Calhoun alums pen new comedy 'Blockers'

The highly anticipated new film “Blockers” has its roots in Merrick, where its co-writers, Jim and Brian Kehoe, grew up and attended Calhoun High School.

Starring John Cena and Leslie Mann, the film follows three parents on a mission to stop their daughters from having sex on prom night. Reviews have likened it to the 2007 film “Superbad,” and film critics have hailed it for gender-bending the raunchy teen comedy genre.

Deana Larkin, who graduated from Calhoun with Brian Kehoe in 1992, said she was amazed to see her friend’s name attached to the film, because the Kehoes have never boasted about their work. “They’re so bashful and humble about everything,” Larkin said. “Meanwhile, they’ve worked with icons over the years.”

After graduating from Calhoun, the Kehoes began careers unrelated to film before eventually deciding to follow their passion and move to Los Angeles. They worked on the crews of numerous productions before Jim directed, and he and Brian co-wrote, a 2005 film called “Overachievers,” which featured Gary Busey.

Two years later, the brothers worked on a short film called “Voicemail,” and, most recently, they directed another short called “The Comments,” which was released in November 2015 and starred Paul Scheer.

“In high school, Brian was always bringing humor to any situation,” said Paul Paretta, also a Calhoun alumnus of 1992, adding that the “Blockers” trailer alone exhibits the same sense of humor Brian had in high school, when he was the age of the film’s protagonists.

Larkin and Paretta plan to attend the premiere of “Blockers” at Merrick Cinemas on April 5. Through Facebook, they connected with roughly 60 other alumni and friends of the Kehoes who will attend the screening.

“They’ve been making us laugh almost our entire lives,” Larkin said, “and they’re still going strong.”

These days, both Kehoes are married and have children. Larkin said that the story they tell in “Blockers” touches on this, as it pokes fun at the family dynamic, with Cena’s and Mann’s characters jumping through hoops to protect their daughters. She also commended the film for going against traditional female stereotypes, and said that Brian has always supported such messages.

The film is directed by Kay Cannon, who is known for the female-fronted films “Pitch Perfect” “Girlboss” and “How to Be Single,” and its producers include Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg.

“Blockers” currently has an 88 percent “fresh” rating on the film review aggregating website Rotten Tomatoes. It opens in theaters nationwide on Friday.

— Erik Hawkins contributed to this story.