Grown Ups

Sequel to this movie: Grown Ups 2 (2013)

The most successful moviemaking comedian from my generation is without a doubt Adam Sandler. In the 1990’s, the Saturday Night Live alum released countless hits that played to generation X-ers across the country. From “Billy Madison” to “Happy Gilmore” to “The Wedding Singer,” Sandler continually made males in their teens and 20’s laugh with a steady blend of PG-13 potty humor and sexual innuendo. He also did it with help from his SNL buddies who would cameo in his films. Former SNL cast mates Rob Schneider, David Spade, Chris Rock, and Chris Farley would routinely appear in Sandler’s work.

As Sandler got older and more mature, his films did as well. He starred in a couple of serious movies including “Spanglish” for which he received critical acclaim. Even his comedies were sweeter in nature, as he made a children’s film called “Bedtime Stories” and another comedy called “Click” which was traditional Sandler humor with a much sweeter, heartfelt core.

All of this leads us to “Grown Ups,” a comedy in which Sandler tries his best to combine the three tenets of his film career: Immature comedy starring him and his SNL buddies mixed with a sweet coming-of-age message. Unfortunately, while the cast is great, the movie isn’t, and what the viewer is left with is a movie that is nothing more than five guys who are past their prime telling unfunny jokes.

The premise of “Grown Ups” is a simple one. Five childhood friends who have gone their separate ways are reunited by the death of their former basketball coach. They, along with their respective families, decide to spend a weekend together in one big lake house so they can reconnect.

The five leads are played by Sandler, Rock, Spade, Schneider, and Kevin James (taking the place of the late Chris Farley). While each of these actors can potentially be funny, they’re all wasted in “Grown Ups.” It seems like these guys are genuinely friends and had a lot of fun making the film, but that fun doesn’t translate to screen. It seems as though most of the scenes are improvised, and, aside from a few funny ones, the jokes just fall flat.

Also appearing in the film is more of Sandler’s traditional style of humor. There are plenty of potty jokes, as well as sexual innuendo, including a running gag where one of the kids is still breast feeding at four years of age. In his earlier days, some of this humor was successful, because Sandler himself was just a kid, but now, with these actors in their 40’s, it’s clear that they all deserve better.

Profanity includes almost 30 misuses of “G*d.” Vulgar language includes 6 references to male genitals, 6 for female breasts, 2 s-words, a few a-words and cr*p, d*mn, and some words referring to sex.

There are some good messages in “Grown Ups.” Each family comes to its own positive realization. They learn that family is more important than work, that you need to accept people for who they are, and that an act of selflessness goes a long way.

If “Grown Ups” were made with a little more precision, better editing, and a tighter script, it could’ve been a lot of fun. Unfortunately, that’s not the case, and, instead, we’re stuck with a movie that falls flat. In trying to combine the best parts of all of his movies, Sandler has created a mixture that just doesn’t work and is only occasionally funny. It’s an unsatisfying movie-going experience and one you can definitely live without.

Violence: Moderate / Profanity: Heavy / Sex/Nudity: Heavy

• Positive
• Neutral
• Negative
• Young people