BEETLE LOVED GROWNUPS

Grownups is Adam Sandler's ode to summer in which a group of old friends reunite at their childhood lakehouse/hangout with their families after their basketball coach dies. There's Adam Sandler as Lenny Feder; a hot shot hollywood agent who laments that his kids are pampered (Jake Goldberg plays Greg and Cameron Boyce plays Keithie) and his wife is self-absorbed(played by Selma Hayek who doesn't do much except complain at Lenny), Kevin James as Eric Lamonsoff; the funny good natured fat guy of the group, David Spade as Marcus Higgins; the eternally drunk womanchaser, Chris Rock as Kurt McKenzie; the stay-at-home dad, and Rob Schneider as Rob Hilliard; the very zen massage therapist who is married to a much older woman.

Grownups doesn't have much of a plot. Most of the film consists of the friends hanging together, getting into trouble, and reminiscing on old times. The result is that if you need a story in your film then Grownups isn't the film for you. On the other hand on a lazy summer day when you don't have much else to do besides go to the beach or swim at the pool then run out and see Grownups, the film is the perfect lazy day film.

The only problems with Grownups is that 1. Most of the humor simply doesn't work. Luckily most of these parts are in the beginning of the film, once they reach the Lakehouse it begins to pick up. 2. The film is too long. There's only so much one person can take of absolutely nothing going on, good thing there are some guninely funny and fun moments scattered throughout the film which helps alleviate some of the more boring parts of the film, which brings me to the hot girls.

In the film it is revealed that Rob Schneider has 2 incredibly hot daughters (and one not so hot one; Bridgette; played by ashley Loren). There's Madison Riley as the main hot chick, Jasmine; and there's Jamie Chung as the secondary hot chick, Amber. The intro sequence for Jasmine which involves a slo-mo car shot and an extended scene of her ass as it leans over the hood of her car ("ok, and switch....and switch....and switch...") is a great way to introduce this character as its pretty much all she's there for. Naturally 2 of the kids; Keithie (Lenny's son) and Andre (Kurts son, played by Nadji Jeter) become transfixed by this vision from heaven and make it their goal to catch more glimpses of her which quickly becomes one of the film's focus points.

While it may not be spectacularly funny or strong plotwise, Grownups does have enough laugh-out-loud moments and plenty of hijinx to keep most eyes fixated on the big screen for the duration of the film. For me, I felt like I could relate to the story of Grownups because most of the action seen on the screen is similar to the fun me, my friends, and my family would have on a hot summer day. It perfectly encapsulates everything that makes summer great: Going to new places, hot girls, hanging out with friends, having adventures, going to waterparks, and just laying back and relaxing as the hours pass by. Grownups may not be the greatest film of the year, but it's already made it to the #1 spot on my list of favorite films for this summer. Feel free to see it with a few of your friends, as thats how Grownups is best viewed.

3.5/5 stars