Grown Ups (Movie Review)

Movie Review
Grown Ups
2010
Starring: Adam Sandler, Kevin James, Salma  Hayek
Directed by: Dennis Dugun

It’s hard to dislike Dennis Dugun’s Grown Ups. It looks like everyone involved is having fun making the movie and there are some really funny scenes. However, when it is all said and done, it does feel like a ninety minute reunion between a bunch of New York based comics. It’s fun to sit through but there’s not much substance to the movie to make it worthwhile to go see.

After the death of their high school basketball coach, five best friends  meet up for the first time in decades and spend a weekend together at a quiet cottage. It’s quickly apparent that they’ve changed quite a bit since they were kids. Lenny Feder (Adam Sandler) is a big shot agent in Hollywood but is looking to slow down the pace of his hectic life; much to the dismay of his wife Roxanne (Salma Hayek) and their kids. Kevin James is a business owner whose wife, Sally (Maria Bello) still feels the need to breastfeed their four-year-old son. Kurt McKenzie (Chris Rock) is the stay-at-home dad for his kids while his wife Deanne (Maya Rudolph) is the sole source of income for the household; which has made Kurt more interested in become a follower of Martha Stewart than doing anything macho. Rob Hillard (Rob Schneider) has become a new-age guru and is married to Gloria (Joyce Van Patton) who is thirty years older than him. The only bachelor of the group is Marcus Higgins (David Spade) who develops a crush on any woman with a pulse.

During the weekend, the guys learn about how each other and themselves have changed over the years. While for the most part they are still on good terms with each other, the guys are a bit frustrated in regards to how their lives have turned out; some of which boils over and explodes during several incidents over the weekend which mostly lead to hilarity rather than turmoil.

It’s still weird to watch Adam Sandler play the straight man while everyone else is doing the goofy stuff around him. While he does well in his role, it almost does feel at times like he’s phoning it in. The rest of the performances were acceptable but nothing really stands out. It’s not that they don’t seem to be trying but the actors are giving the impression that they’re there to have some fun and not much more. It’s a good thing this a comedy and not a depressing drama or horror film or else their attitudes would seem really out of place.

Their lack of intensity in their roles also helps prevent anyone from trying to out-stage everyone else on camera; which can be a problem with ensemble casts. While it’s apparent that Sandler and James were given the more important roles and thus have more screen time, it still feels like everyone is working as a team. It doesn’t feel like anyone is holding anything back when they’re the one who’s setting up the punchline instead of the one who’s delivering it.

The movie also feels like it has a lot of polish to it. It’s as if everything was rehearsed and practiced to makes sure everything was just right before shooting. Too many comedies today feel like they’re shot like as if they’re down to their last roll of film on every scene and the the actors are given an idea on what to say and told to wing it without a firm script.

The main problem with the movie is its story. It’s a bit on the weak side and that the writers had no idea how they wanted the movie to end. It seemed like most of the work was spent on crafting the jokes to make sure they were solid and let everything else fall into place. The whole storyline between Lenny and Roxanne leaving for Milan and unable to stay at the cottage seemed kind of dumb and unbelievable because it’s obvious that they’re going to stay after all. The character arcs are horribly rushed as, for example, Lenny’s kids seem to do a 180^o in their personalities too quickly. It felt forced and unnatural.

There were also some concepts of the movie that felt idiotic. Ronzoni (Deanne’s mother played by Ebony Jo-Ann) felt out of place in this movie and the jokes that were centered around her character were lame or too juvenile to be all that funny. Actually, the whole Deanne/Kurt storyline felt poorly written. It’s not that the idea wasn’t strong enough but because the film had so many different storylines happening at once, it felt like this one was neglected. There were elements missing that would have made it more interesting and solid but as it is it feels incomplete. If they had devoted an entire movie to this storyline, minus Ronzoni, it might have made for a good movie.

It seems like Dennis Dugun has either too much or not enough going on in Grown Ups. It’s sort of fun to watch but too much of a mess and not enough substance between the credits to recommend watching. If you have nothing better to do and you don’t have to go out of your way to see it, it’s kind of worth it. Otherwise, you’re wasting your time on a movie with some major issues. Although, you could do worse as this movie seems more complete than many other films in the genre at the moment.

☆☆