Just Watched: Grown Ups



Just Watched: Grown Ups

With this movie I continue the sad trend of finding the most craptastic movie available.  A couple of months ago I wrote about another ensemble comedy called 'Death at a Funeral' and lamented how such a funny cast could end up making such a shitty movie.  That sentiment goes double or triple for this movie.

Just for the record,  I'm not a snob when it comes to stupid comedy. I laughed at Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo.  I found Dude Where's my Car? to be kind of charming.  With the notable exception of Little Niki I generally enjoy Adam Sandler movies.  I can handle stupid.  What I can't handle is unfunny.

Grown Ups is a tale of a New England town's championship winning youth basketball team that reunites twenty years later after the death of their beloved coach.  The team, now all grown up, each carry their stereotypical and trite baggage:  Sandler's career is doing well but his kids aren't grounded,  Jame's was laid off and is embarrassed to share that news with his friends, Rock is a stay at home dad and has gender role issues, Spade has never grown up (talk about being type cast) and Schneider is just an oddball.    Throw in some hot wives, bratty kids and a farting Grandma to round things out.  The mish-mash of characters then spends a long weekend together rediscovering their lost youths and what really makes life important.

My wife and I sat on the couch watching this and glancing back and forth shaking our heads at how unfunny most of the gags were.  The few scenes worthy of an audible laugh were limited to a couple of the men-acting-badly set pieces.   In one the guys reneact their stupidest youthful indiscretion - arrow roulette - where they shoot an arrow straight in the air and whomever doesn't move wins.   Some funny physical comedy ensues.   The second funny bit was when the guys are trying to be discrete in checking out Schneider's unexpectedly hot adult daughter.  Beyond that only a few individual character gags got more than a chuckle.

Beyond the broad comedic failures anyone from the North East would find much of the location shooting absurd.   Scene's jump from the lakes region of NH to the coast of MA as if they are in the same town.  To me, most offensive of all was a big scene at Woodmans of Essex where everyone has burgers. Burgers!  Are fucking fried clams so controversial?   It pissed me off.  Watch this film at your own peril.

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