'Grown Ups' review

David Spade, Kevin James and Adam Sandler (Credit: Tracy Bennett/Sony)

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The death of a high school basketball coach leads to a reunion for Lenny (Adam Sandler) and his old buddies: Eric (Kevin James), whose four-year-old son is still breastfeeding; Kurt (Chris Rock), a househusband to his workaholic wife; Rob (Rob Schneider), mocked endlessly for his crunchy organic philosophizing and elderly wife; and Marcus (David Spade), a lifelong bachelor without a care in the world. Their cabin getaway gives them a chance to set aside worries about finances, jobs and modern technology and resurrect the old fashioned fun that can apparently only be found on a tree swing, down a water slide and around a basketball court.

The buzz: Few big-screen comedians are as bankable or, frankly, broadly appealing as Sandler. He’s built one of the most cheerfully profitable movie portfolios by playing the populist schmuck. Sandler’s draw this time around is multiplied four-fold by James, Rock, Schneider and Spade, all big-league funny men with their own legions of fans. James especially looks to be a standout. He's the only star who wasn't a “Saturday Night Live” cast member, but he's a no-holds-barred physical comedian in true Chris Farley fashion.

The verdict: Halfway through “Grown Ups” the gang visits a water park for a thoroughly meaningless sequence of splishing and splashing, laughing and pranking, that ultimately goes nowhere. And yet I was grinning ear to ear through the entire day trip. The film’s greatest accomplishment is bringing together an ensemble so affable that we’re willing to follow them through a weekend in a cabin as they do, well, pretty much nothing. A laid-back sensibility proves key to this very retro story, as Sandler and director Dennis Dugan (“You Don’t Mess With the Zohan”) advocate their belief that just about every familial issue can be solved around the picnic table, checker board and riverbank. Where the film stumbles—and then falls flat on its face—is assuming that the audience is every bit as bored by the bonding as Lenny’s two bratty kids. Throwing every possible bodily fluid at us—urine, poop, even breast milk—in a misguided bid to up the hilarity, “Grown Ups” betrays everything sweet, sincere and low-key that actuality makes it special. In an age of so many vulgar and mean-spirited comedies, here’s a welcome movie about real families trying to do little more than reconnect—that then forces Eric to pee on Marcus, and Rob to fall in manure.

Did you know? Sandler has always been good to his friends—finding supporting roles and cameos to doll out to his favorite collaborators. Schneider has appeared in no fewer than nine Sandler films—often for only a couple minutes, popping in to steal a given scene. The pals finally get the chance to chew the scenery together in “Grown Ups”—by far Schneider’s funniest role in years.

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