Grown Ups is a comedy film directed by Dennis Dugan. The plot follows five childhood best friends who reunite after the death of their high school sports coach.
So, yes I know this is a trash comedy, but hey I am a big Adam Sandler fan; if you can’t tell. This is one of the few Sandler flicks that I haven’t seen; so I decided to right that wrong.
I have to say even though I feign a mature persona, there is nothing I like more than a few good poo jokes: I think a lot of people feel the same way.
The humour in this film works for me, it made me laugh several times throughout. I found the free style back and forth comedy to work a lot better than the slapstick, if anything I thought this film relied on the slapstick a bit too much and it often did nothing for me.
My issue with this film is the way it treats the characters that aren’t Sandler and his friends, the jokes to these characters are usually quite mean spirited and in poor taste. However, what really sticks out is the way the film treats women. To say is objectifies them is an understatement. Yes, you can make an argument for the wife doing the same thing to other men, but that is always handled as a joke, when Sandler and co do it, it is creepy and pervy. There is a long sequence of Sandler and co checking out a girl’s arse and it goes on for way to long and soon becomes uncomfortable.
Overall, if you like Sandler and his pals you will probably like this, the humour often worked for me, but it is subjective. The film certainly ages very poorly and feels out of place in the era of Me Too.
Pros.
The humour
It feels like hanging out with your friends
Very easy to watch
Cons.
The slapstick doesn’t work
Some of the jokes feel creepy and predatory
3/5
Reviewed by Luke
Another Millennial Reviewer 