Grown Ups 2

This was my review for Grown Ups that released over 3 years back, almost to the date

http://kartikr.blogspot.in/2010/08/grown-ups.html.  My review for Grown Ups 2 is going to have very little different to offer because it is yet again – an Adam Sandler – Denis Dugan combination that gives you nothing different from any of their previous attempts.

Madagascar – Europe’s Most Wanted

There is an interesting piece of trivia that I bumped across over the past few days of Madagascar advertisements on the radio. What are the team of Alex (Ben Stiller), Marty (Chris Rock), Melman (David Schwimmer) and Gloria (Jada Pinkett Smith) called collectively? If you said Zoosters then you are right. If not, then you haven’t been listening to the radio. I guess one cannot underplay the popularity of a lion, a zebra, a giraffe and a hippopotamus together on the screen. With their past 2 roaring successes, it was only obvious that a 3rd edition was around the corner. And it has only added to the previous 2 blockbusters.

Madagascar 3 – Europe’s Most Wanted is definitely going to be loved by one and all. I can assure you that I found it quite difficult to stop laughing my guts out. The Zoosters are in their natural habitat (Africa) but are severely homesick. So they decide to all head back “home” i.e. New York. But for that, they have to first find the Penguins who are in Monte Carlo blowing up all their money. Their Mission Impossible type attempt to grab the penguins turns into a public riot. And in walks their worst nightmare ever to date – Captain Chantel DuBois (Frances McDormand) of the Monte Carlo

DuBois has the reputation of having the head of almost all animals in the world on the wall. All but for the king of the jungle. And the prospect of capturing Alex is just to mouth watering for her. The chase takes the Zoosters and DuBois all through Europe’s exotic locations. En route, the gang meets up with a travelling circus which they also buy out and then go to work to repair the confidence of a bunch of animals who have not been so low in their lives.

Madagascar 3 introduces some new characters such as Vitaly (Bryan Cranston) the Russian tiger who can pass through a ring, Stefano (Martin Short) an Italian Sea Lion and the gorgeous East European cheetah Gia (Jessica Chastain) amongst others. The strike team of our 4 heroes are brilliant as they have been.

Primarily due to the consistency factor yet again. Eric Darnell & Tom McGrath who directed the earlier editions of this brilliant comic caper are joined by Conrad Vernon of Shrek2 & Monsters v Aliens fame. The 3 team up to give an awesome sequel and will definitely be back with more in the not so distant future for certain. For those who are Madagascar fans, the brilliant dialogues continue. For those who aren’t – u will be tempted to convert for certain. 7.5 on 10. That rounds up a brilliant weekend at the movies after a really long time. Three movies. Three scores of 7.5. Aaaah the joys of cinema!!!!

Watch the trailer at http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi1169137689/

The Longest Yard

Never been much of a fan of Adam Sandler and this movie doesn’t really do much for his position on my rating scale (not that he would care). And by this I don’t mean Adam Sandler cannot act. Its just that I cannot keep up with his goofy, slapstick ways of putting himself on screen under the pretext of comedy and qualify to be a good actor. Add to that his capability of taking obnoxious roles such as Little Nicky and making a complete fool of himself on screen. Having said that, he is fairly successful thanks to his brand of comedy being popular with a fair portion of the audience I guess. And even in my books he is miles ahead of the absolutely despicable Ben Stiller.


Paul “Motley” Crewe (Adam Sandler) is a washed out quarterback from the NFL. He was, if I remember correctly, the first player from the NFL to be officially indicted and tried in a court of law for shaving off points in a game. Crewe had managed to get himself into a compromising situation with some not so compromising people it would seem. But it was never really proven in a court of law. He walked away a free man but a much hated man. Throwing a game away and getting caught in the bargain is the biggest mistake any sportsman can make surely. He now finds himself in a situation where he has a rich wife (a very slutty looking Courtney Cox after her boob job) who considers our hero (if we can call him that) to be her boy toy but there is this hole in his life which just doesn’t seem to get filled. That hole is usually called love which is definitely missing in this relationship.

