I NOW PRONOUNCE YOU CHUCK AND LARRY

MOVIE REVIEW...

I NOW PRONOUNCE YOU CHUCK AND LARRY
Directed by Dennis Dugan
Starring Adam Sandler, Kevin James, Jessica Biel, Ving
Rhames, Nick Swardson, Steve Buscemi, Dan Aykroyd

I Now Pronounce you Chuck and Larry is a simple and straightforward enough title. And as the title implies, it is a gay-themed movie about two men getting married.
AND since it is an Adam Sandler movie, you can bet that this is a comedy! Gay marriages are explored,
probed and laid bare in ways that are imaginably and sometimes unexpectedly funny for laughs.
In reliable Sandler-esque manner, the jokes are simple and straightforward for easy mass consumption.
But, surprisingly, although that should be the case, the film does have wobbly moments.
I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry is not as easy to swallow at times (as you would imagine an Adam
Sandler comedy to be) because Sandler’s co-star in the film, Kevin James, is an unimpressive actor with limited comedic talent.
If a movie needs a good foil for the lead to be successful, then just think of James as mere tin foil - just so much noise and not engaging at all.
Because of this, when James’ character proposes the idea of a gay marriage-of-convenience to Sandler’s character, you are not even half convinced of the scatter-brained reasons the former gives for wanting a
gay marriage.
Phew! Knowing that, we must say that the movie otherwise mercifully does have its share of substantial funny-bone moments when Sandler has screen time, along with a collection of his trusty comedic nutcases.
This film is about carefree bachelor Chuck Levine (Adam Sandler) and his recently widowed best friend Larry Valentine (Kevin James) who work as firemen.
When Larry saves Chuck in a building accident (yes, after a fire, of course), Larry “cashes in” the fact that he saved Chuck’s life and asks his best friend to participate in a sham gay marriage to cheat the government.
Of course, the government is on to these phoney gays and to escape being found out that they are not gay
(and risk losing their benefits plus gaining some jail time!), the two panic and up the ante in their gay game plan.
As with any Sandler movie, there is a beginning, middle and end to the gay deal.
In the beginning, the leads mock the gay life. It is all a joke for them. Then, in the middle, when they are caught in a conundrum, Chuck and Larry endorse the gay life and, at the end of it, having learned their cinematic lesson, the duo display heartfelt emphathy with the gay community.
In the process of all these, the theme of gay firemen is given a good ribbing, when the truth about some of Chuck and Larry’s colleagues is revealed.
Then, the classic Las Vegas quickie wedding is given an absolutely hilarious and side-splitting spin by Rob Schneider who plays an Asian Minister who marries off Chuck and Larry.
Faithful to Sandler’s irreverential nature, the dead are given no respect either, as Chuck takes to making fun of Larry’s dearly-departed wife a few times in the movie.
The running joke in the movie, and a good one it is too, is who is considered the “wife” in Chuck and
Larry’s marriage.
Of course, throwing sexual temptation into the path of the very heterosexual Chuck is Alex McDonoug (Jessica Biel), the lawyer the male couple engage to help them escape from the clutches of the truth-seeking government and its agents.
Biel, to her credit, plays Chuck’s unwitting temptress with a mixture of Pamela Anderson’s put-on-naivette and Cameron Diaz’s Something About Mary’s sense of unguarded fun -- thinking Chuck is gay, Alex spends her days doing various ‘girly’ things with Chuck.
Other supporting actors who make the movie watchable include Chuck and Larry’s boss, Captain Tucker (nicelyplayed by Dan Aykroyd); coming out of the closet fireman Duncan (Ving Rhames); and the nutty scam investigator Clinton Fitzer (Steve Buschemi).
For those who follow the entertainment news, a notable television star of yesteryear and a member of a boyband who are both out of the closet in real life make their appearances towards the third quarter of the film.
As for Chuck and Larry, you must be wondering: Do they continue with their farcical gay married life? Fans of Sandler - who is a very very big comedy star in Asia - should catch the film to find out.