I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry

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I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry

Promotional movie poster for the film
Directed by Dennis Dugan
Produced by Adam Sandler
Tom Shadyac
Written by Alexander Payne
Jim Taylor
Barry Fanaro
Starring Kevin James
Adam Sandler
Jessica Biel
Dan Aykroyd
Ving Rhames
Steve Buscemi
Music by Rupert Gregson-Williams
Cinematography Dean Semler
Editing by Jeff Gordon
Distributed by Universal Pictures
Release date(s) Flag of the Philippines Flag of Japan June 29, 2007
Flag of the United States July 20, 2007

Flag of the Netherlands July 26, 2007
Flag of the United Kingdom September 21, 2007
Running time 110 minutes
Country USA
Language English
Allmovie profile
IMDb profile

I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry (a.k.a. Chuck and Larry) is a 2007 comedy film directed by Dennis Dugan and starring Adam Sandler and Kevin James. The film was released on July 20, 2007 in the U.S., August 16, 2007 in Australia and on September 21, 2007 in the UK and Ireland.

Contents

[edit] Plot summary

Larry Valentine (Kevin James) and Chuck Levine (Adam Sandler) are veteran FDNY firefighters. Chuck is a sexual deviant while Larry is a single father trying to raise a "tomboy" daughter Tori and an effeminate son Eric (Cole Morgen). Because of Larry's sadness and obsession over his wife's death, he ends up not changing the primary beneficiary of his pension from his wife to his children within the deadline. His only option is to marry someone but Larry admits that there is no woman he knows that he would trust with his children's future.

Larry finds an article about same-sex domestic partnership rights and decides to marry Chuck, making him the beneficiary and caretaker of Larry's children. Chuck is reluctant but gives in since Larry saved his life.

After registering their domestic partnership, a beneficiary office lawyer comes to talk to Chuck and Larry. Chuck and Larry put on an act and the lawyer quickly leaves, hinting that a surprise inspection may come in the future by a much more thorough person.

Chuck and Larry meet with their lawyer Alex McDonough (Jessica Biel). Alex tells the two a specialist is indeed being sent in to see if Chuck and Larry are frauds. She suggests they truly get married. Following her advice they marry in Canada, since same-sex marriage in New York is not possible. Chuck then moves in with Larry and in turn, shows Larry a couple things about running a good household after objecting to Larry's poor cooking for his kids and even helps encourage Eric in his theatrical pursuits. This even causes Larry to become comfortable with his son's lifestyle and encouraging of it.

After Chuck's first morning with Larry (in which Larry finds Chuck has slept with his maid, and made Larry finger a blow-up doll in his sleep), Larry goes outside and finds Clinton Fitzer (Steve Buscemi) snooping around in his trash. Fitzer identifies himself as the specialist sent in to see if they’re faking. He remarks that their trash is not very gay and leaves, revealing his suspicions about the legitimacy of their partnership.

While shopping for more "gay stuff", Chuck runs into Alex and she invites Chuck and Larry to a gay costume party. The two men are extremely uncomfortable in the gay scene. After the party ends, the party-goers are confronted by an anti-gay rights group (ostensibly based on Rev. Fred Phelps' Westboro Baptist Church of Topeka, Kansas.) The activists get into verbal arguments with the gays, culminating in activist leader Jim (Rob Corddry) calling them faggots. Chuck then punches him in the face, to much applause. The altercation makes its way to the newspaper tabloids the next day.

The next morning, Chuck and Larry are called to speak with worrywart FDNY Captain Phineas J. Tucker (Dan Aykroyd) who warns them that if they get caught, they are not to bring the firehouse down. Chuck and Larry find themselves not accepted well by other firemen. Chuck tries to join a game of basketball, but all of the other firemen decide that his defense is too physical, and that he has been 'grab-assing' them while they play. Chuck is confronted by Fred Duncan (Ving Rhames), while playing basketball by himself. Chuck fears that this intimidating man plans to verbally or possibly physically abuse him (or even kill him, due to his rumored past as a murderer), but Fred opens up that he is gay, and proudly tells Chuck and Larry that they have been a big inspiration to his coming out of the closet.

