dragonfire88's Full Review: I Now Pronounce You Chuck And Larry
I have seen many of the movies that Adam Sandler has made over the years. Some have been better than others. I have enjoyed several of them, including some of the sillier ones. I thought that I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry looked like it could be entertaining, but it wasn't a movie that I absolutely had to see in the theaters. I recently went to see it since it was still playing at the theater here in town.
Chuck Levine and Larry Valentine had been friends for many years and worked together as firefighters. The two men led very different lives with Larry raising his two young children, Eric and Tori and still grieving over the death of his wife while Chuck seemed to be determined to hook up with as many women as possible. Larry wanted to make sure his children would be taken care of if he died and he learned that he could only change his pension beneficiary in very select situations, like if he remarried.
Larry was trying to figure out what to do when a newspaper article about benefits for domestic partners gave him an idea. He convinced Chuck to fill out the paperwork for them to become domestic partners. Larry hadn’t counted on the fact that the city would decide to launch an investigation to make sure that he and Chuck were a real gay couple. Chuck and Larry decided to consult lawyer Alex McDonough about the situation. Chuck was immediately interested in her which made things difficult when Alex decided that he was perfect to become her new best friend to do girl things like shopping. Chuck and Larry also faced trouble at work when the men they’d worked with for years were suddenly uncomfortable around them once it came out that they were a couple.
The plot of I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry was very straightforward and really wasn’t complicated. Most of the focus was on how pretending to be gay impacted Chuck and Larry. They had to deal with living in the same house, having the city poke into all aspects of their life, and the way the men they worked with reacted. The fact that Clinton Fitzer kept showing up and seemed determined right from the start to prove that Chuck and Larry’s relationship wasn’t real did add complications. The fact that Chuck was very interested in Alex didn’t help the situation either. There were a few minor things that happened that I didn’t expect, but the movie had no major surprises.
I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry was a funny movie overall. Several of the jokes were rather crude, which could bother some viewers. One thing in particular done to add humor was very gross. There were fat jokes, fart jokes, and some jokes about gay people. It didn’t really seem like the movie was putting down or really making fun of gay people, but some viewers may see things differently. Some of the humor might bother or even offend some viewers. The movie did poke fun at people protesting against gay rights and made some of them look foolish. I did think that the humor used in the movie worked for the most part.
There were also some more serious aspects to the movie in addition to the humor. The movie did explore the prejudices that gay people face. Once people learned that Chuck and Larry were a gay couple, they were treated differently. The men they had worked with for years with no problems turned homophobic and didn’t want Chuck or Larry anywhere near them even though Chuck had gone out of his way to help most of them at some point before. The experience did change both men, especially Chuck who had used some of the slang for gays himself before having the words directed at him. The men even faced a protest group where the most vocal in shouting the insulting slurs was a minister. Larry was also still trying to deal with his grief connected to the death of his wife. There were a few touching moments in the movie. I do think that a big part of the movie was showing how much real friends will do to help each other.
I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry did include some sexual situations, none of which went anywhere. Chuck and Larry never did anything sexual together once they were pretending to be gay, but they did tell others, like Fitzer, that they did. The men did sleep in the same bed. There were several references made to the fact that Chuck had sex as many different women as he could. There was one scene that showed several almost naked women in Chuck’s apartment and it was made clear that some kind of sexual activity had been going on in the bedroom. Once Alex and Chuck started spending time together as friends, Alex actually stripped down to her bra and panties in front of him. She then proceeded to have him feel her breasts to prove that they were real. That was probably the most sexual scene in the movie. At one point, there was a scene taking place in the shower room at the fire station and the bare backsides of several men were shown. Those things, in addition to some language, was why the movie was rated PG-13. This really isn’t a movie for children to see.
Chuck and Larry were the main characters in the movie with both men receiving a good amount of development. They had been friends for many years, which was the main reason that Chuck was willing to go along with Larry’s idea. Larry seemed more serious and level headed even though he was the one that failed to fill out the paperwork in time for his pension and he came up with the idea. Chuck was more fun loving, seeing every beautiful women he encountered as a future sex partner. I did like Adam Sandler and Kevin James in their parts and thought they were believable as friends.
Eric and Tori already called Chuck uncle before he moved in, so they didn’t seem to be that upset by the changes in the household. Both children loved their father and both had moments of sadness connected to the death of their mother. Eric loved singing and dancing and was frequently shown practicing for the musical he wanted to try out for. Cole Morgan and Shelby Adamowsky handled their parts well without making their characters annoying. Dan Aykroyd was in a few scenes as Captain Phineas J. Tucker, Chuck and Larry’s boss.
Alex was very passionate about fighting for rights for gay people. Something was shared about her at one point that did help to explain why she felt that way. She seemed like a very nice, fun woman even though she was a lawyer. She wasn’t developed much at all, so she did end up being rather flat. Jessica Biel was fine in the part. Clinton Fitzer turned up in a few different scenes, snooping around to try to prove that Chuck and Larry weren’t a real gay couple. Fitzer was creepy and Steve Buscemi fit the part very well. Ving Rhames played Fred G. Duncan, a fireman who recently transferred to Chuck and Larry’s station and had his own secret. Richard Chamberlain turned up briefly as a councilman. David Spade and Rob Schneider also made small appearances with Schneider’s part being slightly larger.
Main Cast
Shelby Adamowsky - Tori Valentine Dan Aykroyd - Captain Phineas J. Tucker Jessica Biel - Alex McDonough Steve Buscemi - Clinton Fitzer Richard Chamberlain - Councilman Banks Kevin James - Larry Valentine Cole Morgan - Eric Valentine Ving Rhames - Fred G. Duncan Adam Sandler - Chuck Levine
Dennis Dugan - Director
I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry was a funny and entertaining movie that also touched on a few serious matters. Fans of Sandler or James may enjoy the movie even though it isn’t a movie for everyone.
Adam Sandler (Click) and Kevin James (Hitch) team as two straight guys who stumble down the aisle with the best of intentions in I Now Pronounce You C...More at Buy.com Marketplaces
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