It looks as though contemporary humor consists of trading insults, slams to the crotch, fart jokes, ogling gals in short shorts, and getting drunk and disorderly. Adam $andler ("Funny People" and "Bedtime Stories") knows this stuff by heart. In fact, he has built an enviable career portraying developmentally delayed man/boys ("The Wedding Singer," "Big Daddy" and "Mr. Deeds").
In this, his latest outing, he doesn't stint on these audience-pleasing elements, but buried (deeply!) in this script are some laudable tips for parenting: Get your kids away from the TV set, the video games and the text messaging. Let them learn how to entertain themselves: skip a rock, dribble a basketball and play Chutes and Ladders (no batteries required).
Sandler is a successful LA talent agent, married to a gorgeous fashion designer, played by Salma Hayek ("Frida"), with whom he has three over-indulged children. Their marriage is rock solid or it couldn't weather the week he arranges at a cabin. The most influential basketball coach of his youth has died and he reconnects with four other team members at the funeral. He has been asked to spread the coach's ashes at an old weekend retreat, so he convinces his former buddies to bring their families and they will recapture their youth.
Trot out the talented team:
- Chris Rock ("Death at a Funeral") is married to Maya Rudolph ("Away We Go"), and is saddled with a mother-in-law who farts (I warned you)
- Kevin James ("Mall Cop") is married to Maria Bello ("The Jane Austen Book Club"), who still nurses their four-year-old son.
- Rob Schneider ("American Virgin") is married to Joyce Van Patten ("Marley and Me"). These two actors milk the "ick" factor to death, with their lecherous interaction compounded by a twenty-year age difference (she's the older one, which is considered really, really icky).
- David Spade ("I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry") is still chasing skirts but is married to a bottle of booze.
Eight-year-old boys LOVED it when the camera lingered on the crotches and breasts of lissome young women. They also LOVED to see the characters fall face first into poop or mud, and they LOVED the insults. There was a lot of laughter and the audience exited the theater upbeat and happy. Personally? I was mentally reviewing synonyms for "inane." Puerile, foolish, insipid, meaningless, stupid...need I go on?
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