I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry

There's something mighty disingenuous about a comedy that specifically decries intolerance while simultaneously trolling for laughs on the topics of gay marriage and same-sex parenting. Widowed Brooklyn firefighter Larry Valentine (Kevin James), who is about to lose his pension benefits due to a bureaucratic snafu, persuades coworker and best friend Chuck Levine (Adam Sandler) to participate in a sham marriage so he can apply for domestic-partnership benefits. Unfortunately, their abrupt nuptials and subsequent cohabitation makes them pariahs to their coworkers. Moreover, a suspicious city investigator (Steve Buscemi) is convinced that Chuck and Larry are faking, and Chuck ends up developing a crush on the gorgeous civil rights lawyer (Jessica Biel) representing their interests. Considering the stale gags (their fellow firefighters are afraid to pick up the soap dropped on the shower room floor when Chuck and Larry are around), the script's sanctimony is especially galling (and it's hard to believe that one of the credited writers is Alexander Payne, director and co-writer of Election and Sideways). Not recommended. [Note: DVD extras include two audio commentaries (one with director Dennis Dugan; the other with Dugan and costars Adam Sandler and Kevin James), 10 minutes of deleted scenes with optional commentary by Dugan, seven minutes of “Laughing is Contagious” outtakes, a “Look Who Stopped By” cameo featurette (7 min.), a five-minute “I Now Pronounce You Husband and…Husband?” behind-the-scenes featurette, “Stop, Drop and Roll” on stunts (5 min.), a “Dugan: The Hands-On Director” featurette (5 min.), and trailers. Bottom line: a solid extras package for a lame comedy.] (E. Hulse)[Blu-ray Review—July 21, 2009—Universal, 116 min., PG-13, $29.98—Making its first appearance on Blu-ray, 2007's I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry features a good transfer and includes a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 soundtrack. Blu-ray extras ported over from the standard DVD include two audio commentaries (one with director Dennis Dugan; the other with Dugan and stars Adam Sandler and Kevin James), but other extras (including production featurettes and outtakes) were inexplicably jettisoned. Exclusive to the Blu-ray release is an interactive friendship quiz. Bottom line: a pointlessly pared-down Blu-ray debut of a lame comedy.]