Since the advent of the internet, we have become inundated with film trailers. Like anything on the web, this causes criticism to flow like water. There are shouts of "the trailer gives too much of the film away", "all the good jokes are in the trailer", "the trailer is extremely misleading" as well as any number of "first" or homophobic remarks (isn't anonymity fun). Grown Ups is that increasingly rare case where the trailer pretty well defines the film. It isn't anything special and it sure isn't the funniest film of the year, but it's got Adam Sandler and all his friends so it can't be all bad.
Back in 1978, five friends won the basketball championships. It was the best time of their lives and they were the best of friends. Thirty years later, these guys have grown apart and almost completely lost touch. After the death of their championship basketball coach, Coach "Buzzer" (Blake Clark), the five friends are reunited. To celebrate the life of their beloved coach, Lenny (Adam Sandler) rents their favorite childhood camp for the Fourth of July weekend. Over the weekend, the friends are forced to cope with the changes that have accompanied their long absence and rediscover the friendship they once shared.
I am torn whether to be annoyed at Grown Ups or to just let it be. One thing is for sure, the film doesn't try to be anything special. That may be the root of my annoyance, the fact that the film doesn't try. A film with the amount of talent that Grown Ups carries, with the exception of poor old Rob Schneider, has the potential to be damn funny. Unfortunately, it seems like Schneider is trying the hardest out of the bunch and that doesn't work out well for anyone, just look at what happened with The Animal. There were moments in the film where I wondered if an audience was even necessary. Clearly, each and every person involved in the film is enjoying himself. I can only imagine how good a time it was to make this film. These guys are being paid to hang out with some of their best friends and goof around. That sounds awesome. The problem seems to be that there was no one there to remind them that a film was actually being made. Filming the events that take place seems like an afterthought. I'm glad these guys were able to enjoy themselves, but the audience isn't benefiting from their jubilation.
The story is weak. Sure, people reunite but let's be honest, it is rarely smooth. If you haven't seen an old friend for years, are you going to dive right back into the good old joking times? I think not. I don't doubt that eventually everything would be back to the way it used to be, but it's going to take longer than 2 minutes. Hell, even that first time you see your friends after going to college is awkward, and we're only talking about months at that point. All I ask is that a film offers me a bit of believability and Grown Ups seems almost shocked that a viewer would ask for such a thing.
If you were to stop reading at this point, it would seem like I despised this film, but I didn't. There are plenty of laughs in the film, and even more if you have no problem surrendering your intellect for 102 minutes. Most of the children in the film are as annoying as the day is long, but there is one bright spot in Becky Feder (Alexys Nycole Sanchez) the youngest daughter of Sandler's character. The girl oozes cute and is the sweetest character in the whole film. She is so sweet that it verges on making your teeth hurt and you will have to fight a strong urge to say "awww" anytime she's on screen. Some jokes outstay their welcome (I'm looking at you, joke about the pool water changing color, you weren't funny the first time) but there are enough jokes that land to make the film watchable.
I will admit to being bias to pretty much anything Adam Sandler does. My love of Sandler can be traced back to a place of deep immaturity and my discovery of Billy Madison and Happy Gilmore. I've grown up with the films of Adam Sandler, Big Daddy remaining one of my favorites to this day, and to dislike one of his films almost feels sacrilegious (I like to pretend that Little Nicky never happened). If this wasn't a Happy Madison production the film's grade would probably be a letter lower, but the middle-schooler in me just couldn't do it. If you choose to cry foul, that is just fine, it's a generational thing.
Grown Ups is a film that seems perfectly happy just being itself. The entire film seems cobbled together just so a bunch of friends can get a chance to hang out. My best guess is that the atmosphere of the entire production was extremely fun and filled with quite a bit of hilarity. The problem is that only a little bit of that hilarity found its way on screen. Despite all of the faults, it isn't a total waste of time. It's hard to keep from at least chuckling throughout the film, but that's just a compliment to the comedians. The film also proves that Colin Quinn is actually still alive, which is a nice little surprise. There is no reason to rush to the theaters to see Grown Ups but whenever you get around to it, I'm sure you'll walk away smiling.
