The problem with being cliché is that it’s cliché to be cliché. Get where I’m coming from?
The word cliché has been used to describe so many movies in the past that it’s just overrated to classify a movie as such anymore. And that’s a bad thing; if people are tired of having to use that awful word to describe a film, then our film industry is heading in the wrong direction.
Now by noticing the title, one could guess that my concerns lie with “Grown Ups.” But these are more than concerns here, they are pleas and warnings. The film will deceive you from the first trailer you see with its cute premise and relatable characters. But the sad truth is that it’s no different from the last several Adam Sandler movies or from any PG-13 comedy in the last several years for that matter. Anyway, let’s get right down to the problem.
Starting from the ground up, five buddies reunite for a fun Fourth of July weekend. These five include different demographics of overused character types including the party guy, the fat guy, and the stay-at-home-dad. But why do they reunite? Their basketball coach from their childhood dies — and the audience deals with some lame basketball-to-life analogies. After a “boys will be boys” reunion, they rent a swank lake house where they once celebrated their middle school basketball championship 30 years ago.
So the beginning played off a lame Hollywood formula (don’t want to use the “c-word”), but hopefully they would throw in some original gags, right? Here you are deceived again, since these third-graders trapped in adult bodies consistently reuse the same insults with different phrasings. The physical humor is low-grade, with Kevin James hitting a tree and people falling into assorted piles of unwanted animal droppings. There’s even a robust old woman who passes gas and plagiarizes Tyler Perry’s Madea. Now if you enjoy all of these things, please put the rest of this article aside. If you understand my concerns, read on to commiserate.
Although it’s only 102 minutes long, the episodic madness never seems to end. Not one classic comic scenario is left untouched, and not one new avenue of comedy is pursued. A team of meat-headed antagonists suddenly appear to challenge the boys to a rematch b-ball game, and simultaneously prepare an ending without proper closure. There’s some fortune cookie lessons taught to the kids, and Rob Schneider reveals his fake hair piece. Overall, it’s a lame excuse for family entertainment.
But what about the cast of such brilliant comics like Adam Sandler, Kevin James, Chris Rock and Rob Schneider? The problem is that none of them are brilliant at all, and Chris Rock is totally underused. If the script attempts to use rapid fire jokes to keep the audience laughing throughout the entire shtick, some wit of even the lowest level is required.
Most of all, the movie is so unfunny that when stumbling over some rare humor, you’re unsure how to react.
Oh, and David Spade is being himself again. If only we could change that…
Even Steve Buscemi lands a part in this comic landfill, who’s a better comedian when he doesn’t attempt to be (see “Reservoir Dogs” or “Lost in Oblivion” to understand). Somehow he ends up in a full body cast, but no one should really care why at that point. If time were endless, I could list a constant stream of complaints against this film, but what’s the point? There’s no undoing the mess “Grown Ups” has managed to add to Hollywood comedy.
This movie isn’t worthy of a slow Monday afternoon viewing, or on any day of the week for that matter. There was a time when Adam Sandler made half-decent movies, including a surprisingly dynamic role in a forgotten Paul Thomas Anderson movie “Punch Drunk Love.” But those days are over, look to new and brighter actors who rely on their wits rather than a “Fat Jokes” website. Some parents may sympathize with the adults in the movie who remember the good times with their buddies and solve family conflicts. Nope, not for me.
Therefore, there is only one phrase that can describe this movie. Although I refused to use the word in most of the article, I feel no guilt in reusing it one more time: an ultimate cliché. How’s that for a cliché response?
Tom Kozlowski is a Hillsborough High School student and film afficianado who wirtes about new movies and movie trends.
