The most interesting thing about this film is watching these four Saturday Night Live alumni as they hit middle age. SNL gave these young comics a chance to work on rebellious and sometimes edgy comedy and characters.  Yet here are these four in the most conventional of comedies. Did writers Adam Sandler and Fred Wolf craft a funny screenplay? Well, if you think jokes about breastfeeding, urine streams, farts and men injuring themselves are side splitting, this is the film for you.  The only redeeming thing about this film is the obvious chemistry between the leads. These guys are fun to watch and provide a few laughs. But the script is not that funny and not very interesting.

When their childhood basketball coach dies, Lenny (Adam Sandler), Eric (Kevin James), Kurt (Chris Rock), Marcus (David Spade) and Rob (Rob Schneider) reunite for the funeral and for a weekend in Lenny’s rustic old childhood getaway, which Lenny rents for the weekend. They bring their families and they bond. The grown up bullies from their childhood challenge them to a basketball game.  The friends learn a lesson about what is important in life.

The five main characters use one-liners as a means of communication.  They playfully insult each other and gossip about whoever is not there. See, even though the film is called Grown Ups, they really do not act like grownups at all. This point was made in a funnier and more intelligent way in the far superior Funny People (also starring Sandler). These characters are not particularly interesting or original. Lenny is a successful agent with a beautiful wife (Salma Hayek) and 2 spoiled children. Eric is overweight and pretending to be employed, and his wife Sally (Maria Bello in a thankless role) is still breast feeding their four year old child. Marcus is a womanizer without a girlfriend.  Kurt is the stay at home husband with a domineering wife (Maya Rudolph). The best character is Rob, a sensitive guy married to Gloria (Joyce Van Patten) a much older woman.

 The performances in Grown Ups are strongest in the scenes that feature most of the leads. What little humor there is in this film comes from the way the actors interact.  Sandler, Rock, Spade and Schneider have great timing as they finish each others’ sentences and seem to compete for the best joke. Kevin James does a good job of keeping up. Sandler is playing a character not as interesting as others he has played and Spade is his usual snotty self. I enjoyed seeing Chris Rock in a more passive and sweet role; it made his occasional barbs even funnier. Rob Schneider plays it straight as a new age guru type, and he actually made me laugh. His performance of Ave Marie and his kiss with wife Gloria were the only high points in the film. The talented females in this film are forced to play unlikable, uninteresting and unfunny characters. The female characters seem to be present here to set up jokes or to be the butt of jokes. The character of Mama Ronzoni (Ebony Jo-Ann), whose main characteristics seem to be that she is African American, overweight, flatulent, has bunions and is mean to her son-in-law, is particularly insulting. Only Joyce Van Patten has a meaty character to play, and she makes the most of it. The filmmakers provide a little (but not enough) relief with some strong supporting performances from Steve Buscemi and SNL alums Colin Quinn and Tim Meadows.

As summer comedies go, Get Him to the Greek is funnier and better in every way. As for Adam Sandler comedies, the middling You Don’t Mess with the Zohan is funnier. In many ways, Grown Ups reminds me of Couples Retreat. It has talented performers who enjoy working together and who the audience enjoys seeing together. But someone needs to tell Sandler and his friends that a good comedy requires more.

Grown Ups.  Directed by Dennis Dugan.  Adam Sandler (Lenny Feder), Kevin James(Eric Lamonsoff), Chris Rock (Kurt McKenzie), David Spade (Marcus Higgins), Rob Schneider (Rob Hilliard), Salma Hayek (Roxanne Chase-Feder), Maria Bello (Sally Lamonsoff), Maya Rudolph (Deanne McKenzie), Joyce Van Patten (Gloria), Ebony Jo-Ann (Mama Ronzoni), Steve Buscemi (Wiley), Colin Quinn (Dickie Bailey)and Tim Meadows (Malcolm). Columbia Pictures, 2010.

 

Gail sees a movie appears every Wednesday.

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