Incoming (2024) review

Benj (Mason Thames) and his buddies Eddie (Ramon Reed), Connor (Raphael Alejandro) and Danah (Bardia Seiri) are starting their freshman year of high school and trying to make a positive impression on everyone, so when Danah's older brother Kayvon (Kayvan Shai) throws a huge party, Benj tries to impress sophomore Bailey (Isabella Ferreira) - meanwhile, Eddie and Connor "borrow" a Tesla and "accidentally" pick up popular girl Katrina (Loren Gray), who makes a mess inside the vehicle.  As a Superbad knock-off it's missing the big laughs (and memorable dialogue) even though the cast is cheery and seem to be having a good time - the Chernin brothers (who wrote and directed this) are primarily known for their work in television (It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia and The Mick), which shows in the sitcom-level setups: if anything, this should have been a series instead of a barely-there feature film.  But what I really want to know is what's going on in the mind of emotionally-stunted science teacher Mr. Studebaker (Bobby Cannavale) showing up at a gathering full of teenagers (and humiliating himself): that's not the way to have fun.