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“As vulgar as it is and as the language is…if you really just pay attention to the meaning and the message in this movie, it’s family.”
Snoop Dogg as Jaycen “Two Js” in ‘The Underdoggs.’
Wilford Harewood/MGM
Being an underdog makes for a rewarding story of tenacity and triumph, but when Snoop Dogg coaches you to the finish line, the road to redemption is full of laughter. In the newly premiered The Underdoggs, the West Coast rapper stars as Jaycen “Two Js” Jennings, a washed-up ex-professional football star who has hit rock bottom.
With his love interest Cherise played by Tika Sumpter, right-hand man Kareem portrayed by Mike Epps, and a boisterous agent played by Kal Penn, Two Js has the right people on his side to potentially change his outlook on life. Add in a colorful crew of children and The Underdoggs are ready to take the field.
(L to R) Snoop Dogg as Jaycen “Two Js” Jennings and Tika Sumpter as Cherise in director Charles Stone III‘s THE UNDERDOGGS. An Amazon MGM Studios film
Photo credit: Wilford Harewood © 2024 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures Inc. All Rights Reserved
The R-rated comedy boasts endless laughs but isn’t absent of heartfelt moments and honest conversations. While there is a child nicknamed “Titties” (and as much profanity as Snoop Dogg’s debut album), director Charles Stone III ensured the story was equally crass and full of character.
“I think as a filmmaker, the things that are important to me in any story that I tell remains the same,” explained Stone to VIBE. “There being this balance of comedy and drama is something important to me. Whether it’s Drumline (2002) or Uncle Drew (2018), or The Underdoggs there [is] a real heart…an emotional center. It has to have a moral base underneath.”
With additional on-screen appearances from George Lopez, Kandi Burruss, Luis R. Hernandez, and Schelle Purcell, The Underdoggs teaches the importance of community, whether it’s through court-ordered service or not.
(L to R) Kal Penn as Ryan Kauffman and Snoop Dogg as Jaycen “Two Js” Jennings in director Charles Stone III’s THE UNDERDOGGS. An Amazon MGM Studios film
Photo credit: Wilford Harewood © 2024 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures Inc. All Rights Reserved.
“For me, the big takeaway is to always remember where you come from and that sense of community that we develop,” detailed Penn. “I went to a publicly funded arts magnet program outside of New York City, and I have immigrant parents who didn’t move to America with more than 20 bucks in their pocket. The idea that I would have access to something like that is only because of public funding for the arts, and it’s only because it was community-based.”
The Doggystyle rapper shared similar sentiments as Penn, detailing how the raunchy film has an earnest core.
“Family is everything. If you notice, when you get to the most poignant part of the movie, he [2 Js] has to reflect back to family and it makes him laugh but he’s not laughing. He’s actually crying because he was denying his family for so long. As vulgar as it is and as the language is, if you really just pay attention to the meaning and the message in this movie, it’s family. That’s what we became.”
(L to R) Snoop Dogg as Jaycen “Two Js” Jennings and George Lopez as Coach Feis in director Charles Stone III’s THE UNDERDOGGS. An Amazon MGM Studios film
Photo credit: Jacob Kemp © 2024 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures Inc. All Rights Reserved.
“Yeah, the community is your family, your friends are your family…It’s who you make it. We’re all family,” chimed Sumpter.
Ultimately, Stone hopes the adults in the audience can see the movie’s deeper life lesson. “The importance of how we interact with children and how we care for them, and the idea that we can see ourselves in children [and] to always remind ourselves… a lot of times adults treat children like adults and they’re just kids.”
The Underdoggs is available to stream on Prime Video.
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