Back in 1978, five friends won the basketball championships. It was the best time of their lives and they were the best of friends. Thirty years later, these guys have grown apart and almost completely lost touch. After the death of their championship basketball coach, Coach "Buzzer" (Blake Clark), the five friends are reunited. To celebrate the life of their beloved coach, Lenny (Adam Sandler) rents their favorite childhood camp for the Fourth of July weekend. Over the weekend, the friends are forced to cope with the changes that have accompanied their long absence and rediscover the friendship they once shared.
I am torn whether to be annoyed at Grown Ups or to just let it be. One thing is for sure, the film doesn't try to be anything special. That may be the root of my annoyance, the fact that the film doesn't try. A film with the amount of talent that Grown Ups carries, with the exception of poor old Rob Schneider, has the potential to be damn funny. Unfortunately, it seems like Schneider is trying the hardest out of the bunch and that doesn't work out well for anyone, just look at what happened with The Animal. There were moments in the film where I wondered if an audience was even necessary. Clearly, each and every person involved in the film is enjoying himself. I can only imagine how good a time it was to make this film. These guys are being paid to hang out with some of their best friends and goof around. That sounds awesome. The problem seems to be that there was no one there to remind them that a film was actually being made. Filming the events that take place seems like an afterthought. I'm glad these guys were able to enjoy themselves, but the audience isn't benefiting from their jubilation.
The story is weak. Sure, people reunite but let's be honest, it is rarely smooth. If you haven't seen an old friend for years, are you going to dive right back into the good old joking times? I think not. I don't doubt that eventually everything would be back to the way it used to be, but it's going to take longer than 2 minutes. Hell, even that first time you see your friends after going to college is awkward, and we're only talking about months at that point. All I ask is that a film offers me a bit of believability and Grown Ups seems almost shocked that a viewer would ask for such a thing.
If you were to stop reading at this point, it would seem like I despised this film, but I didn't. There are plenty of laughs in the film, and even more if you have no problem surrendering your intellect for 102 minutes. Most of the children in the film are as annoying as the day is long, but there is one bright spot in Becky Feder (Alexys Nycole Sanchez) the youngest daughter of Sandler's character. The girl oozes cute and is the sweetest character in the whole film. She is so sweet that it verges on making your teeth hurt and you will have to fight a strong urge to say "awww" anytime she's on screen. Some jokes outstay their welcome (I'm looking at you, joke about the pool water changing color, you weren't funny the first time) but there are enough jokes that land to make the film watchable.
I will admit to being bias to pretty much anything Adam Sandler does. My love of Sandler can be traced back to a place of deep immaturity and my discovery of Billy Madison and Happy Gilmore. I've grown up with the films of Adam Sandler, Big Daddy remaining one of my favorites to this day, and to dislike one of his films almost feels sacrilegious (I like to pretend that Little Nicky never happened). If this wasn't a Happy Madison production the film's grade would probably be a letter lower, but the middle-schooler in me just couldn't do it. If you choose to cry foul, that is just fine, it's a generational thing.
Grown Ups is a film that seems perfectly happy just being itself. The entire film seems cobbled together just so a bunch of friends can get a chance to hang out. My best guess is that the atmosphere of the entire production was extremely fun and filled with quite a bit of hilarity. The problem is that only a little bit of that hilarity found its way on screen. Despite all of the faults, it isn't a total waste of time. It's hard to keep from at least chuckling throughout the film, but that's just a compliment to the comedians. The film also proves that Colin Quinn is actually still alive, which is a nice little surprise. There is no reason to rush to the theaters to see Grown Ups but whenever you get around to it, I'm sure you'll walk away smiling.