The fire chief calls them in again, and reveals that the other firemen have been passing around a petition with the intent of having the two of them transferred to another division. He puts the two on separate shifts to alleviate the complaints of the others. Larry goes into the fire station and confronts the others about it. He reprimands them for suddenly abandoning himself and Chuck after learning that they are 'gay'. He reveals that one of the firemen 'crapped his pants' his first day on the job, and that Chuck has personally saved several of their lives, even loaning money to one comrade after losing money on a big bet that threatened his marriage. They are ashamed, but are saved from answering by a fire in the city.

Meanwhile, tabloids pick up on Chuck and Larry's case and their court case becomes a media spectacle. Inside the courthouse, Chuck and Larry confront the other firefighters who apologize and vow to stand with Chuck and Larry. During the court case, Chuck and Larry are grilled with personal questions, and are required to give individual testimony. After testimony by Larry's children, the case looks to be firmly on Chuck and Larry's side. In a last attempt, Clint asks the couple to kiss. They attempt to kiss but are interrupted by Captain Tucker who admits that they are lying and he has part in it but tells the judges that their lie has helped everyone around them and hurt no one. Clint convinces the judge that it doesn't matter since they still broke the law. In a Spartacus-inspired sequence, the firefighters all lie and claim that they helped Chuck and Larry break the law and should also be jailed, hoping that the show of solidarity will discourage any attempts at punishment.

Unfortunately, they are all thrown in jail. Councilman Banks (Richard Chamberlain) shows up and tells Chuck and Larry he'll drop all charges under two conditions: the firefighters have to admit that what they did was illegal, and the council will dismiss it as a misdemeanor, and they all have to help raise funds for AIDS research, because they are sort of heroes in the gay community.

The fundraising scheme turns out to be a gay calendar, featuring the firefighters, and the Canadian wedding chaplain, in erotic poses. Fred is then seen marrying Alex's brother (who was introduced earlier in the film). All the ceremonies take place in Canada, where singer Lance Bass makes an appearance, to play a song about the importance of freedom.

[edit] Cast

[edit] MPAA rating

The MPAA initially rated the film R for "some crude sexual humor and nudity." Universal appealed the rating, but it was upheld.[1] Upon losing the appeal, Universal edited the film, this version was rated PG-13 for "crude sexual content throughout, nudity, language and drug references."

[edit] Home video release

I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry HD DVD retail packaging
I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry HD DVD retail packaging

The film was released on both DVD and HD DVD Combo Format on November 6, 2007. The HD DVD and DVD special features [2] include:

  1. Deleted Scenes with Optional Commentary by Director Dennis Dugan
  2. Laughing Is Contagious
  3. I Now Pronounce You Husband and...Husband?
  4. Look Who Stopped By
  5. Stop, Drop, and Roll
  6. Dugan: The Hands on Director
  7. Feature Commentary with Director Dennis Dugan, Adam Sandler and Kevin James
  8. Feature Commentary with Director Dennis Dugan
  9. Friendship Test - An interactive friendship quiz (Exclusive to the HD DVD version)

[edit] Critical reaction

On the movie review aggregator site Rotten Tomatoes, the film has a 14% critic rating from 145 reviews, with a 13% Cream of the Crop rating based on reviews from major news outlets.

The film was ranked the #1 "worst" film of the year according to Entertainment Weekly's Lisa Schwarzbaum. She writes, "I now pronounce this a witless, squeamish message comedy about two straight men pretending to be gay and learning that Gays Have It Hard. Adam Sandler gets his knickers in a twist straining to be at once unexpectedly homo-friendly and typically hetero-jokey. Unclench, buddy." The magazine also rated the film a 'C-' upon its release.

Newsday's John Anderson said in his review, "What were they thinking? Simple: They weren't." David Ansen of Newsweek said, "There is something to be said for a movie that may end up preaching, for a change, to the unconverted. If only the laughs were bigger, smarter, and more frequent than they are." Manohla Dargis of The New York Times wrote, "Sporadically funny, casually sexist, blithely racist and about as visually sophisticated as parking-garage surveillance video." And Variety's Brian Lowry dubbed the film "relentlessly juvenile and awash in stereotypes." The film received eight Razzie nominations, including Worst Picture, but failed to "win" any.

The film grossed $34,233,750 in its opening weekend in 3,495 theaters, an average of $9,795 per theater and managed to gross a total of $119.6 million domestically.

As of December 2007, the film has grossed approximately $184,866,019 worldwide.

