Day Shift review: Jamie Foxx is made for the vampire-hunting business

3/5

Bud Jablonski was not designed for protocols, which is exactly why the committee he used to hunt vampires for had shown him 'that' door. Logical or not, Jamie Foxx could make just about anything work. Day Shift is a classic example of that observation.

You know the titillating sensation when an established star you always root for takes on a role that is batshit crazy and delivers a flick somewhat digestible? Jamie Foxx' vampire-hunting Day Shift is that.

Loud and proud, Bud Jablonski (Jamie Foxx) is a pool cleaner who's got a nagging wife he is separated from and a lovely daughter that needs to be fed, sent to school and given proper dental care (the last bit is an actual conflict in the movie, guys). So, keeping his pride aside, Bud reconsiders joining the vampire-hunting union that had once thrown him out for his questionable professional choices. To pull a few strings for a dear friend, in comes the womanising, cowboy-vibe-exuding Big John (Snoop Dogg) and helps Bud earn some extra bucks as: A) He is always hard-pressed for money, and B) Bud is bloody good at hunting those vamps!

If it isn't evident already, Foxx embodies blue-collar sensibilities like a duck takes to water: chaos, commotion and oodles of outlandishness? Bring it on, the actor implies. Sucking (yes, sucking and NOT feeding) off his energy is the OG of individuality, Snoop Dogg. If it weren't for these two, Day Shift would have been The Room of action-comedy.

Timed at 1 hour and 54 minutes, Day Shift's obviously in great hurry to introduce a hilarious beginning, a plausible middle and tie-up-all-loose-ends-just-in-time end. And so, it moves at a thundering speed, only stopping occasionally for familial comfort and scenes dedicated to the aforementioned stars. We do not have a problem with the film being in haste, we have a problem with it being hastily made.

Debuting as a director after years of work in the action department, director J.J. Perry's action sequences are, quite understandably, incredible to watch. He makes an effort to keep the wacky essence of the movie intact, with minimal importance given to polishing the material at hand.

Foxx is in his element, but Fox is always in his element. And Dogg complements the Oscar-winning actor's penchant for timing and smooth landings the way a full-time musician and part-time actor could: clean, not brilliant. Franco Junior is naturally not the USP of the movie but is a good third-wheeling bud to Bud.

Day Shift will not make sense to a lot of people. It was not supposed to, and that's the whole point.

All the Jamie Foxx fans in the house, go watch it for the shtick he pulls!