Movie review: I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry
Review of I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry:
Adam Sandler’s latest comedy to hit DVD is a miss, bringing back many of the tired jokes and gimmicks from his earliest films without any of the charm. I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry plays on every stereotype conceivable for no other reason, it seems, than to prove it is able to do so. The highly staged, not highly believable plot centers on Chuck Levine (Sandler) and Larry Valentine (Kevin James), two New York City firefighters. Larry is recently widowed with two young children. In the interest of providing for his children in the event that anything should happen to him, Larry wants to name his children the beneficiaries of his estate. He is unable to do so because of complicated legal red tape, so in a leap of misguided imagination worthy of Kevin James’ King of Queens alter ego, Larry decides the only way to ensure his children are provided for is to enter into a fake domestic partnership with his good buddy Chuck.
No one is naïve enough to think this plan would run smoothly and, unsurprisingly enough, it does not. Simply registering their domestic partnership is not enough to convince the beneficiaries office that Chuck and Larry are a legitimate couple, so the pair find themselves being investigated under threat of imprisonment should the beneficiaries office discover that they are lying. Enter lawyer Alex McDonough (Jessica Biel), who advises the two to prove their relationship is not a fraud by making it official and getting married. Chuck and Larry immediately head to Niagara Falls, while hopeless womanizer Chuck finds himself falling for Alex.
The rest of the film follows the discrimination both Chuck and Larry encounter after their “gay relationship” is made public, Chuck’s longing for Alex, and the beneficiaries office’s heightened investigation of Chuck and Larry’s relationship. As with all sophomoric comedies of this genre, the plot is inconceivably but neatly tied up in a pretty pink bow at the end with no real explanation as to how and the audience leaves the film only slightly worse for having wasted their hard-earned money.
I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry has all the sophistication of a high school locker room. It strives to be another Billy Madison or Happy Gilmore and falls far short of its goal. The jokes all come at the expense of one or more marginalized groups, and I do not just mean homosexuals; I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry is an equal opportunity offender that targets different minorities, homosexuals, and women, just to name a few. It then tries to turn these stereotypical representations around to argue in favor of tolerance and acceptance, a move that falls flat considering the rest of the film. This film is little more than an excuse to watch Sandler play out the persona that is “Adam Sandler” but if you really want to indulge in two hours of his most inane comedy, then I suggest you pick up one of his earlier titles.
Adam Sandler’s latest comedy to hit DVD is a miss, bringing back many of the tired jokes and gimmicks from his earliest films without any of the charm. I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry plays on every stereotype conceivable for no other reason, it seems, than to prove it is able to do so. The highly staged, not highly believable plot centers on Chuck Levine (Sandler) and Larry Valentine (Kevin James), two New York City firefighters. Larry is recently widowed with two young children. In the interest of providing for his children in the event that anything should happen to him, Larry wants to name his children the beneficiaries of his estate. He is unable to do so because of complicated legal red tape, so in a leap of misguided imagination worthy of Kevin James’ King of Queens alter ego, Larry decides the only way to ensure his children are provided for is to enter into a fake domestic partnership with his good buddy Chuck.
No one is naïve enough to think this plan would run smoothly and, unsurprisingly enough, it does not. Simply registering their domestic partnership is not enough to convince the beneficiaries office that Chuck and Larry are a legitimate couple, so the pair find themselves being investigated under threat of imprisonment should the beneficiaries office discover that they are lying. Enter lawyer Alex McDonough (Jessica Biel), who advises the two to prove their relationship is not a fraud by making it official and getting married. Chuck and Larry immediately head to Niagara Falls, while hopeless womanizer Chuck finds himself falling for Alex.
The rest of the film follows the discrimination both Chuck and Larry encounter after their “gay relationship” is made public, Chuck’s longing for Alex, and the beneficiaries office’s heightened investigation of Chuck and Larry’s relationship. As with all sophomoric comedies of this genre, the plot is inconceivably but neatly tied up in a pretty pink bow at the end with no real explanation as to how and the audience leaves the film only slightly worse for having wasted their hard-earned money.
I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry has all the sophistication of a high school locker room. It strives to be another Billy Madison or Happy Gilmore and falls far short of its goal. The jokes all come at the expense of one or more marginalized groups, and I do not just mean homosexuals; I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry is an equal opportunity offender that targets different minorities, homosexuals, and women, just to name a few. It then tries to turn these stereotypical representations around to argue in favor of tolerance and acceptance, a move that falls flat considering the rest of the film. This film is little more than an excuse to watch Sandler play out the persona that is “Adam Sandler” but if you really want to indulge in two hours of his most inane comedy, then I suggest you pick up one of his earlier titles.