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Movie Preview: Adam Sandler and Chris Rock in Grown Ups

BuzzSugar — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 11:30:36 -0800

I've been watching over the past several months as the cast roster for Grown Ups continued to add more of Adam Sandler's previous SNL colleagues and close friends - Tim Meadows, Maya Rudolph, Colin Quinn. It's like he decided to make a project where he could invite everyone he knows to jump on board and have fun. And the cast really does appear to be having a good time in the trailer - I'm just not 100 percent sure I'm right there with them.

The film follows Sandler and his childhood friends (Kevin James, Chris Rock, Rob Schneider, David Spade) as they reunite one Fourth of July weekend to honor the death of their basketball coach. Sounds kinda like The Big Chill, but as to be expected with a Happy Madison film, it's ridiculously slapstick. I love all of these guys, but the bits in this teaser definitely aren't as roll-on-the-floor funny as I had hoped with such a star-studded cast. (Really, a breast-milk joke?!) But maybe I'm just judging it too quickly. The film opens in June, but take a peek at the video and tell me your thoughts when you read more.

Cher Lands Two New Jobs: Burlesque and Zookeeper

BuzzSugar — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 10:30:26 -0700

I was just talking about ladies above a certain age landing more roles and today there are two pieces of news that make me feel like someone was listening. We haven't seen Cher on the silver screen in years, and now she has landed not one but two interesting movie roles.

First she will be joining Christina Aguilera in the movie musical Burlesque. Cher will play Tess, the woman who runs the Sunset Boulevard burlesque club where Aguilera's small-town character finds success. Also, Cher will sing onscreen which "will mark the first time she'll be seen singing in a film she stars in."

Cher has also joined the cast of voices for an Adam Sandler-produced film starring Kevin James and Rosario Dawson titled The Zookeeper. The movie "centers on zoo animals trying to teach the keeper their methods of dating and mating to help him win back the woman of his dreams." No word yet on which zoo animal Cher will voice. Other people lending their voices to the project include Sandler, Jon Favreau, Sylvester Stallone and Judd Apatow.

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What Would Be Your Comedy Dream Team?

BuzzSugar — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 06:30:10 -0800

No, no - this lineup here is definitely not my comedy dream team. It is, however, the main cast of a new, untitled project written by Adam Sandler. Kevin James, Chris Rock, David Spade and Rob Schneider will join Sandler in a comedy which follows "five best friends from high school who reunite 30 years later on a Fourth of July weekend."

This is a fierce lineup and these guys' powers combined will probably result in a pretty funny movie. It reminds me of the news of Will Ferrell and Sasha Baron Cohen teaming up for their comedic take on the Sherlock Holmes story - a great pairing that shakes up the comedic teams a little bit (John C. Reilly is funny with Ferrell, but variety is nice, too). If you could line up a bunch of comedic actors for a film, who would you pick? If I limit it to five, I think I'd go with something like this: Robert Downey Jr., Chris Rock, Isla Fisher, Anna Faris and Donald Faison (I can't help it, he always makes me laugh on Scrubs!). Your turn: Who's on your dream team?

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Box Office: Audiences Find Paul Blart Arresting

BuzzSugar — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 08:15:08 -0800

Over a weekend that produced way higher box office returns than expected, the Kevin James comedy Paul Blart: Mall Cop was the big winner, debuting to the tune of $33.8 million. This is just counting the Friday-Sunday box office, and studios will rake in even more on the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday.

Across the board, the box office for this holiday weekend is up 31% over last year (and again, this is just Friday-Sunday). The 3-D horror flick My Bloody Valentine opened in third place with $21.9 million, just barely pushing out another newcomer, Notorious, which earned $21.5 million. As Lionsgate points out, "3-D runs turned in revenues four times greater than conventional runs, thanks to higher ticket prices."

Ahead of both of those with $22.2 million, however, is the little Clint Eastwood film that could: Gran Torino. And rounding out the top five in fifth place is the new family film, Hotel for Dogs with $17.7 million.

