Is it possible to claim to support marriage rights for same-sex couples and still be homophobic? After seeing "I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry" the answer is yes. Two heterosexual Brooklyn firemen (Kevin James and Adam Sandler) file a domestic partnership claim so that one of the men can protect his children in case of his death, him being a widower. In spite of the specious setup, the opportunities for a charming farce were all there, but Sandler (and director Dennis "as an actor I was who they got when they couldn't get Bruce Dern so I now direct bad comedies instead" Dugan) mucked it up with a bunch of lame jokes and condescending stereotypes of gays.
The woman (Jessica Biel) who advises Chuck and Larry to beware of a fraud investigation is a heterosexual woman with a flaming queen for a brother. Everyone at the AIDS benefit is a voguing, prancing flamer dressed in costumes that would make Elton John squirm, and when anti-gay protesters crowd the outside of the building where the event is held, only Adam Sandler and Jessica Biel's characters have the courage to stand up to them at all. In another scene, the mailman hits on one of them. What's worse is Kevin James' character's effeminate son. Apparently because he wants to try out for the school musical and can dance, he must be gay.
This is not an issue of political correctness, which I abhor. In fact, I don't mind gay jokes that are funny. But there's a line between jokes about homosexuality and making fun of gays, which this movie crosses like it was the finish line of the 100 yard dash. This film's message is apparently that "gays are sick freaks, but let them get married anyway." That is a profoundly anti-gay message. SInce GLAAD approved this film just as they also approved the patronizing BS of "Will and Grace" and "Queer as Folk", they ought to change their name to the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Intellectual Honesty. Adding insult to that injury, the film's funny moments are too few and far between.
What's perplexing is how Barry Fanaro, a former writer for "The Golden Girls," a classic 1980s sitcom which had a few episodes about non-stereotyped gays, got into this mess. I guess Lifetime Network's been stiffing him on residuals and he's sick of Ramen Noodles. There is also an embarrassingly bad performance by Rob Schneider as an Asian justice of the peace. In fact, I'm more offended by this than Mickey Rooney's character in "Breakfast at Tiffany's;" at least that film could use the excuse that it was 1961, but there's no excuse here. That the untalented Schneider is half-Filipino does not make it better. And how did Dan Aykroyd or the obnoxious David Spade get involved in this bigoted debacle? With all the SNL alumni in this vomit-inducing garbage, I guess I'll be watching MAD TV from now on.
The woman (Jessica Biel) who advises Chuck and Larry to beware of a fraud investigation is a heterosexual woman with a flaming queen for a brother. Everyone at the AIDS benefit is a voguing, prancing flamer dressed in costumes that would make Elton John squirm, and when anti-gay protesters crowd the outside of the building where the event is held, only Adam Sandler and Jessica Biel's characters have the courage to stand up to them at all. In another scene, the mailman hits on one of them. What's worse is Kevin James' character's effeminate son. Apparently because he wants to try out for the school musical and can dance, he must be gay.
This is not an issue of political correctness, which I abhor. In fact, I don't mind gay jokes that are funny. But there's a line between jokes about homosexuality and making fun of gays, which this movie crosses like it was the finish line of the 100 yard dash. This film's message is apparently that "gays are sick freaks, but let them get married anyway." That is a profoundly anti-gay message. SInce GLAAD approved this film just as they also approved the patronizing BS of "Will and Grace" and "Queer as Folk", they ought to change their name to the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Intellectual Honesty. Adding insult to that injury, the film's funny moments are too few and far between.
What's perplexing is how Barry Fanaro, a former writer for "The Golden Girls," a classic 1980s sitcom which had a few episodes about non-stereotyped gays, got into this mess. I guess Lifetime Network's been stiffing him on residuals and he's sick of Ramen Noodles. There is also an embarrassingly bad performance by Rob Schneider as an Asian justice of the peace. In fact, I'm more offended by this than Mickey Rooney's character in "Breakfast at Tiffany's;" at least that film could use the excuse that it was 1961, but there's no excuse here. That the untalented Schneider is half-Filipino does not make it better. And how did Dan Aykroyd or the obnoxious David Spade get involved in this bigoted debacle? With all the SNL alumni in this vomit-inducing garbage, I guess I'll be watching MAD TV from now on.