Actor Gabriel Luna already has a few iconic roles under his belt, including Robbie Reyes the Ghost Rider from “Agents of SHIELD” and the Rev-9 from “Terminator: Dark Fate.” But now he stars in “The Last of Us” as Tommy, the brother of Pedro Pascal’s lead character Joel. Outside of his more recognized roles, Luna has appeared on hit shows like “Prison Break,” “True Detective,” and “NCIS: Los Angeles.” Unfortunately, his track record on film isn’t quite as prestigious. One he might wish could be swept under the rug is “Balls Out,” a 2014 sports comedy.
Though the film was led by Jake Lacy, its supporting cast is filled out by “Saturday Night Live” veterans like Beck Bennett, Kate McKinnon, and Jay Pharoah, in addition to Luna. The film centers on a nervous jock unprepared to graduate and face the real world. Instead, he decides to reassemble his old intramural flag football team for one last shot at whatever kind of glory an amateur team could achieve (hint: not much).
A deeply unfunny slapstick sports movie that plays like a mediocre “SNL” sketch, there’s hardly a handful of laughs to be had. Though it does seem to be poking fun at itself here and there, that’s kind of the problem, as it starts to come off as a parody or spoof movie rather than a legitimate attempt at comedy, and ultimately fails at both.