[edit] Response from social groups

The film was screened prior to release for the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD). GLAAD representative Damon Romine told Entertainment Weekly magazine: "The movie has some of the expected stereotypes, but in its own disarming way, it's a call for equality and respect."[3]

The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops Office for Film and Broadcasting has given the film the classification of "O - Morally Offensive" due to "pervasive sexual content and references, frequent crude and crass language, one instance of profanity, vulgar gestures, some bathroom humor, fondling of a woman's breasts, rear male nudity, much skimpy female costuming, frequent racial, gender and homosexual slurs, a drug reference, and much violence including fisticuffs."[4]

[edit] Controversy

According to Alexander Payne, the writer of an initial draft of the movie, Sandler took many liberties with his screenplay, "sandlerizing" the movie, in his own words. At some point, he didn't want his name attached to the project.[5]

Critics have also said the character played by Rob Schneider is a racist depiction of Asian men, labelling his portrayal as yellowface.[6] Rob Schneider is one quarter Filipino.

[edit] Similarities to Strange Bedfellows

It was reported in the Australian media that the makers of the 2004 Paul Hogan Australian film Strange Bedfellows are concerned that Chuck and Larry is similar enough to their film to suggest that Chuck and Larry was a rip-off of their film[7][dubious – discuss]. Strange Bedfellows is also about a straight firefighter 'marrying' his straight friend for tax benefits, and then having to endure a public test of their union.

It was reported that Michael Caton, the star of Strange Bedfellows, gave Rob Schneider, while they were on the set filming The Animal, a copy of the script and Schneider most likely passed it on to Adam Sandler.[8].

Australian media outlets have also been critical of the movie:

“ For anyone who has seen the Australian feature "Strange Bedfellows", this plotline isn't anything new. In fact, it is surprising how blatantly the premise is copied. ”

—David Beirne, movie critic.[9]

I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry, "it’s a direct clone of the little-seen Aussie comedy Strange Bedfellows"[10]. And, "nobody...seems to question the fact that this film exists without giving a single ounce of credit to the 2004 Australian film, Strange Bedfellows"[11].

"Strange Bedfellows, an Australian film that Chuck and Larry is obviously based on but doesn't have the good grace to own up to."[12]

In November 2007 the producers of Strange Bedfellows initiated legal action against Universal Pictures for copyright violation.[13]

[edit] Trivia

In the scene when Chuck reads Eric and Tori a bedtime story he reads a book titled "The Puppy Who Lost His Way". This same book was read to Adam Sandler over ten years ago by his Kindergarten teacher in his debut movie "Billy Madison" as a bedtime story.


[edit] References

  1. ^ http://www.mpaa.org/press_releases/i%20now%20pronounce%20you%20chuck%20and%20larry%205.22.pdf
  2. ^ HD DVD Release Details on I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry - DVDTOWN.com
  3. ^ I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry | I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry | Movie Preview | Movies | Summer Movie Preview 2007 | Entertainment Weekly
  4. ^ USCCB - (Film and Broadcasting) - I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry
  5. ^ http://www.cinemaemcena.com.br/frm_noticias_detalhe2.aspx?tipo=cinenews&id=20895&cod_filme=204
  6. ^ Review of "I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry" | AfterElton.com
  7. ^ New Sandler comedy is not a Hogan rip-off - The Sydney Morning Herald, 20 July 2007
  8. ^ New Sandler comedy is not a Hogan rip-off - The Sydney Morning Herald, 20 July 2007
  9. ^ Please wait
  10. ^ I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry : Movies
  11. ^ Movie Review: I NOW PRONOUNCE YOU CHUCK & LARRY | Stale Popcorn
  12. ^ DVD Times - I Now Pronounce You Chuck And Larry
  13. ^ Filmmakers take on Hollywood over comedy 'copy' - Film - Entertainment

[edit] External links

v • d • e
Films directed by Dennis Dugan

Problem Child (1990) • Brain Donors (1992) • Happy Gilmore (1996) • Beverly Hills Ninja (1997) • Big Daddy (1999) • Saving Silverman (2001) • National Security (2003) • The Benchwarmers (2006) • I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry (2007) • You Don't Mess with the Zohan (2008)


Preceded by
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix		 Box office number-one films of 2007 (USA)
July 22, 2007		 Succeeded by
The Simpsons Movie