| | Published July 17th, 2013
| "Grown Ups 2"
| | By Derek Zemrak |  | | Eric Lamonsoff (Kevin James), Marcus Higgins (David Spade), Robideaux (Johnathan Loughran), Kurt McKenzi (Chris Rock), and Lenny Feder (Adam Sandler) in Columbia Pictures "Grown Ups 2."
Copyright: (c)2013 CTMG, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Photo Tracy Bennett
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Not much has matured in this latest Adam Sandler movie "Grown Ups 2." What does anyone expect from him, the king of lowbrow humor? The movie opens with Lenny (Adam Sandler) being urinated on by a deer. Need I say more? The toilet "humor" continues for 1 hour and 40 minutes.
In this installment of "Grown Ups" (Sandler's first sequel ever made), Lenny, the retired hotshot Hollywood agent, relocates his family to the small town where he was raised. Lenny must deal with his wife, Roxanne, played by Oscar nominee Salma Hayek ("Frida") who wants another child. Lenny reunites with his childhood chums, portrayed by the all-star cast of comedians Kevin James, Chris Rock and David Spade, who are all dealing with mid-life issues: the other woman, forgetting the 20th wedding anniversary, and the long-lost son who shows up. Rob Schneider is the only cast member from the original movie with enough sense not to return.
There are a few chuckles in the movie, but "Grown Ups 2" is not what you would expect from a summer blockbuster release and is certainly not in the same league as "The Heat." As with all Sandler's movies, the cameos are numerous, including Steve Buscemi, Jon Lovitz, Shaquille O'Neal and wrestler Steve Austin. "Twilight" star Taylor Lautner plays one of the frat boys Lenny and friends encounter at the lake. These are the funniest scenes in the film, but someone in Lautner's camp was intelligent enough, after seeing the movie, to pull his name from the credits and all promotional material. That should tell you something!
"Grown Ups 2" is not the worst movie Sandler has ever made; remember "That's My Boy" and "Jack and Jill." It is sad because Sandler in his early career delivered some funny movies (e.g. "Happy Gilmore", The Wedding Singer" and The Waterboy"). A better idea for Sandler's first sequel project would have been "Grow Up 2" and give the audience a more sophisticated script. "Grown Ups 2" is rated PG13.
A bit of trivia on Lamorinda history: the original "Grown Ups" was the first movie shown when the New Rheem Theatre opened June 25, 2010!
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Derek Zemrak is a film critic, film producer and founder of the California Independent Film Festival. You can follow Derek on Twitter @zemrak for the latest Hollywood news. Derek can be heard every Friday on KAHI 950AM on the Poppoff Show.
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Lamorinda Weekly, Moraga CA