Grown Ups

Reviewed by Mike

I finally got around to watching the latest flick from funny-man Adam Sandler and, honestly, I was pleasantly surprised. Out of the three comedy films I've seen in the past week (Cop Out and Due Date reviews to be added in the next day or so), this was by far the funniest and most enjoyable of the bunch.

Grown Ups is a film about a group of five friends who have, well, grown up. Sandler is the star, playing comedic Hollywood agent Lenny Feder. The rest of the main cast is made up by Kevin James, Chris Rock, David Spade and Rob Schenider- all ex-Saturday Night Live co-stars of Sandlers, except James. The five-some, childhood pals who have since grown apart, are brought together once again by the death of their beloved high school (Maybe? The flash backs seem like they were all 10 years-old so I'm not totally sure...) basketball coach.

The five guys, along with their wives/girlfriends and children all reunite after the funeral for a Fourth of July weekend at their old stomping grounds- a lake house in New England. Here we see that the characters are all struggling with their marriages, jobs, relationships and children, all in different ways and all while trying to rekindle some old friendships- the latter is the easy part. The weekend of bonding, however, is just what the doctor ordered- it brings everyone together for the better and they each resolve their issues... except for Spade, who plays a 40 year-old bachelor who loves to booze and have one-night stands (this role must have been written for him, he played it perfectly).

So Spade's character is a party animal, but what about everyone else? I'm sure you could guess, but I'll give a bit of a description of each in case you haven't seen the movie yet.

Sandler plays a rich Hollywood agent/funnyman who yearns for his spoiled kids and wife to be more down to Earth and appreciative- he is also the hero who won the big basketball game when the five main characters were younger. Rock is a stay-at-home dad who has to deal with a disrespectful mother-in-law, two kids and a pregnant bread-winner wife. Schneider is a Vegan practicing, thrice-divorcee who has a thing for spirituality and older women- his three daughters (2 of which are smoking hot, the other is hilariously ugly) are around for some comedic relief and some eye-candy (for both the cast and audience). James is the lovable oaf with a gorgeous wife and two children, including a 4 year-old that is still breastfed...


Sandler, who wrote and produced this film, also got a pretty decent cast for the rest of the characters: Salma Hayek takes on the role of Sandlers fashionista wife. Ex-SNLers Colin Quinn, Tim Meadows and Mya Rudolph lend a hand for other bit characters and Steve Buscemi comes out of fucking nowhere to play a hilarious role as one of Sandlers old enemies from grade school.

There were a lot of funny parts to this film: funny bits, one-liners, physical humor and random goofy gags, but I think the best part came at the end. Sandler and his crew are challenged to a re-match basketball game by the guys who they beat in the championship game as kids. Tim Meadow is on the losing team and Chris Rock is with Sandler and company- the two get into an argument on the court about which guy is the "other" black guy in town and which is the alpha black guy. They discuss what reactions white people give them when they walk into a store... hilarity ensues.

In the end, the film is really about nostalgia, the bringing together of old friends and the bond of family. It's a feel good movie, a family movie and a pretty decent comedy on top of it all. It's nice to see many of my favorite ex-SNLer together once again, doing what they love and the chemistry they all have with one another. It must have been a great time for these guys to film this movie- I certainly had a fun time watching it.

3.5 out of 5