Review for The Chaperone

The Chaperone is not a perfect film by any means, but sue me I liked it. It didn't try and be a big blockbuster action film, it didn't try and be a Woody Allen film; it knew exactly what type of film it was and delivered. It is very rare that I heap praise on a film made by WWE and though I doubt you will watch this over and over, if you want a break away from the bodyslams and headlocks this film might be just what you need to fill that gap.WWE Superstar Triple H stars as Ray Bradstone who has just spent time in jail after he was caught during a bank robbery. Getting out he has decided to go straight and try and get back in the life of his daughter Sally played by Modern Family's Ariel Winter. However, on the outside he finds that having a criminal record makes it very difficult to find a job and so he falls back in with his old gang and agrees to one final job. When he gets there he changes his mind and instead finds himself the chaperone for his daughter's field trip. Feeling they were double-crossed for a variety of reasons, the gang hunts Ray all over New Orleans. This leads to a wacky cat and mouse comedy of miscommunication, misdirection and Miss Miller (I ran out of miss's) played wonderfully by the voice of Lisa Simpson Yeardley Smith. The Chaperone is surprisingly one of the few films created by WWE that isn't actually utterly horrible. With a string of films that didn't quite hit their mark (Knucklehead, See No Evil, The Marine) here is a film that set out to be a screwball family comedy and actually delivers on that. Sure the film is no masterpiece and I would be lying if I said it was, but this film has a nostalgic kick to it that reminds of films made in the 1980s like Police Academy, Kindergarten Cop and so on. Director Stephen Herek, who was responsible for some classic comedies like Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure and 101 Dalmatians, seemed to understand how to show simple comedy to an audience. By simple I don't mean that the comedy is stupid like Knucklehead, but works because it is subtle and doesn't try and ram home a joke that maybe only two or three people would find funny anyway. The other reason it works is that the actors feel more in sync with one another. Triple H makes a great lead in the vein of a Schwarzenegger in his Twins period and his humour and charisma comes across perfectly. He is supported by a wonderful cast that are able get the best out of the material presented. As I say, this isn't The Hangover or Life of Brian, but there are enough moments that left me smiling and I can't think of any previous WWE film that did this. The DVD comes packed with extras including a commentary, blooper reel, music video for an original song by Ariel Winter, spotlight on Triple H and Ariel Winter's video diary. It is surprising that there is no proper behind the scenes documentary, but the commentary and additional features more than make up for it. One of the more interesting things is a preview for the next WWE film That's What I Am that features Academy Award Nominee Ed Harris and WWE Superstar Randy Orton. This actually looks like a pretty good film and I hope that WWE release this one properly and don't just release it direct to DVD like this one.