I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry

Director: Dennis Dugan
Starring: Adam Sandler, Kevin James, Jessica Biel, Dan Aykroyd, Ving Rhames, Steve Buscemi
Running Time: 110 min.
Rating: PG-13

** (out of ****)

It's okay to be gay! In case you didn't know that, just see I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry, a movie that gladly shoves that message down your throat for two hours. It's a shame too, because as far as raunchy comedies go it isn't completely worthless and until it starts patting itself on the back for its message the movie is at least somewhat entertaining. That this isn't the total bomb everyone has claimed it to be is something of a miracle considering the quality of the script and that can be largely attributed to the performance of an actor whose name happens to NOT be Adam Sandler.

Contrary to what you've heard, the film probably wouldn't be offensive to gays, who are more likely to just find the whole thing stupid, which it's supposed to be and is. The movie is too busy offending other groups like New York City firefighters (who are made out to look like complete morons) and Asians, as the film features the worst Asian American stereotype since Mickey Rooney's appearance as a Japanese neighbor in Breakfast at Tiffany's.

The film is overlong and predictable, but contains a couple of laughs, most of which are provided by the supporting characters. After a while though it starts to be too much and it feels like we're being hammered over the head repeatedly with a feel-good message. And the message is an odd one considering the type of movie this is. When Lance Bass shows up to sing a George Michael song you know we've officially gone to hell and there's no turning back.

In a predictable set-up, FDNY firefighter and recent widower Larry Valentine (Kevin James) must re-marry so his kids can become the primary beneficiary of his pension. Obviously straight, but still grieving the death of his wife Larry is unwilling to allow another woman into his life and convinces his reluctant womanizing co-worker Chuck Levine (Sandler) to enter a "domestic partnership" with him.

According to Larry, Chuck "owes him" for saving his life in a burned house and their attempts to pull of this blatant scam soon catches the eye of the government. They seek out lawyer Alex McDonough (Jessica Biel), who warns them that a specialist will start tracking their every move, hoping to expose them as frauds. That Steve Buscemi plays this specialist is one of the film's few delights. The others are a sub-plot involving Larry's unease with the behavior of his very effeminate son (played well by Cole Morgen) and an amusing supporting turn by Ving Rhames as a firefighter with a secret. Gee, I wonder what that secret could be.

The script, which occasionally has its moments, is unfortunately plagued with a big problem that's been infecting most Hollywood comedies these days: Trying to milk laughs from topics that just aren't funny. Early in the picture Sandler's Chuck is making jokes about Larry's deceased wife. Are we supposed to laugh? I don't know about you but I don't know how many best friends would light-heartedly joke about something like that, or how many of them I'd consider "best friends" if they did. It seems to writers felt they had to treat Larry's wife's death as a joke since it was the only way the script could believably get Chuck and Larry into this union.

Rob Schneider appears out of nowhere as a Japanese priest, complete with slanted eyes and yellow skin. How funny. Firefighters are treated as being so clueless in this movie that you'd think they've never seen as gay person in their lives. An alien invasion wouldn't cause as much shock for them as homosexuality. Gay characters seem to appear out of the woodwork, including the neighborhood mailman. The stupidity kicks into overdrive heading into the final act as the movie celebrates the joys of being gay, despite spending most of its running time making fun of it. We're also punished with some grandstanding courtroom drama and a really embarrassing speech from Dan Aykroyd (!) as the fire chief.

Sandler is Sandler in this. He's funny sometimes and annoying at others. What saves this film from a descent into the abyss is the chemistry between the two leads, specifically the likeable performance from Kevin James, who proves here that he's capable of carrying a comedy and deserves the opportunity to star in a really good one in the future. That his name will forever be attached to this project is sad because he actually does a terrific job.

As simplistic as the script is, Sandler and James play off one another well and are believable both as best buddies and New York City firefighters. They do look like they're having a good time, which goes a long way and prevents the film from being completely unentertaining. Had it ended twenty minutes earlier and spared us a lesson in gay rights we could have possibly had something.

I was frightened when I heard Jessica Biel would be portraying an attorney, but surprisingly she wasn't too bad. What's amusing though is she's believable in the scenes where she's practicing law and speaking legalese, but when the action shifts outside the office and she has to act like a normal person it comes off all wrong and rings false. Maybe she missed her calling and should have become a lawyer instead of an actress.

The possible romance with her and Sandler's character seems like an afterthought since the film seems much more interested in throwing a gay pride parade than exploring any heterosexual relationship. It may seem like a obvious complaint, but it's impossible to believe Biel's character would even consider these two guys are anything but straight. A smarter script would have had her slyly taking them along for the ride to teach them a lesson.

This is one of those comedies that when it ends you think it wasn't that bad, then about 10 minutes later you realize it really was. It's also a strange curiosity in that it's a gay comedy that appears to be aimed at a straight audience. Whoever it's for, it's a misfire. What the film's marketing team has gone to great lengths to avoid, but I would have plastered on the DVD cover, is that this mess was co-written by Alexander Payne, the Oscar winning scribe who gave us such films as Election, About Schmidt and Sideways.

The studio should have instead trumpeted this fact to give us all inspiration that even the best of us can run into a brick wall creatively every once in while. Since there are two other writers credited we may never know just how guilty Payne is but that he had a hand in it at all is disturbing enough news for me. I have little doubt a documentary exploring that topic would be funnier than most of what we experience in I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry.