Grown Ups 2 is a comedy film directed by Dennis Dugan. The plot sees Sandler and Pals get together again, this time they’re facing off against a group of college frat guys and there is a sub plot about Sandler’s character being conflicted about having a fourth kid.

So, this film has been widely criticised by a lot of people as one of Sandler’s worst films up there with Jack and Jill naturally when I heard this I thought ‘how bad can it be’ and I have to say though it is not offensively bad, it is by no means needed.

So the biggest crime of this film is that it is a sequel that in no way justifies its existence. The drama feels artificial and doesn’t work, the idea of Sandler’s character being upset to have a fourth kid when he already has three doesn’t ring true at all. The conflict with the college kids does not work either, it feels incredibly predicatable and forced.

The humour is less there than it was in the first film, there is still some laughs to be had, but they’re few and far between. This sequel doubles down on the slapstick elements of the first film that didn’t work for me; humour is subjective, however. The best performance in this film is easily Alexander Ludwig, him being David Spades character’s long lost angry son is hilarious.

Overall, there is still some laughs to be had here, but there is no need for this film at all and the whole thing feels forced and inauthentic.

Pros.

Alexander Ludwig

There are still some laughs

Cons.

Doubling down on the slapstick

The drama feels forced

The heart doesn’t land

2.5/5

Reviewed by Luke

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

The Beach Bum is a comedy film directed by Harmony Korine. The plot sees Moondog (Matthew McConaughey), live life on his own terms.

That description of the plot might seem brief, hell even sparse, but that is the best I could do because honestly there is no plot. It is just Moondog doing drugs and having sex with various people for an hour and a half. There is nothing more to it. Some say simplistic is a good thing, however here it proves to be mind-numbing.

I really respect McConaughey as an actor and think that most of his recent output has been top notch, but this is beneath him. McConaughey is doing his best Johnny Depp impression and just playing a strange oddball and in that respect he nails the part perfectly. The issue arises from the fact that his character does nothing, has no real motivation beyond learning to find a place in the real world, the writing just isn’t there and that is not McConaughey’s fault.

Moreover, no to come off prudish, but there is sex nearly all the time in this film, I understand its use as showing Moondog as basically an eccentric playboy and it does set up that character trait, but then it carries on and carries on to a point of stagnation. It just feels very needless.

Overall, this is trash, I am surprised it even got made and that they managed to get McConaughey to sign on for it.

Pros.

Matthew McConaughey seems to be having fun

Cons.

It is boring, tedious and incredibly repetitive

The sex feels excessive

The writing is terrible

The plot is non-existent

1/5

Reviewed by Luke

Midnight In Paris is a comedy film directed by Woody Allen. The plot sees aspiring writer Gil (Owen Wilson), a man who often remakes he was born in the wrong time period, gain the ability to go back in time to 1920’s Paris and meet some literary greats.

Before we get into this I just want to say, the fact that it was a Woody Allen movie bothered me. It creeped me out and after I knew it was one of his films I couldn’t enjoy it the same way, so in that this review might be a little skewed.

In spite of the infamous director I found myself intrigued by this film, I thought it had a novel premise and I enjoyed seeing literacy figures interacting with one another. However, I don’t think there was enough enjoyment to stretch across an hour and a half. The idea would have worked better as a short.

Owen Wilson seems to be enjoying himself and he gives a good performance for the most part, I can’t fault him, however the same can’t be said for the rest of the cast who are given very little to do. I found that the female characters were the worst served they had nothing to do aside from being love interests for various characters; some of said romances were icky on multiple levels.

Overall, if you can ignore the director and some of the themes then this is a good breezy turn your mind off kind of movie; that should be about twenty minutes shorter.

Pros.

Wilson

The premise

Cons.

The director.

Gil and his troublesome romances

The cast is underused

2/5

Reviewed by Luke