I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry (2007)

Directed by Dennis Dugan. Starring Adam Sandler, Kevin James, Jessica Biel, Dan Aykroyd, Steve Buscemi, Ving Rhames, Nick Swardson, Nicholas Turturro, Peter Dante, Richard Chamberlain, Jonathan Loughran, Mary Pat Gleason, Rob Schneider, Robert Smigel, Gary Valentine. [PG-13]

When widowed firefighter Larry (James) learns that his kids aren’t beneficiaries on his life insurance policy, he enlists his best pal, Chuck (Sandler), a crass womanizer, in a scheme where they can enter into a domestic partnership so that Chuck can take care of the kids should the worst happen. But when a slimy investigator (Buscemi) starts sniffing around, the pair have to take it to the next level to keep up the ruse—move in together and get married in Canada. An hour-and-a-half of tasteless gay jokes capped off with a hypocritically preachy about-face in the final act to make sure it’s known that tolerance is the path. Also lobs plenty of fat jokes and insults to women and Asians (Schneider has a head-shaking appearance in “yellowface” for no reason whatsoever) to make sure no offending stone goes unturned, but luckily it’s all too stupid to be truly insulting. Alexander Payne and Jim Taylor get co-screenwriting credit, which is as mind-boggling as lawyer Biel’s body when she trots around in wet underwear (verifying what audience this “comedy” is aimed at). In addition to Schneider, several other “Sandler regulars” cameo, plus Rachel Dratch and Lance Bass.

22/100