Photo courtesy of Sony Pictures

Buzz News Roundup, 9/26

BuzzSugar — Wed, 26 Sep 2007 14:37:31 -0700

"Nashville" is the first new series to be yanked from the TV schedule this fall, writes Zap2it, though Fox claims it will be rescheduled down the line.
Clint Eastwood and Matt Damon are looking to finance The Human Factor, the Nelson Mandela film starring Morgan Freeman as Mandela, writes ComingSoon. Eastwood would also direct the film and Damon might star in it alongside Freeman.
Reba McEntire is enjoying the No. 1 spot on the Billboard 200 for the first time ever with her album Reba Duets, Billboard reports. She beat out both Kanye and 50 Cent.
Set your TiVos for Bravo's mini-marathon of six "30 Rock" episodes on Sunday afternoon! The Futon Critic has the details.
According to Variety, The Nielsen Company is looking to launch an "online social network" where TV enthusiasts can discuss what they think is working and not working - with studios and networks listening in.
Bright Eyes has been working hard to prepare for the concert this weekend in which he'll play with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, writes Billboard.
"Nip/Tuck" creator Ryan Murphy has a new show headed for Fox, Zap2it reports, while the Hollywood Reporter says the network also has two cop series in the works.
Meanwhile, over at NBC, a new reality show called "My Dad is Better Than Your Dad" will soon be in the lineup, and all the details are at the Futon Critic.
Kevin James will write, produce and star in a comedy titled Mall Cop, writes Hollywood Reporter.
Jay-Z's Rocawear brand is among the bidders for naming rights to the New Jersey Nets' arena, the Associated Press reports.
And finally: Remember that whole thing where Apple claimed it wouldn't sell new NBC shows on iTunes? Curiously, "Chuck" and "Journeyman" are available there now anyway.

Photo courtesy of Fox

I Now Pronounce You Unfunny & Misguided

Molly — Fri, 20 Jul 2007 13:30:30 -0700

Note: My buddy Molly wrote this review because I was unable to attend the screening for the movie. Thanks, Molly!

I understand what I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry was getting at. I understand that the movie uses things like stereotypes and homophobic language for the purpose of pointing out that this sort of behavior is bad, but it just doesn’t work. The movie can't decide whether it wants to play up these caricatures for laughs or legitimately try to have a message. In the end, it succeeds at neither.

The premise of the movie is simple (just suspend logic): Chuck and Larry are NYC firefighters. Chuck Levine (Adam Sandler) is the ladies man while Larry (Kevin James) is the devoted father with the deceased wife. Not wanting to deal with his wife's passing, Larry avoids filling out his pension paperwork for too long, thereby missing the window during which he can make his kids, rather than his wife, his next of kin. Obviously, to get around the system, he decides to “marry” Chuck so that if something happened to Larry, Chuck would be the one in charge of making sure the money got to the kids. At no point does it occur to Larry that he and Chuck are literally side-by-side in all the fires, so if something horrible happened to one there's a good chance it would affect both. Just saying.

Chuck and Larry have no intention of ever living together or pretending to be a couple more than on paper, but when city officials become suspicious about their set up, they have to put on a show - very much against their will. Jessica Biel is Alex McDonough, the lawyer Chuck and Larry hire to help them make sure they prove to the officials that they are a legitimate gay couple. Naturally Adam Sandler falls in love with her, complicating things. But you can gather all that from the preview. To hear what I thought about the film just read more

The movie may be trying to point out homophobic behavior as evil, but there’s still not a single straight male in the movie who doesn’t find it repulsive. In fact, just the suggestion of a homosexual kiss is apparently so sickening that it must result in a manly display of violence. It's both scary and irresponsible to perpetuate the notion that homosexuality needs to be counteracted with violence. Not only that, but there are no homosexual characters who aren't exactly like every other mainstream portrayal of gay men. If having to make all gay characters easy to digest because they're so over the top is the best we can do in terms of fighting homophobia, how far have we come?

