Yeah, so I’m a glutton for punishment. Back-to-back films with “Chuck” in the title may be indicative of how I felt after watching the two of these films, but I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry does indeed have something going for it. That something namely is that it isn’t Good Luck Chuck, although it’s damn close. Ironically, I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry is nowhere near as vile or revolting as Good Luck Chuck, but it certainly does strike many wrong notes on its quest for comedy. It’s a shame too, what with such a promising cast in Adam Sandler and Kevin James. (I thought about coming up with some sort of “code” that I could use here to demonstrate when I was being sarcastic, but my handful of readers likely know how to tell by now).
I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry was directed by Dennis Dugan, the director behind the surprisingly charming The Benchwarmers and a few Sandler vehicles, including Big Daddy and Happy Gilmore. Oh yeah, Dugan also directed the 1990 smash hit comedy, Problem Child. So Dugan actually does have the comedy chops, somewhat, to direct this one. But who am I kidding, here? Talking about the director of an Adam Sandler film is a little like talking about the burger flipper at McDonald’s. It just doesn’t matter who made it because they all taste the same.
Sandler stars as Chuck Levine, a man’s man and a New York firefighter, because the storyline needed as much conjured sympathy for the characters as possible. Chuck is a bit of a jackass and he sleeps around an awful lot, including with Tila Tequila, who makes an appropriate cameo as some sort of bedroom floozy. Kevin James stars as Larry Valentine, also a bit of a man’s man but only in a different way. He has recently lost his wife, so garners more sympathy points AND he’s also a New York firefighter. Gosh, these characters have a significant amount of moral padding, don’t they? Must be to serve some sort of….purpose.
Larry eventually finds himself in a bit of a spot because he won’t be able to properly grant his kids the proper benefits due to the fact that he didn’t file the proper paperwork at the proper time after his proper wife properly died. Essentially, he failed to change the beneficiary of his will to his children before the deadline. Larry’s only option to recover the benefits is to marry someone. Because Larry is still emotionally distant from his wife’s death and has no female significant other to marry immediately, he turns to Chuck and they get married in Canada, where everything is legal and everyone loves everyone. Sooner or later, the City of New York begins to wonder about the legitimacy of this union.
Chuck and Larry hire an appropriately attractive lawyer, Alex (Jessica Biel), and try to fight this case. Meanwhile, an “investigator” (Steve Buscemi) is snooping through their garbage and their fire chief (Dan Aykroyd) is breathing down their necks because he finds out about the whole ordeal. Chuck falls in love with Alex because he becomes such great friends with her, his life is changed, they’re still supposed to be gay, etc. etc. Within this framework, the film dispenses with countless gay jokes based on stereotypical gay activities and desires, then attempts to moralize on top of the jokes and stereotypes because we’re supposed to cheer on the “cause” now that a couple of straight guys have “felt what it’s like to be gay.” Gotcha, check, good job.
Here’s where it gets interesting. Alexander Payne (About Schmidt, Sideways), one of my favourite modern directors and writers, wrote the original screenplay for this piece of trash. Apparently when it reached Sandler’s possession, Sandler began to, in Payne’s words, “Sandlerize” the material and took out a majority of the really interesting stuff. Payne’s script was effectively neutered and Payne, at some point, didn’t want his name attached to the final project. It is certainly attached to the project now as a screenwriter, along with Barry Fanaro (Men in Black 2, Kingpin) and Jim Taylor, who is Payne’s writing partner. So Fanaro’s revisions are likely to blame here for turning what could have been a compelling comedy into typical preachy schlock.
I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry wants it both ways, really. It wants to grab on to the obvious and idiotic homophobic jokes with gobs of gay stereotypes and vile epithets. It also wants to tell us that the obvious and idiotic homophobic jokes with gobs of gay stereotypes and vile epithets are all wrong. Between moralizing, the film ups the ante on even more abhorrent material, including one of the most offensively unfunny racist gags in recent memory with Rob Schneider going all-out “yellowface” as an Asian minister. Yuck. The film’s problems stack up like a bathtub full of cheap porn and are just as disturbingly off-putting.
So yeah, there you have it. Another film to avoid like the bubonic plague. I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry has no redeeming qualities save for one or two laughable moments, but to tell you the truth I don’t even remember what those moments were. It’s just not good, not good at all.
1/10
