I would never have thought that a movie that combines elements of Mr. Holland’s Opus and Rocky could be so entertaining, even though I really like those two films. Here Comes the Boom is a funny and heartwarming mix of downtrodden school drama and mixed martial arts mayhem.  It doesn’t have many surprises, but it delivers exactly what it promises, and most movies don’t come close to doing that.

I credit the director, Frank Coraci, for the film’s high entertainment quotient.  Coraci helmed both of Adam Sandler’s best movies, The Wedding Singer and The Waterboy, and he knows that the best comedy comes from establishing story and character and then letting loose some form of controlled chaos.  As in those two other movies, much of the humor comes from the supporting cast.  Here, Henry Winkler (an alum from The Waterboy) and Bas Rutten (a former mixed martial arts champion) provide the laughs helping teacher Kevin James get into shape so he can earn money that his school desperately needs to keep extracurricular activities going.  Rutten, especially, is a hoot as Niko, a surprisingly sentimental personal trainer.

It also helps that James is so likable, whether it is his self-deprecating humor, his relentless (and perfectly understandable) romantic pursuit of the world’s hottest school nurse (Salma Hayek) or gently inspiring those around him.  The film has a great deal of heart, which may bother some cynics in the audience, but which I found enchanting.  It’s a feel-good movie in the best sense of the term, although the brutal beatings that Kevin James repeatedly takes in the cage produce more cringes than smiles.  This is the kind of movie that Adam Sandler used to make; it is his company, Happy Madison Productions, that actually made it, and it is the kind of movie that Sandler should return to.  It is a winning formula when done well, and Here Comes the Boom is done very well.   ☆ ☆ ☆.  22 October 2012.