not fully land.

For viewers who want something light without wanting something stupid, Here Comes the Boom respects your intelligence. It stands on its own even without an obvious comparison point. The complete film is available and best experienced without too much prior knowledge of where it goes. Kevin James's comic timing carries it through its weaker moments. The kind of comedy you recommend to someone who claims they do not watch much.