I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry
Premise - Larry Valentine is a firefighter who understands the reality that he may die on the job any day. Unable to transfer his benefits to his children after his wife dies, the only way he can ensure their safety in death is to remarry. Both straight men, Larry and his best friend Chuck enact a fraudulent homosexual domestic partnership in order to share life insurance.
Review - Life is too short and too cruel to hate Adam Sandler movies. I was raised on this stupid, stupid humor. It reminds me of my childhood (and yes, I was watching this crass movie in elementary school). However, the fact that I first saw it in elementary school actually plays an important reason in why I liked this film. This is very elementary-level exposure to gay rights. It's a gay rights movie for people who don't understand gay people at all, and all they know are the comedic stereotypes. In my case, this was true because I was a kid. For adults, it's still applicable for older and more conservative populations. The more relevant gay rights become, the less appropriate this film comes across. Over a decade since its release, this film is way too outdated to introduce to new children who grew up in a world that fights for lgbtq rights. But for certain populations? I still think it remains very accessible to even the most conservative of people. Baby steps, am I right? As long as people can lessen the hate just a little bit, we're doing better than we were.
At its heart, the film essentially preaches the same message we all should preach - everyone should have the same rights to love whomever they damn well choose, regardless of gender or sexuality. The two main characters are somewhat homophobic and make offensive jokes because they were more accessible that way to the audience this film could potentially change. They're ignorant, but they're never hateful. And by the end of the film, they come to realize how important gay rights issues are.
Something this film makes me think about a lot... straight men are terrified of gay men being sexual predators. They don't want to be around gay men because they are afraid of their privacy being violated and being "checked out" or sexually harassed. Think about it... isn't the only reason why straight men are afraid of this because this is exactly how they treat women? Straight men know the horrible, sexualized thoughts that run through their own minds and don't want the same happening to them. They can dish it out but can't take it. I swear, stupid as this film is, it's an important exploration of masculinity.
Of course the film is problematic, like duh... The biggest problem is how sexuality is treated like some binary - people are either gay or straight. The word bisexual is thrown into the film once, though not in the context of Chuck and Larry. If both men said they were bisexual and would solve a lot of their problems. But considering how well-intentioned the film is, there are bigger things to get upset over. (82/100)
Quote - "No matter whom we choose to love, be they heterosexual, homosexual, asexual, bisexual, trisexual, quadrisexual, pansexual, transexual, omnisexual or that thing where the chick ties the belt around your neck and tinkles on a balloon, it has absolutely nothing to do with who we are as people."
If you liked this movie, I'd recommend Click!
Directed by Dennis Dugan
Distributed by Universal Pictures
Comments
Post a Comment