One fine day, Paul decides that he has had enough of this and takes off with his wife’s Bentley, gets into a fight with the cops and some civilians too en route and finally after a high speed chase crashes the Bentley (ouch! Ouch!! Ouch!!!) into a melee of cop cars. A classic example of extremely cruel direction. Before you know it, Crewe finds himself in a Texan Correctional Facility (Cannot call them jails any more is what I hear) where he is given a rather crude welcome from the Captain of the gaurds – Knauer (William Fichtner) who asks him to keep away from the football field during his stay there. A few minutes later he finds himself in the Warden Hazen’s (James Cromwell – don’t ask me what he is doing in the movie) room who wants Crewe to hop on board the Football band wagon and consult the Team of the Gaurds who apparently are hot property in that part of the world. He now finds himself caught between the devil and the deep blue sea and add a third element which is an entire jail full of criminals who don’t really like him. Now how in the blazes does he get out of this situation?

The Longest Yard is the kind of movie you would watch on a Thursday evening because its playing on Star Movies and you are too darn tired to sleep and too darn tired to do anything else. You just lie down on your bed and gaze at the TV screen and maybe glance towards your mobile phone to see if you have received a message that maybe more interesting. Now its not a really bad movie considering that its about a sport and about a bunch of criminals beating a bunch of cruel gaurds in a game of touch football and you feel all good at the end of it all. And you really cannot expect “quality” cinema from the likes of an Adam Sandler and Chris Rock pair. You do get several slapstick one liners and a few good ones thrown in to retain the title of a comedy. And at the end of the day despite the lack of direction, you feel reasonably satisfied. 5 on 10.

Watch the trailer at http://www.imdb.com/video/screenplay/vi821428505/

Grown Ups

If it involves Ben Stiller, I avoid it like the plague. If it involves Adam Sandler, I am not sure. The variety of matter of fact slapstick comedy gets to my nerves more often than note. Its typically way way way over the top with loads of ridiculously gross stuff thrown in as garnish. Stuff which would make the normal person thrown up. But stuff which the Adam Sandler fan would typically enjoy. In that context, Grown Ups has severely exceeded expectations. The quantity of slapstick and gross garnish has been reduced drastically. And I really mean drastically and there is a refreshing focus on a message. One thing I must credit Sandler and most of his movies with is that none of them are without a message or a central theme which invariably touches the heart. The combination of Denis Dugan and Adam Sandler have given us 4 movies to date including Grown Ups. All of them have been quite decent.

Bobby Buzzer Ferdinando (Blake Clarke) coaches a junior high team to the school championship in 1978. In his post match speech, he not only commends the five of them for a superlative performance but also encourages them to live life in the same manner as they played the final game. Thirty years down the lane, our 5 heroes have grown into very successful and some very not so successful people. Lenny Feder (Adam Sandler) is a big Hollywood agent married to Roxanne Chase (Salma Hayek) and has 3 exceptionally spoilt children who believe in texting their Chinese maid Rita (Di Quon) to get them their ice tea. Eric Lamonsoff (Kevin James) is the co-owner of a furniture store, is married to Sally (Maria Bello) and has a daughter. Kurt McKenzie (Chris Rock) is a house husband to Deanne (Maya Rudolph) and stays with his 2 kids and Maya’s obnoxious mother (Ebony Jo Ann). Rob Hillard (Rob Schneider) is a full blown hippy who, after 3 failed marriages, is now with Gloria (Joyce Van Patten), a woman old enough to be his mother. Bringing up the full circle is every single womanizer, Marcus Higgins (David Spade).

A not so good twist of fate gets them back to New England. Coach Buzzer has kicked the bucket. The five friends with family in town get together for the funeral and some time together on the 4th July weekend where Feder has booked them all into the Lake House where they spent their days growing up. Lenny, however cannot stay the entire weekend since Roxanne has to go to Milan for fashion week with kids and maid in tow – a fact which the rest of the gang is unaware of. After they pay their respects to the coach, all of them move to the lake house.

Grown Ups takes a close look at the kind of lives that we live and encourages us to make changes – before its too late. We have children these days who on a bright, beautiful, sunny day prefer to kill their time in front of a Television or playing mindless video games that involve killing people on a beach coz its considered very cool. We build up facades of our life that we want people to perceive us as. Unfortunately we extend this to even those who are closest to us – those to whom it would not matter at all as to what we are. Very rarely will we find ourselves really being honest not only to ourselves but also to our loved ones – very petty lies, but lies nevertheless. It very clearly seems that we have forgotten how to have a good time. As I said earlier, yet another Adam Sandler movie that’s slapstick but has a strong message

Grown Ups is a clean and extremely funny movie. Its would be worth taking the kids out as well. Parental Guidance (PG) is however advisable. Very enjoyable fare positively. I give it 5 on 10.