Grown Ups

I went to see this movie in great anticipation, mainly because I a large fan of Adam Sandler, Rob Schneider, David Spade and well, the whole crew really. I really enjoyed "I now Pronounce you Chuck and Larry", which was directed by Dennis Dugan who helmed "Grown Ups", and also starred Sandler and James.

The Crew - Lenny (Adam Sandler), Eric (Kevin James), Kurt (Chris Rock), Marcus (David Spade), and Rob (Rob Scheider - go figure) are a group of childhood friends who are getting together for the first time in many years in order to mourn the passing of their boyhood basketball coach. In order to do so, they've rented an old beachside house for the weekend, which they used to stay in as boys. The story centers around Lenny, who is a famous hollywood producer. His children have grown up as spoiled, snotty kids who dislike places without cell phone reception and dislike physical activity even more. Lenny is seeing that their interaction with other children and proximity to nature is starting to break them from their shell of xbox and television, and wants his kids to have the full experience of the outdoors. However, his wife Roxanne (Salma Hayek)has a fashion show in Milan, and they've planned on leaving the weekend retreat early to see the show. Lenny has to make the decision whether to go or stay. Meanwhile, the crew's rival basketball team of youth has also made the beach their vacation spot and have challenged them to a re-match of their championship game. It's up to the Grown Ups to show their kids what fun is all about, and to bring glory to their basketball name once more.

Sadly, the title reflects the humour in this movie. Not adult humour mind you, Grown Up humour. Happy Madison productions seems to be moving from the dick and fart jokes that made the company a powerhouse, to a more family oriented medium. Not that it's necessarily a bad thing, I respect the lads for targeting a more general demographic, but I will sorely miss lines like "Well let's gay that shit up then! Gay, Gay, Gay, ultra gay."

As a movie as a whole, it also seemed somewhat lacking. The final confontation/altercation/whatever you want to call it just didn't seem as though it had stakes that were not very high. As a result, you as a viewer simply don't really care about the results of the basketball game. In terms of acting, the boys are all seasoned veterans and can hold their own on screen, but the movie itself just lacks any moments for astounding acting.

All in all, this film was a disappointment. It's definitely a good message for young families out there, addressing the issue of video games and television taking over sports and playing outdoors, but as it stands as a Happy Madison production (Producers of fine films in recent years like Grandma's Boy, Benchwarmers, and Chuck and Larry) it falls short.