Clumsy “Grown Ups” More Stand Up than Story (Moviebeat with Blair)

posted by blair on 6th, 2010

You couldn’t help but be interesting when you first heard the talented line-up for the film “Grown Ups” – Adam Sandler, David Spade, Kevin James, Chris Rock and Rob Schneider, not to mention Salma Hayek, Maria Bello and Maya Rudolph as some of the men’s wives.

However, “Grown Ups” never seemed to mature past being a film with just a bunch of guys sitting around talking about the good old days. Side stories to help connect the movie together only make the story more confusing and awkward, just like a few of the leads.

At the start of “Grown Ups,” we are first introduced to the five male leads as 12-year-old boys who win a basketball championship by working together as a team and as friends.

Thirty years later, the now grown men are brought together again for the funeral of their beloved basketball coach and decide to make it a weekend together with their families.

Let the debauchery and bathroom humor begin. No territory is sacred or off-limits, so be prepared.

Although there are a few laughs to be had here and there, the overall film is nothing more than a joke competition between the five actors (who are all friends in real life).

The supporting cast of Hayek and Bello as some of the leads’ “hot” wives only further the disappointment audience may feel for the film as the actresses try hard to save “Grown Ups” with no help in sight.

If you are a Sandler fan or a fan of the other leads, you might be the most disappointed of all as this was the worst film to come from any of the five’s movie resumes. Even “Billy Madison” and “Deuce Biglow” had more story flow than this film did.

Go only to see “Grown Ups” if you want to spend an afternoon laughing at mindless, stand-up humor but the comical magic is not to be found in this film.

Two Heartbeats

DVD Rental: GI Joe – The Rise of Cobra– starring Channing Tatum, Marlon Wayans and Sienna Miller. Based on the popular action figure and television series, GI Joe is chocked full of cliché dialogue, over-the-top action and truly “character” actors with no sense of believability. One bright spot is the humorous Wayans who makes the most of his one-dimensional Ripcord character.

Two Heartbeats