R-Rated Netflix Comedy Proves Raunchy Humor Is Alive And Well

By Robert Scucci
| Published 1 hour ago

Though I’m well past the age of regularly seeking out a raunchy coming-of-age comedy, I still like to know what’s out there. As a musician, I want to know what the kids are getting into because it’s the easiest way to follow trends and keep your finger on the pulse (grunge and shoegaze is back, baby!). As a movie fan, and also a parent, I want that same awareness because with so many media touch points these days, you need to know when to restrict content and when to provide guidance. Luckily, my kids are years off from high school, so I don’t have to worry about them watching 2024’s Incoming any time soon.

Why would I be worried about my kids watching Incoming, you ask? Remember the raunchy teen comedies we had in the early aughts? Some guy bangs a pie, another guy puts a rat in his mouth. It’s crude, but knows when to censor itself. As a 13-year-old, I thought that was the be-all, end-all of lowbrow comedy, but just like beer, whacko tobacco, and how much shame we’re willing to collectively process on a daily basis, the potency perpetually increases as time marches forward. Incoming is peak R-rated fodder and kind of a disgrace when you compare it to the raunchy comedies of yesteryear. But that’s also what makes it so fun.

Long story short, when my kids are old enough to watch R-rated movies on their own, I’m not going to read them the riot act if Incoming is one of them. But if they scroll through my recently watched list on Netflix, I’ll probably be sleeping on the couch for the foreseeable future.

Typical High School Party Plot Dialed To 11

Incoming centers on a group of high school freshmen, and it benefits from splitting them up during their first official house party. Benj (Mason Thames), Eddie (Ramon Reed), Connor (Raphael Alejandro), and Koosh (Bardia Seiri) all get their moments to shine, but their motivations are wildly different, which sends them on very different adventures.

Benj is in love with his older sister’s friend Bailey (Isabella Ferreira) and wants to make a move. Eddie and Connor are the wet blankets who just want to hang out like the good old days. Koosh’s older brother, Kayvon (Kayvan Shai), is throwing the rager, and Koosh wants to prove he’s more than just the rich kid with the cool older brother.

It’s time to party, and this is where Incoming starts to heat up. I had my reservations early on because it felt like it was building toward the usual teen movie beats of substance abuse and running from the cops. Like an updated version of Can’t Hardly Wait. Once the group gets split up, though, that’s when things click.

When Koosh is told by Kayvon that he can only let one friend in, Benj jumps at the opportunity to get closer to Bailey. Benj sticking around gives us a look at the chaos of the party itself.

Koosh, whose parents are absurdly rich, has a hidden surveillance room where he spies on every guest. He uses it to figure out who to flirt with despite having zero game. He sets his sights on Gabrielle (Victoria Moroles) and tries to seduce her in his parents’ spa. Meanwhile, Benj takes a more sincere approach, though he’s still too afraid to be himself in that kind of setting, so he plays it cool.

The B Plot Outplots The A Plot

If everything above sounds like enough to keep you watching Incoming, you haven’t even gotten to the best part. The movie’s real MVP is the B story involving Eddie and Connor.

Bored because they didn’t get into the party, they steal Eddie’s mom’s boyfriend’s Tesla and go for a joyride. They swing by the party to check things out, and that’s when Katrina (Loren Gray), the most popular girl in school, mistakes their car for her Uber. She’s well past the point of being reasonably trashed.

After demolishing an ungodly amount of Taco Bell, she creates her own version of Cheesy Fiesta Potatoes all over the back seat (read: explosive diarrhea). What follows is one of the most traumatic experiences of their young lives. Do they ditch her at a fire station covered in her own filth, or do they step up and do the honorable thing by hosing her off in hazmat suits?

Back at the party, recurring bits with their chemistry teacher Mr. Studebaker (Bobby Cannavale) keeps things interesting. Going through a messy divorce and trying to reconnect with his youth, he drinks everyone under the table and becomes the legend of the night, one questionable decision at a time.

So Much Fun, But You Have To Be Primed For It

I’m 37 years old. I don’t seek out movies like Incoming because I’m not in high school or college. Watching it through that lens, it’s nothing special because I grew up on Freddy Got Fingered and Road Trip. That said, I’m genuinely glad movies like Incoming and 2018’s The Package are still being made. Sneaking movies like this when you’re a teenager is a rite of passage.

Have I ever been to a party or road trip like the ones in these movies? Not even close. But that’s the point. These films are harmless wish fulfillment for kids who love gross-out humor and watching a bunch of losers get in way over their heads trying to get laid. It’s good, dumb fun.

I’m not going to shout from the rooftops that everyone needs to see this because I’m not the target audience. But I will recommend it to anyone convinced the raunchy teen comedy is dead. If you need proof, you can stream Incoming on Netflix.