The Underdoggs is not a new story, but it is the funnest version of it that we have seen in a long time. Snoop Dogg is expectedly natural, but it is the supporting cast around him, especially the kids, who have the audience glued to the screen. The following is a summary and ending of The Underdoggs.
Spoiler Alert
Why does Jaycen Jennings coach the team?
Jaycen Jennings was once a superstar in football, but in the present day, he is one of the most hated celebrities around. He had an almost meteoric rise to the big leagues, and he ruled the roost for many years before his eventual downfall. The reason is described as follows: when one reaches the highest point there is, the only place left to go is down. Jaycen is comfortably settled, but he wants to get back in the game. He cannot play, but he wants to be one of the commentators. However, his terrible reputation is getting in the way of that, and the meager podcast he runs doesn’t help much. One day, when Jaycen gets into an accident due to over speeding, he is sentenced by the judge to put in three hundred hours of community service, which lands him in the playground where a bunch of kids are playing very badly. Jaycen is initially not interested in the team, but his friend gives him an idea that could potentially turn things around. If Jaycen can coach the kids and get them to win a football match, then he would be helping the underdogs, which would improve his reputation. Additionally, it may also help him with Cherise Evans, Jaycen’s ex-girlfriend and the mother of one of the kids (Tre) on the team. With this plan in mind, Jaycen negotiates with the judge and changes his community service duties from cleaning to coaching. Nevertheless, he is met with suspicion by everyone. Nobody believes that he is there with an altruistic motive. They don’t have a coach, so there is no other option except Jaycen; however, he is unable to command the respect that he needs to be their role model.
Jaycen meets his old coach and talks about the days when he was just starting out. That gives Jaycen the idea to treat the kids as something in their own right instead of a way to accomplish his personal goals. That is the start of Jaycen’s real coaching journey. Children are sensitive to the most hidden feelings, even if they can’t identify or express them, and with a shift in Jaycen’s attitude, they become more responsive to him.
How does Jaycen coach the team?
For the longest time, Jaycen has been questioning why he is so hated by everyone. He gets the answer when he is at the job. Tre is not a team player. He tries to do everything by himself because Tre doesn’t trust or respect the other members, and this hampers the chances of the entire team. Looking at him, Jaycen realizes that he used to be the same way. He had become so self-obsessed that he never acknowledged that he was still part of a team, and that is why everyone had come to hate him so much. Jaycen tells this to Tre, and the kid takes the lesson and smartens up. Meanwhile, the other kids also have struggles of their own. One of them is a Game of Thrones fan, and he is picked on by everyone for being a ‘nerd.’ Jaycen tells the kid to channel his inner ‘Drogon’ and bring the required fierceness into the game. Yet another kid always hides behind a helmet, and it turns out that it was a girl all along. When her secret is revealed, she is met with applause because the women are happy to see her play. There is yet another kid who is embarrassed about living in a trailer park, but Jaycen tells him to own up to it. Finally, one of the kids was lying about being in a math club, and Jaycen taught him to stand up to his parents confidently. While teaching the kids the game, he is also teaching them to be authentic and learning the lessons himself, which is turning the public opinion in his favor step by step.
Do the Underdoggs Win the Game?
The Underdoggs are close to their championship game, which is when Jaycen receives the news he has been waiting for this whole time. He has landed the job of a commentator on Fox Channel, and he had to start on Sunday. However, this was the day of the championship game, and he would have to miss it. This is a disappointment since he would be abandoning the kids, something he had taught them to fight against this whole time. On the day of the championship, Jaycen is welcomed to his new job, but he realizes that he can’t do it, so he just walks away from there. He goes to the game, where everybody is surprised to see him, and Jaycen admits that they are his real family, which is why he is with them.
The game starts, and the underdogs are doing poorly. They are against a team coached by Chip Collins, Jaycen’s arch-enemy, and the referee is someone they accidentally hurt in the first game, which is why he hates the team right now. After a disappointing first half, as the kids wonder what to do, Tre encourages them to not give up in the face of difficulties when this is what they have known all their lives. The kids get back into their old uniforms and march out into the field, their spirits high and ready for a game where they give it their all.
During The Underdoggs‘ ending, the score finally picks up when they decide to go for a ‘trick play’ in the final leg. While the team gives tough competition to the opposing team, they are unable to win. But the team takes it in good spirits. As Jaycen says, one loss doesn’t define a career or a life. It is the attitude that matters, and for the underdogs, failures just fuel the fire for greater success, so the team is more than fine despite having lost. As for Jaycen himself, if someone livestreams the game, his popularity will ensure that he gets invited back to the job. Otherwise, Jaycen has found something he loves anyway, so his life is also fine.
Final Thoughts
The Underdoggs is one of the best ways to repeat a cliche and is a thoroughly entertaining ride. This is how you take a done-to-death story and make it as fun as it can be. Any doubts over its entertainment value can be dispelled, and this movie deserves a watch.
