Review: Grown Ups 2

Synopsis: After moving his family back to his hometown to be with his friends and their kids, Lenny finds out that between old bullies, new bullies, schizo bus drivers, drunk cops on skis, and 400 costumed party crashers sometimes crazy follows you.

Of all the films out there that could benefit from another sequel, Grown Ups 2 is not one of those films. I have began to distance myself from Adam Sandler films due to the continual redundancy in humor and this film continues down that path.

 

While the first film had a generic plot, this film seems to have been thrown together with a total disregard for consistency. There are a series of subplots that go nowhere while doses of random humor and cameos are used to fill the holes in the story. It seemed more like a camera following Adam Sandler and his friends around getting into trouble rather than any sort of attempt at a film. While I did enjoy the cameos and caught myself laughing at times, a majority of the humor consisted of usual Sandler mockery and bathroom humor. I will laugh at bathroom humor now and then, but most of the time it’s just lazy which is how it feels in this film. There are some attempts at more adult-oriented humor which is different from the first film, but it was also another random element thrown into the mixing bowl of a plot.

 

When seeing the main actors on screen, I began to wonder if there is more of a redundancy in acting than a redundancy in humor. Adam Sandler, Chris Rock, David Spade, and Kevin James all play the roles they are known for which is just added proof that they are falling into the role of being typecast. Sandler is the ringleader who gets to make fun of everyone, Spade is picked on for his small frame, James is made fun of for his weight, and Rock seems to partner up with Sandler in the name calling, picking on everyone else that Sandler hasn’t got to. It’s a shame to see the same roles over and over from these actors because there was a time when all of them were funny. They just seem like they haven’t taken the time to evolve their humor and want to continue to rely on recycled jokes.

 

The first thing I think of to describe this film would be mindless humor. It’s something to watch with laughs few and far between, but overall its inconsistencies and recycled humor don’t make it close to being a success. The cameos from Shaq, Steve Austin, and Andy Samberg with SNL cast members were my favorite moments of the film and that’s probably because I got a break from the main characters. The only cameo that made things worse was Taylor Lautner. Can someone please ban this kid from the big screen? He’s so douchey his stage name should be Summer’s Eve. From the male perspective, I will give this film an extra two points for Salma Hayek’s breasts. They once again had a “breakthrough” performance and I wish they would have got more screen time.

 

Grown Ups 2 – 4 out of 10

Simple humor with no sign of a plot