"I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry" Review

This wasn't my picking. But, my brother was a bit down and had wanted to see it, so I decided to go along for it. I admit to not being a huge Adam Sandler fan, but liked one or two of his films and enjoy Kevin James on "The King of Queens" as well as his showing in "Hitch," alongside Will Smith.

After seeing this film, I admit to having mixed feelings. I honestly don't even know where this review is going to head, even as I start.

In "...Chuck and Larry," Sandler and James play the role of two Brooklyn firefighters. Adam Sandler stars as a womanizer, humping anything with what Borat would call a "vagine." Kevin James, on the other hand, is a widower, with two kids, one of whom, is rather flamboyant. Due to James' financial woes with the kids, he receives a word of advice that if he gets married again in the near future, that could be the answer to all his problems. He then stumbles across an article in the paper in regard to a domestic partnership for gays. Sandler owes James for saving his life and said, "I owe you. Anything you need. Whenever. Wherever. I'll do it." It takes some convincing on James' part, but he's able to persuade the horny Sandler, who has 5-6 women messing around in his bedroom at the time. Throughout the rest of the film, James and Sandler attempt to balance their lives, in order to prove to some that they're gay (Mr. Fitzer- Steve Buscemi), but to prove to others that they're not THAT gay, such as their attorney, Jessica Beal and also the other firemen.

Now on to my opinions regarding the film. There were some jokes that just fell flat, flatter than Twiggy. But, there were some parts of the film where I laughed fairly loudly. I was offended by some jokes and thought Sandler's "voice" of James' deceased wife was pretty distasteful, but the film did have its funny parts and I feel that the "critics" may have been a bit too sensitive overall. I do believe that the film wanted to have it both ways (no pun intended here). On one hand, they wanted to do anything possible to create a laugh, but on the other hand, they wanted to leave the audience with the message that gays are people too and deserve equal respect as anybody else. The problem was that the film creators used every gay stereotype they could muster up into making all homosexuals appear to be, for lack of a better word, "freaks."

Overall Film Quality Grade: 5/10 - I, by no means, feel that this is a great comedy, but felt it was tolerable to sit through once. No Oscars will be awarded to this film and I may never have the motivation to see it again, but in the end, some heart was there to the final message.

Comedic Grade: 5.5/10 - Some of the jokes were offensive and/or distasteful, but "critics" may have been a bit too sensitive overall to the film's humor. The first half of the film was not very humorous and I was about to write it off as a horrible comedy, but the laughs seemed to increase in the second half and made for a semi-decent viewing experience.