What Took Me So Long: Grown Ups was a somewhat surprising disappointment for me, as I hoped the combined cast could find a way to gracefully age Sandler's latter-day comedy efforts. I did not go into this one so naive.
Why I Saw It: (Club 50) The Happy Madison machine is an impressive one. Adam Sandler is loyal to his friends and, no matter the movie, I like the idea that all these actors like being around each other. The "paid vacation" aspect of Sandler's movies doesn't bother me either. The Ocean's movies were the same idea and my opinion of them had to do with the quality of each movie, not the context of the production. I was much more prepared for the loose structure of this movie than I was with the first Grown Ups and appreciated it a lot more. These are loosely connected stories. Some work better than others. While I wouldn't say I liked the movie, I certainly appreciated what it was doing and found it nowhere near as detestable as reviews and word of mouth would suggest.
Why I Wish I Hadn't: Most of my issues comes down to a growing frustration with PG-13 ratings. Adam Sandler made his fortune on the PG-13 rating, but he's aging out of the man-child phase and hasn't moved into middle-age comfortably in movies. He can either go family oriented with a PG or can go adult by earning an R. Trying to make this PG-13 creates an uncomfortable balance of humor that doesn't fit anywhere. Basically, most jokes are about adult topics but delivered in the same way as Daddy Day Care. Or, maybe it's just that Adam Sandler's fans grew up and he didn't, but there are jokes that 27 year old Sandler and co. can pull off that 47 year old Sandler can't.
Verdict (?): Weakly Don't Recommend
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