After all of those gripes, there are moments that are sweet and moments that are funny. Adam Sandler, misguided as he may have been in this movie, is endearing. However, the fact that one of the main tenants of the movie is that Adam Sandler is this insane ladies man is a bit ridiculous. Adam can play the boyishly handsome heartthrob, but the hunk? That’s a bit of a stretch. Meanwhile, Kevin James has perfected his performance of the lovably inept buffoon. Jessica Biel, though playing a painfully naive character, is mostly harmless. I just wish her character were something more than just a hot body. Dan Akroyd is one of the best - and most underused - characters in the movie, while Rob Schneider, playing the Asian officiant at their wedding is unnecessary and embarrassing to watch. Of course, most of what Schneider does comes off that way, but this is particularly bad.

I would love to say that I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry perfectly towed the line between hilarious and heartwarming. I would love to say that the message spoke loud and clear. I would love to say this, because I truly like all the actors (Schneider notwithstanding). Unfortunately, this movie just left me feeling sad, and not even for the reasons I originally thought. I was sad because even when the filmmakers thought they were conveying a message about homophobia and prejudices, it was glaringly obvious how far we still are from getting it right.

More Fun With Chuck and Larry

PopSugar — Thu, 19 Jul 2007 15:37:27 -0700

Before Jessica Biel slipped away to rendezvous with JT, she walked the red carpet with Adam and Kevin at the NYC premiere of I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry. Obviously Jessica has had no shortage of male company lately, and she's the object of desire for what we can only assume to be thousands of others. When asked about her sex symbol status, Jessica said, "It's extremely flattering. It's nice to be wanted and desired . . . you think, 'I'm being accepted as a woman now.' That's kind of cool."

Lots more pics of the Chuck and Larry cast plus Chris Rock, so just read more

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Do You Think I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry Seems Offensive?

BuzzSugar — Wed, 18 Jul 2007 15:14:16 -0700

This Friday, Adam Sandler's latest movie I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry opens nationwide, and I have to say that when I first saw the trailer I had my reservations. It seems like a lot of the laughs in this movie are based in gay stereotypes and in generally making a mockery of homosexuality. Yet the filmmakers claim they did their best to be sensitive to that. We won't know for sure until we see the film, but based on the trailer, what do you think?

Jessica, James & Adam Boogie Boogie on TRL

Molly — Tue, 17 Jul 2007 08:30:00 -0700

The three stars of I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry stopped off at TRL to show off their sweet sweet moves. I still have hope that the funny trio can save their film from the preview which left me with a bad taste in my mouth -- especially Adam who showed off his ability to be utterly endearing (and cook up a delicious sandwich) in Spanglish. Also, someone should help Jessica choose her dresses from now on, because her last few have been sort of a mess. For a pretty, casual girl, she can certainly distract from her looks. So, check back later in the week when I review the film for Buzz. Who knows, maybe it'll be great! Wishful thinking.

To see more of these crazy kids hamming it up on TRL just read more

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Chuck, Larry, Hot Jessica Biel & A Whole Lot More

Molly — Fri, 13 Jul 2007 00:02:30 -0700

The stars of I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry -- Jessica, Adam and Kevin -- were all in the house for last night's LA premiere. Jessica is obviously show-stoppingly gorgeous, but, call me crazy, something seems a touch off about the cut of her dress. I must admit the preview of this movie worries me, but I love me some Adam enough to give it a chance. Jessica walked the red carpet sans JT, but she was surrounded by comedic heavyweights like her costars, as well as household names like Ray Romano and Rob Schneider. The move doesn't open nationwide until next week, but in the meantime something tells me the toasts at that premiere celebration were classic.

To see a lot more pics from the premiere including Adam, Jessica, Kevin, Katharine, Anna Faris, Seth Green, Lance Bass, Ray Romano, Rob Schneider, Ving Rhames and more just read more

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