 | ON: Content is age-appropriate for kids this age. |
 | PAUSE: Know your child; some content may not be right for some kids. |
 | OFF: Not age-appropriate for kids this age. |
 | NOT FOR KIDS: Not appropriate for kids any age. |
I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry
- Review Date: November 4, 2007
- PG-13
- Genre: Comedy
- 2007
Common Sense Media says
Typical Sandler comedy overflows with stereotypes.
Parents say
QUALITY
Kids say
QUALITY
What parents need to know
Parents need to know that this movie was originally rated R and had to be resubmitted to earn its PG-13 rating. As with many Sandler movies, the jokes make fun of people -- in this case, mostly homosexuals and the obese. It's 90 percent lowbrow shenanigans and 10 percent heart, with an oversimplified message that discrimination is bad and tolerance is good. (Also good: best friends who would do anything for each other.) Expect raunchy setups (Sandler plays a womanizing, "hot" fireman who can apparently bed five women at once), tired stereotypes (the firefighters look horrified when they accidentally drop the soap in a butt-baring shower scene), and strong language ("s--t," "dick," etc.). Even if tweens and younger teens are Sandler fans, they may be too young to separate the juvenile jokes from the underlying do-good message.
What's the story?
The setup of NOW PRONOUNCE YOU CHUCK AND LARRY is simple: pudgy firefighter Larry (Kevin James) is a widower whose New York City fire department benefits can no longer be changed to make his children his beneficiaries -- unless he remarries. Enter Chuck , a loud, offensive, womanizing firefighter. After Larry saves Chuck's life during a fire, Chuck tells Larry he owes him "anything" he wants. What Larry wants is a fake domestic partnership so the kids will be taken care of ... so, naturally, Chuck and Larry have to pretend to be gay life partners. At first, the charade is low-key -- a civil ceremony at a courthouse and a few weeks of Chuck's mail forwarded to Larry's address. But the pals have to really let their rainbow flags fly when the benefits department sends an intrusive auditor (Steve Buscemi) to find out whether they're trying to defraud the government. Enter gay-friendly defense attorney Alex (the lovely Jessica Biel), who believes her new clients, even though Chuck can't keep his bedroom eyes off of her. To kick up the facade a notch, the couple endures getting outed, literal "don't drop the soap" jokes in the firehouse shower, a ridiculous marriage ceremony in Canada, and their first taste of discrimination. All of a sudden, they realize how insensitive they've been in the past.
Is it any good?
Adam Sandler is a comedian who occasionally astonishes audiences with his range (Punch-Drunk Love) and sincerity (The Wedding Singer). But, for the most part, he makes his living playing and acting the crass fool and this "comedy" is not one of the exceptions in the Sandler filmography. Even the addition of lovable everyman Larry Valentine, the Chuck factor dominates the movie.
For of all the movie's borderline -- and outright -- offensive laughs, there's a well-intentioned message of tolerance, diversity, and so on. Under so many layers of tired humor, the tiny kernel of wisdom easily gets lost, and its message about tolerance apparently doesn't extend to the obese (who are cheaply made fun of in the majority of Sandler's movies) and East Asians, who will no doubt cringe at the horrifying sight of Rob Schneider -- one of the many Saturday Night Live vets to cameo -- playing the Asian wedding officiant. With his bowl cut, buck teeth, and thick glasses (not to mention the awful accent) Schneider is the worst caricature of an Asian man in nearly half a century. On the bright side, at least there's a hilarious moment when a hitherto scary Ving Rhames starts belting out a Diana Ross tune in the shower. That alone was worth one star.
What families can talk about
Families can talk about the issues raised by the film -- particularly discrimination. Why do Chuck and Larry's firefighter friends start treating them differently once they're outed as a couple? What do Chuck and Larry learn about homophobia? Do the stereotypes in the movie (about gay people, overweight people, and Asians) detract from its intended message? Is it OK to use hate words in comedies? What would you have done differently if you were making this movie?
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AGE
Only for diehard Sandler fans
Well, it's Adam Sandler, so that ought to tell you something right off the bat. The movie's chock full of crude stereotypes and sex jokes. Once you get past all of that, however, the messages of the movie get through fairly clearly- acceptance, sticking together with friends and family, etc. If you're a Sandler fan, pick this up. If you don't mind some pretty lowbrow comedy, you might enjoy this. If you don't like watching homosexuals, fat people, or women portrayed in a stereotypical manner, then skip this flick.
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Crazy Comedy is Funny
Crazy comedy is funny, but can be harsh in some places.
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Such a disappointment
This movie was so 8th grade locker humor that it was offensive. How anyone could think making crude jokes about every race and sexual preference would be acceptable. Why subject anyone to such intolerance?
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They're Gay... And So Is The Movie. :]
A little too sensitive... i think not. This movie was full of inappropriate refrences, and unless you're just a nasty-minded person, I have no idea why you'd enjoy this movie. It's all about being gay and proud, which I'm against.
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Unwatchable except for Biel
I think this movie is entirely inappropriate for all ages. While ostensibly having a positive social message (tolerance for homosexuals), it glorifies all manner of dysfunctional hetero and homosexual behavior while essentially saying that the means justify the ends. Plus it is not funny.
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Adults ONLY!!
DEFINITELY not a movie for children. ADULT movie.
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Disgusting garbage
This is one of the most offensive pieces of garbage I have ever had the unfortunate bad luck to encounter. Sandler treats women as if they are sub-human, only good for sex. If you are over weight you are disgusting and have no worth. If you are homosexual, you should be ridiculed and shunned, no value to society. Whoever wrote this should be ejected from the planet. There is nothing worthwhile what so ever in this pathetic excuse for a movie.
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Offensive Gay Pandering
Took my wife and 13 y.o. daughter to see this movie. Two complaints. First, the sex scenes, such as Adam Sandler's breast fondling and the babes in the bedroom, are not appropriate for a 13 y.o. I got no problem with that in an R rated movie, but not PG-13. I would never have taken my daughter to see this movie had I known. Second, the moralizing about gay tolerance at the end was pure pandering to get the rating changed from R to PG-13. Guess you can have all the "f*ggot" jokes and gay stereotypes you want as long as you redeem yourself in the end. Too transparent. I think many gays will be offended by that.
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Kid, 12 years old
February 20, 2011
AGE
COMMON SENSE MEDIA NEEDS FIXING UP
I saw this when i was 7 and me and my boyfriend loved it! Common Sense Media is WRONG. This movie is REALLY funny and i am sure you will enjoy it as much as i did!
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| Studio: | Universal Pictures |
| Director: | Dennis Dugan |
| Cast: | Adam Sandler, Jessica Biel, Kevin James |
| Genre: | Comedy |
| Run time: | 115 minutes |
| Theatrical release date: | July 19, 2007 |
| DVD release date: | November 6, 2007 |
| MPAA rating: | PG-13 |
| MPAA explanation: | crude sexual content throughout, nudity, language and drug references. |
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