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Category:    Home > Reviews > Comedy > I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry (HD DVD/DVD Combo Format)

I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry (HD DVD/DVD Combo Format)

 

Picture: B/C+      Sound: B/C+     Extras: C-     Film: C

 

 

The word ‘gay’ is thrown around a little too liberally by the general public these days and in turn has taken on a plethora of meanings.  It could mean the more classic sense of the word, as in happy.  It could be the literal 21st century sense of the word, as in homosexual.  It could be used as an insult meaning bad, stupid, or some other form of dislike.  And now it seems Adam Sandler and Kevin James have managed to disgrace the word on a whole new level.  Now available on HD/DVD Combo Format is I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry for all to shudder and gag (no pun intended) at.   The story of the film is simple and somewhat annoying.  And though this reviewer had high hopes for this particular film, it fell tragically short of any form of viable entertainment.

 

The film’s plot follows two best friends, Chuck (Sandler) and Larry (James), who work together as heroic New York City Firemen.  Larry has recently saved Chuck’s life after a building collapse at a post-fire scene.  Chuck swears that he will one day pay Larry back for his heroic deed, no matter what.  Larry never intended on cashing in his favor card so soon, but circumstances arise that force him to call upon Chuck for help.  Larry, having been mourning the death of his wife for over a year now, has neglected to file certain insurance forms and in turn leaves his children without any guardian or money if he should accidentally pass away.  Larry reads that civil unions (gay marriages) are considered legitimate in the state of New York for insurance purposes; so the scheme is born.  Larry goes to Chuck in the middle of the night and proposes that they get married in Canada so that his kids will have a secure future and Chuck cold be their guardian; though Chuck is apprehensive at first (being a huge ladies man) he begrudgingly agrees.

 

What at first seemed to be a simple solution to a ridiculous paperwork mix-up, suddenly spirals out of control as Chuck and Larry are investigated by the government to see if their marriage is legitimate.  The investigator (played by the brilliant Steve Buscemi) seems to be stalking their every move.  In a desperate attempt to protect themselves from jail time, Chuck and Larry hire a lawyer (played by the stunning Jessica Biel) who Chuck instantly falls in love with.  The film becomes a flimsy ‘house of cards’ gag that is surely going to come tumbling down as Chuck and Larry pretend to be gay, Chuck loves a woman who thinks he is gay, and what will happen when the world and their fellow Firefighters find out Chuck and Larry are married; it is only a matter of when?

 

There is not much to say about the film.  This reviewer does not particularly care for the comedy of Kevin James, but has always found Adam Sandler funny.  But the question arises that with the multitude of ‘bombs’ Sandler has been releasing, why go see his films anymore?  I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry was another huge disappointment to this reviewer that consisted of one joke that was never good to start with.  The cast talent was there, but they and their writers just did not bring it to the table.  The writer’s seemed to want to make a PC film while making it un-Politically Correct; it didn’t work, chose one or the other and don’t pussyfoot around the idea.  The film was undaring, unfunny, and unbelievably forgettable.

 

The matrimony of DVD and HD technical features on this double sided set are very nice, too bad the film’s lack of humor divorces the audience before there is even time for a honeymoon.  The picture quality on the 1080p VC-1 1.85 X 1 digital High Definition side is fairly good, but has motion blur often and you can tell this was shot in HD.  The anamorphically enhanced standard DVD side is not bad, mostly being crisp and clear with balanced colors despite the drop in definition.  The sound quality on the DVD side of the disc is presented in a simple Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound mix that is clear and balanced, but definitely has some high/low issues at times.  The extras on this dual format disc are neither impressive nor exciting.

 

Extras include Outrageous! Deleted Scenes that are not so outrageous or funny, mainly being material that is very forgettable.  Other special features include outtakes, a behind the scenes featurette, a look at the cameos of the film, and an inside look at the stunts of the film.  The behind the scenes featurette was very boring, the cameos were simply Adam Sandler’s normal crew of friends and of course Rob Schneider and the stunts for this film were so minimal to the film’s plot that a featurette on that particular subject matter was a waste.  Overall, the extra special features on this HD/DVD Combo set leave fans even more disappointed and irritated then the film already left them, if it were possible.  Special Features are definitely not worth the viewers’ time.

 

In the end, what can this reviewer say about I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry?  To put it simply, it was bad.  Adam Sandler had a good string of hit films for a long while, but now it seems that his blockbuster stamina has fizzled out.  This reviewer personally enjoyed Sandler’s early ventures like Billy Madison, Happy Gilmore, and The Wedding Singer and in many senses considers them classics for a younger generation (now in their 20’s).  This film was supposed to be a homerun for team Sandler/James but instead took one bad joke that in essence managed to pronounce it dead on arrival.

 

 

-   Michael P Dougherty II


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