Netflix’s ‘The Sleepover’ Puts Family-Friendly Fun Into Its Action-Packed Adventure 

Alci Rengifo

“The Sleepover ” is all gags and party atmosphere. It’s a fantasy for both kids and adults. Nothing is to be taken seriously in this film, except the zesty performances by a skilled cast. Netflix is churning these out these time-killing entertainments like candy. But when done well you can’t truly fault them. At its best this latest offering becomes a popcorn take on that part of us as kids that wished our families would be a bit more interesting.

Middle schooler Kevin (Maxwell Simkins) is that one kid in class the teacher always rolls her eyes at, because he has a tendency to spin elaborate stories obviously not true. During a class presentation he makes his father’s biography sound a little too close to “The Martian.” Kevin’s a goofball, who gets caught on camera during elaborate dance moves in the school bathroom. At home he lives with his parents, the rather dorky Glen (Ken Marino) and mother Margot (Malin Akerman), who is so overprotective, she forbids Kevin’s sister, Clancy (Sadie Stanley), to have a phone. Clancy hopes to enroll at a summer music program. She is an excellent cellist but is unsure of herself. The night Kevin has a sleepover with his friend, and Clancy plans to sneak off to a party, two trained thieves burst into the house to kidnap Margot. It turns out mom has a secret past. Long ago she was a kind of super thief, now her old comrades want her to come along and steal a highly valuable crown. 

“The Sleepover” can best be enjoyed as an action family movie. They don’t make much of those these days. It never pushes to extremes, has a lot of lively humor and is self-aware enough to laugh at itself. Director Trish Sie is used to composing exuberance. Her previous work includes “Pitch Perfect 3” and “Step Up All In.” These are the kind of movies you find in someone’s guilty pleasure shelf, but “The Sleepover” works better than those on a purely popcorn level. It isn’t quite “Spy Kids,” but it has the goofball energy of movies like “Agent Cody Banks.” Suburban moms turn out to have killer karate skills, lavish balls get infiltrated, and siblings learn to get along while engaging in high speed chases. 

What also makes the film have some charm is how the screenplay by Sarah Rothschild has a lot of genuine humor in it. At the beginning Glen and Margot are two genuinely embarrassing parents, the kind that inadvertently leave their kids no choice but to be outsiders. When Kevin’s best friend, Lewis (Lucas Jaye), gets dropped off for the sleepover, Lewis’s mom warns he still pees the bed. Being overly friendly, Glen mentions he does too sometimes. Lewis provides some great laughs for the rest of the film, or if interjecting during action scenes or scheming moments to ask if something might give him allergies, and if safety protocols are being met, while flashing a laminated card that lists all of his allergies. Cree Cicchino also brings a fun presence to her role as Mim, Clancy’s supportive best friend who brushes bullies off. Other sections of the movie use the plot for hilarious commentaries on marriage. Among Margot’s returning band of thieves is Leo (Joe Manganiello), her ex from wilder times. This of course taps into Glen’s insecurities, since he’s a nerdy guy with glasses and Leo looks like every buffed stereotype you find in an action movie. This leads to great bits about Glen trying to avoid sea sickness, complaining about Leo having perfect suits for himself ready before a mission, while he gets stuck with the oversized cut. Can he even be sure Margot’s real name is Margot? If this marriage can survive a night of heists and false identities, it can withstand anything.

Sie films the gags and action with gusto and a style that makes this a comfortable PG-13 viewing. There are big explosions and fight scenes. Margot and Leo taking on adversaries can get really intense. But it never becomes gratuitous. This movie is more about laughing than sitting at the edge of your seat. Everyone has perfect timing in their deliveries, especially Maxwell Simkins who was born to play this likeable kid we pity and root for. 

“The Sleepover” takes the kind of daydream any bored kid with an overactive imagination indulges in, and turns it into a fun 1 hour and 43 minutes. It doesn’t overstay its welcome and it doesn’t take itself too seriously. A movie like this finds that tricky balance of delivering more heart than explosives.

“The Sleepover” begins streaming Aug. 21 on Netflix.