Reviewed by Johnny McNair

Universal Studios Home Entertainment – 115 mins  – 2007 – Rated PG-13 – 1080p Widescreen 1.85: 1 – DTS-HD Lossless Master Audio 5.1

Adam Sandler is one lucky guy. Seriously, out of all the people who have come and gone on Saturday Night Live, would you ever thought that he’s be one of the guys who would conquer Hollywood? He’s done some good stuff like The Wedding Singer and Punch Drunk Love, but he’s also responsible for Little Nicky. Sandler is good to his friends and always throws them a bone, which is why Rob Schneider should worship the ground he walks on. Well now TV’s King of Queens is on Sandler’s cool list, producing a big hit for him earlier this year, Paul Blart: Mall Cop. Sandler and James teamed up in 2007 to make I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry, a silly comedy that made a lot of loot. I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry lands on Blu-ray via Universal Studios Home Entertainment, so if you’re a Sandler and James fan, you’ll be in heaven.

THE MOVIE

I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry wants to shine a positive light on the subject of gay marriage, but whether or not they succeeded is up to you. The story revolves around two firefighters, Chuck (Adam Sandler) and Larry (Kevin James) who are friends with two different lifestyles. Chuck is a womanizing pig and Larry is a widower taking care of his two children. Desperate to keep his pension for his kids in the event that something happens to him on the job, Larry convinces Chuck to marry him so the money will be safe for his family.

After some major convincing Chuck agrees to marry him and the two friends movie in together to make it all look legit, because they are being investigated by the state who believes it’s all a fraud. They hire a lawyer (Jessica Biel) to take their case and obviously it has to be a hot girl to put them Chuck’s dedication to the test. What results is everything you’ve seen John Ritter do through many seasons of Three’s Company, only he did it much better and funnier.

Believe it or not, that’s it. That’s all you’re going to get out of this flick, and even though you may get a chuckle here and there, there’s nothing in this movie to make you believe anything other than it was slapped together to make a quick buck because of current events with the gay marriage agenda. The one real problem with the movie is that it plays things way too safe, because it doesn’t want to offend. But since the subject is offensive anyway, they should have just gone for it Judd Apatow style and really delivered some laughs. This one will never be labeled as an all time comedy classic, but if you have two hours to kill, there are worse movies to watch.

VIDEO

The Blu-ray’s image quality is decent, but it’s nothing spectacular. With a full 1080p image in a 1.85:1 aspect ratio the picture offers bright colors and nice details, but sometimes the image looks soft, which is distracting. Overall, the film offers a very sitcom-like look, so don’t expect anything that much greater than a standard DVD.

AUDIO

Chuck and Larry displays a Dolby Digital DTS-HD 5.1 audio mix that offers clean dialogue, and makes acceptable use of ambient sounds. There are no bells and whistles; it just gets the job done effectively.

EXTRAS

Not much here, and it appears that features from the standard DVD were not ported over. What’s up with that? There is plenty of room remaining on this Blu-ray.

Director Dennis Dugan and stars Adam Sandler and Kevin James provide audio commentary tracks, but good luck getting through them.

 A silly Friendship Trivia Test is also included, but playing with your thumbs will probably be more fun.

BOTTOM LINE

I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry has its issues, but it does offer a few giggles to satisfy fans. The image and sound quality are basic, but not up to par with other Universal titles out there. Various bonus features from the standard DVD were not ported over for some reason, so you may want to consider that if you plan on getting this Blu-ray. Adam Sandler comedies come and go so if you’re a fan of this one, you know what you’re getting into. For all others, this one is only a rental.

SCORES: (out of 5):

The Movie: 2.5

Video: 3.0

Sound: 3.0

Extras: 2.0

Bottom Line: 2.5