Blockers

It hardly feels like progress for gender equity when Blockers seems to exist only to prove that raunchy teen sex comedies can feature female protagonists as well as their libidinous male classmates.

You wish the directorial debut of screenwriter Kay Cannon (Pitch Perfect) used this fresh perspective to find new ways to navigate prom-night chaos. Yet this lighthearted glimpse at parental double standards regarding high schoolers losing their virginity — essentially a gender-reversed Porky’s — merely fills in the gaps with a broad and low-brow combination of one-liners and sight gags.

Typically, of course, such films portray teenage boys in search of a hook-up or conquest. This distinctly contemporary story focuses on a diverse trio of girls, specifically BFFs Julie (Kathryn Newton), Sam (Gideon Adlon), and Kayla (Geraldine Viswanathan).

Julie decides that prom night is the perfect opportunity to consummate her relationship with her boyfriend (Graham Phillips), something she reveals to her friends as a pact. They decide to join her quest on a whim.

Of course, they don’t reveal any of this to their overbearing parents — Lisa (Leslie Mann), Mitchell (John Cena), and Hunter (Ike Barinholtz) — who try desperately to be cool, but wind up clueless. They misuse air quotes and can’t decipher emojis, and when they catch wind of the cherry-popping agenda, they launch a desperate team effort to protect their daughters at all costs.

The subsequent misadventures include an introduction to “butt-chugging,” which is a gross frat-party trick tailor-made for viral-video hopefuls to emulate.

The screenplay struggles to stretch a one-joke premise to feature length, providing an uninspired exploration of empty-nest syndrome in the social-media age. Other than some scattered big laughs, the labored concept plays out in predictable fashion, with little subtlety or surprise as its mayhem funnels into a feel-good message of mutual understanding between kids and parents.

There’s little character depth supplied for the teens or the adults, although the young actors generate an appealing chemistry. In fact, the film fares best when the focus remains on the mischievous girls instead of the obnoxious title characters.

However, despite its freewheeling vibe and moderately clever title, the film never feels grounded and its girl-power implications are watered down. As a result, Blockers goes limp.

Rated R, 102 minutes.