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'Chuck and Larry' Gets a C From Our Movie Reviewer
By Yoji Cole
July 23, 2007
"I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry" is a mildly funny film that is more about the need for the straight world to get over its juvenile homophobia than it is about gay issues, such as coming out or domestic-partner benefits.
Starring Adam Sandler and Kevin James, "I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry"
is yet another takeoff on "Some Like It Hot" (1959) about two men who have to pretend to be gay or women. This film's popularity (it was No. 1 in the box office this weekend, beating "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix") seems shallow and forced at a time when gay and lesbian issues are being debated by presidential candidates.
In "Chuck and Larry," firefighter Larry Valentine (Kevin James), recently widowed, missed the deadline to list his children as his dependents, so if he dies, his pension benefits will go to his dead wife. In order to right the bureaucratic wrong, he decides to convince his fellow firefighter and best friend Chuck Levine (Adam Sandler) to become his domestic partner. Chuck resists the idea at first but eventually agrees to move in with Larry and the kids, marry Larry and play the farce until the paperwork goes through.
Watching "Chuck and Larry" felt like I was watching a film stuck in the 1950s. Too much of the plot had loopholes that couldn't be patched. Plus the characters seemed to be caricatures of the 1950s, down to Ving Rhames as a closeted gay firefighter and Rob Schneider's turn as a Canadian-Japanese minister reminiscent of the criticized character Mr. Yunioshi in "Breakfast at Tiffany's" (1961). While Schneider is half-Filipino, his depiction of the minister lacked authenticity.
Lacking authenticity is the film's general flaw. Its humor is neither authentically stereotypical nor authentically politically correct, and the writers chose to skim over the issue of domestic-partner benefits for gay couples, a topic that like all hot topics is full of tragedy and comedy when addressed properly. For more on domestic-partner health benefits—and why they are litmus tests to be in The 2007 DiversityInc Top 50 Companies for Diversity®—see the June issue of DiversityInc magazine.
To its credit, however, "Chuck and Larry" is not riddled with gay stereotypes. The film shows the ironies in straight-male relationships, such as the ubiquitous butt slap while playing basketball or showering together in a communal shower room after strenuous exercise. The extremes of the straight-versus-gay world are lampooned most as Chuck and Larry face a homophobic public, complete with protestors. And Sandler's character does exclaim that the word "faggot" should never be used.
But I doubt audience members will leave "Chuck and Larry" thinking the film turned an issue on its head and through intellect and wit made it funny and informative. In the end, it's one of those films that would make you laugh if watched on cable, but $10-$12 per movie-theater ticket is not really worth it.
My final grade on this film? A C. It's passable but nothing special.
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