Credit: Netflix/Justina Mintz
Coffee and Kareem review: It’s safe to say that I approached the new Netflix original Coffee & Kareem with extreme caution. The movie came across as another generic kid and cop buddy movie in its promotional material, but there’s much more to this entertaining and often hilarious streaming original, including a brilliant performance from its young star Terrence Little Gardenhigh, GLOW star Betty Gilpin, the extremely talented Taraji P. Henson, and the always reliable Ed Helms.
The story centers on Helms’ John Coffee, a Hall & Oates-loving Detroit cop who is in a relationship with single mother Vanessa (Taraji P. Henson). When her son, 12-year-old Kareen finds out about their relationship, he plots to have him beat up by a well-known criminal. When that plan goes south and he ends up witnessing a brutal murder of a cop, he must team with his potential future stepfather to escape a ruthless gang of hoods on their tail and a group of bent coppers framing Coffee for the murder of one of their own.
Seemingly familiar plot aside, the film works because of its impressive script by Shane Mack who makes his feature screenwriting debut with the movie. In fact, some of the witty dialogue, fantastic one-liners, and beat-perfect interaction between the two main characters is reminiscent of the work of Lethal Weapon and The Last Boy Scout scribe Shane Black, and I often found myself giggling out loud at various points throughout. Sure, some of this dialogue borders on the cliche, and some jokes land better than others. The plot beats and music breaks grate a little, and its offensive language may deter some, but if you can get past this, there’s more than enough on offer to enjoy.
Helms is perfectly cast as the naive but well-intentioned cop, Coffee and there’s a wonderful turn from Betty Gilpin, even if her screen time is limited. Her one-liners are also brilliant crafted and delivered. For example, during one scene she delivers a line in a strip club ‘Get the fuck out of here – go home… work on your marriages,’ while emptying a revolver in the air. Henson is also a little underused, particularly through the middle chunk of the film where she is largely absent, but when she is around, she absolutely delivers.
A little predictable in terms of its plot, but that’s really not why we’re here. Coffee & Kareem is disposable, unmemorable stuff and completely over-the-top stuff, but also hugely enjoyable at the same time, gloriously, unapologetically R-rated and absolutely perfect for the format on which it was released.
Coffee & Kareem is now streaming on Netflix.
