A&E
DVD review: "I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry"
Published: Saturday, January 19, 2008 - 11:20pm
CHUCK & LARRY"
Starring Adam Sandler, Kevin James, Jessica Biel
Released: Nov. 6, 2007 (DVD);
July 20, 2007 (theaters)
“I NOW PRONOUNCE You Chuck & Larry” is a comedy that gets its laughs by taking two men out of their element and reversing their stereotypical roles.
It’s a film that has been controversial due to its questionable portrayal of homosexuals and women as well as different races and ethnic groups.
I found that while the movie may come off at times as derogatory toward certain groups, the purpose of the film is to confront those negative feelings and encourage acceptance of more than one style of life.
Adam Sandler, who plays Chuck Levine, a Brooklyn firefighter, is the stereotypical “womanizer.” At the start of the film he is admired by women all over the city who recognize him as a model from the calendar his fire department creates.
He has a wealth of women throwing themselves at his feet, but at the heart of his priorities are his fellow firemen. Among them is his best friend, Larry Valentine (Kevin James), who has been his work partner for ages and who courageously saves Chuck's life in a burning building as the movie begins.
Larry is a widower with two children, daughter Tori and son Eric. But he has a problem: Although his wife died two years ago, Larry neglected to change the beneficiary of his pension within the one-year time limit.
The story picks up with Larry trying to find a way to change his pension to his kids. After trying the city bureaucracy, all he walks away with is the knowledge that pensions can only be changed at births, deaths, and marriages.
Feeling hopeless, Larry goes home and soon, coincidentally, finds an article about gay rights. On his last hope he begs Chuck to become his domestic partner.
At first Chuck is opposed to the idea despite Larry’s assurance that the domestic partnership would be strictly on paper and that the privacy laws would prevent anyone from finding out about the union.
After several failed attempts at reasoning with Chuck, Larry finally reminds his friend that he saved his life and that Chuck had sworn he would do anything Larry needed in return. The two sign the domestic partnership forms, change Larry’s pension to his kids, and resume their normal lives.
They soon find out that their scheme will not pass by so easily. An investigator stops by Larry’s house to check on the validity of their relationship. Chuck and Larry put on an act that convinces the man they are married, but he warns them that the pension department will send over someone more slippery to ensure they are not frauds trying to steal from the city.
Following this encounter, Chuck and Larry go to see lawyer Alex McDonough (Jessica Biel) about their situation, but they do not divulge their lie.
Alex informs them that if the pension department sends someone else to investigate, then the city means business. She suggests trying ways to make their relationship seem more authentic, particularly, a marriage ceremony.
Chuck and Larry decide to give it a try and drive up to Canada, where gay marriages are legal. The two friends then move in together and once again resume their daily lives, praying that nothing else will go wrong.
But within a short time Larry finds Clinton Fitzer (Steve Buscemi) from the pension department digging through their trash searching for evidence that their relationship is a fraud.
From then on, Chuck and Larry attempt to appear more like a gay couple — or at least what they imagine a gay couple to be. In doing so they discover what it's like to be homosexual in a world that isn’t always accepting of everyone.
I found that the film portrayed a pair of friends who would see each other through anything and who really grew together throughout the course of their relationship.
At the start of Chuck and Larry’s domestic partnership, they mock those who do not conform to society’s idea of a straight sexual orientation. But after knowing how it feels to be on the other side of the jokes and stares, Chuck and Larry identify more with the gay community and show them support and respect.
This shows through not only in Chuck and Larry’s relationship with each other, but also in how they treat Larry’s son, Eric. The film hints that Eric may be homosexual, but both Chuck and Larry do not think too kindly of this possibility and try to encourage him in the other direction.
But as Chuck and Larry become more attached to the gay community of Brooklyn and begin to understand what it means to be homosexual, they stop trying to change Eric and start to appreciate him for who and what he is.
The ways in which the film portrays certain groups or types of people, however, are somewhat oversimplified and demeaning. While the intention may have been to create a film that satirizes stereotypes and those who use them, it does so at the cost of damaging the work many groups have done to prevent discrimination.
Although this is a comedy, some people expressed concern after the film’s release as to its representation of women, homosexuals, and different races. Some of the characters in the film, such as the Asian minister (Rob Schneider) who marries Chuck and Larry, have roles that build up stereotypes and portray the characters as less intelligent or less sophisticated than the white and “better off” Chuck and Larry.
All throughout the film homosexual males are portrayed as overly “girly.” I think these portrayals may be pushing it a bit. While the film depicts how several people help others to become more accepting of those who are unlike themselves, it does a poor job of respecting the identification of those very people the film attempts to support.
At times throughout the film I wondered how effective the attempted message is. On one hand, the film shows how two men help each other — and others — to grow and accept different kinds of people and lifestyles. Yet at the same time it adds to the stereotypes about certain groups. The film, in delivering its message, takes “two steps forward, one step back.”
That is not to say, however, that the film is not funny. I did indeed find it hilarious at times despite the foundation of the comedy. It was a rather lighthearted movie even with the theme it carried throughout.
“I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry” is a comedy that is appropriate for its genre. The humor varies in its directness in a way I believe can appeal to differing senses of humor. The film cries to be laughed at, but it also caused many people and organizations to speak out against its careless use of stereotypical roles.
“I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry” is available on DVD from Universal Studios.
“I NOW PRONOUNCE YOU CHUCK & LARRY” AT A GLANCE
- Starring: Adam Sandler, Kevin James, Jessica Biel
- Directed by: Dennis Dugan
- Written by: Barry Fanaro (screenplay), Alexander Payne (screenplay) and Jim Taylor (screenplay)
- Genre: Comedy/Romance
- Rated: PG-13 for crude sexual content throughout, nudity, language, and drug references
- Runtime: 110 min.
- Release date: Nov. 6, 2007 (DVD), July 20, 2007 (theaters)
- Summary: Thanks to the New York City bureaucracy, widowed firefighter Larry Valentine can't make his children the beneficiaries of his pension — unless he can persuade best friend Chuck to become his domestic partner. The two lifelong heterosexuals soon learn what it's like to be the targets of prejudice.
- External sites: IMDb entry, official site
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