By It is always fun to see an actor go against type in an extreme fashion, particularly when it comes to comedy actors who rarely step out of their wheelhouse. That is part of the appeal when it comes to Becky, as it takes the cuddly comedic figure of Paul Blart Mall Cop himself Kevin James, and flips it on his head, turning him into a grizzled, bearded Neo-Nazis with a short fuse. While that may be the initial appeal going into Becky, it is likely you will come away from it being more impressed with its teenage star Lulu Wilson, who comes in and tears the whole thing to shreds in a comically gory fashion.
Angry and grief-stricken Becky is finding it hard to move forward following her mother’s death one year ago, while her Dad (Joel McHale) seems to be ready to move on. When Becky reluctantly takes a trip to the lakehouse from her childhood with her Dad and his new girlfriend, Kayla (Amanda Brugel) and her son Ty (Isaiah Rockcliffe), things take an unexpected turn with the arrival of a group of escaped convicts. Led by the ruthless Dominick (Kevin James), Becky’s Dad, Kayla and Ty are taken hostage, while she manages to escape to the woods. It is now up to Becky to save the day.
On the surface of it, Becky looks set to be a Die Hard type action flick, where Becky looks to use her anger in an effort to save her family from a group of evildoers, using the situation to exorcise her grief and hit the refresh button on the relationships in her life. A one teenage girl army, where the bad guys are on her turf, and she uses her wits and limited resources to maximum effect. However, it soon becomes clear that this isn’t quite the case. Becky isn’t John McClane, she’s more Jason Voorhees.
Full review over at Filmhounds Magazine, originally published September 25th 2020.
Andrew Gaudion 