In 1995, I went to see a movie called Billy Madison. Besides me, there was only one other person in the theater, and I was the only one laughing. While I enjoyed the movie, based on the attendance that day, I assumed that it would be Adam Sandler's last movie. However, he came back with another movie, and then another, and I was certainly on-board. But, as Sandler's fame and popularity grew, his movies began to diminish in quality. Like a rock band whose sound grows tiresome (like too many bands for me to list), the movies began to blend together and were more tedious than enjoyable. And just when I thought it couldn't get any worse, Grown Ups comes along.

Lenny Feder (Sandler), Eric Lamonsoff (Kevin James), Kurt McKenzie (Chris Rock), Marcus Higgins (David Spade), and Rob Hilliard (Rob Shcneider) were childhood friends who all played on the same basketball team. When they learn that their coach (Blake Clark) has died, they all meet up at the funeral for a reunion. Lenny brings his wife, Roxanne (Salma Hayek), and their spoiled children. Eric brings his wife and kids as well, and we learn that his four-year old still breastfeeds. The guys learn that Rob, who always liked older girls, has a wife old enough to be his grandmother. Kurt has become a house-husband due to his wife's success. As the guys get back together and examine their lives, they realize that despite what they've accomplished and accumulated, they aren't truly happy. They also begin to see the flaws in their families. They hope that the time by the lake can change things.

I don't think anyone has ever accused Adam Sandler of being a cinematic genius, but his early films, most notably Billy Madison and Happy Gilmore, had a certain demented creativity. It's not too far-fetched to say that things like the penguin in Billy Madison were pre-cursors to the kind of random humor that we see today in thing like Family Guy. Sandler's movies were often an odd mixture of a fairly straight-forward plot which was then filled with bizarre characters and situations. Sandler rarely stretched as an actor, but he seemed to relish playing characters who were defective in some way. Sandler's films were also peppered with interesting and surprising cameos. He was known to surround himself with his friends and showed a great deal of loyalty to them. Even while he was becoming a movie star, Sandler seemed to remain very humble.

However, around 2005, with The Longest Yard, Sandler's films began to change. Gone was the constant quirkiness. In it's place a sense of a "you will like anything that I do" attitude began to form. The movies became less funny, the co-stars became more famous, and for some reason, the box-office continued to grow. It was as if Sandler had lost touch with his core audience.

Grown Ups is the ultimate example of how far-afield Sandler has gone. The movie goes beyond vanity project into something which borders on being a documentary. Essentially, Sandler came up with an idea which would allow him to work with James, Rock, Schneider, and Spade. The skeleton of a plot allows the comedians/friends (note that I didn't say "actors") to share scenes in which they improvise, and that's the bulk of the movie. "Director" Dennis Dugan (who's worked with Sandler for years) simply turns on the camera and the guys riff on each other...and that's the bulk of this 102 minute movie. We watch scene after scene where there clearly wasn't written dialogue, just an idea of what the scene should be, and Sandler and co. just start making stuff up. So, we have a movie where the five main characters seemed to have simply raided Sandler's closet for their wardrobe, and then they cut-up as if they aren't even in a movie. Is that entertainment?

The movie's attempts at actually having a story may actually be worse. Grown Ups goes out of its way to show just how spoiled and mis-guided everyone is, so that the weekend by the lake can solve all of their problems. However, this means that we must endure a host of unlikable characters while they learn their lessons. Worse, this means that we are watching a very predictable movie. Lenny's kids are spoiled? I wonder if time with their Dad's friends will make them more down-to-Earth? The suspense is killing me...

As it stands, Grown Ups is barely a movie. If Sandler wants to hang out with his buddies and slack-off, that's fine, but don't expect us to pay to watch it. Again, the way in which Sandler put his friends in his movies, used to be fun (I would wait to see what weird character Allen Covert would play). But, now it seems that he can't be bothered to go out and hire actual actors and we are stuck with this. In Billy Madison, Sandler utters the interesting line, "This looks like a good piece of shit." Perhaps he was looking into the future and seeing Grown Ups.

(The movie earns a 1/2 Mag for the joke about Rob's Smart Car.)

Grown Ups made the kind of money that makes me weep of humanity on Blu-ray Disc courtesy of Sony Pictures Home Entertainment. The film has been letterboxed at 1.85:1 and the Disc contains an AVC 1080p HD transfer which runs at an average of 25 Mbps. The image is sharp and clear, showing no overt grain and no defects from the source materials. The colors look very good, most notably reds and greens, and the image is never overly dark or bright. The picture shows a good amount of depth and the actors are always obviously separated from the background. The Disc offers a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track which runs at 48 kHz and an average of 3.8 Mbps. The track provides clear dialogue and sound effects. The surround sound effects are nicely done in scenes such as the water park scene and the finale. However, the subwoofer effects, most notably with the fireworks, are a disappointment.

The Grown Ups Blu-ray Disc contains a surprising amount of extras. We begin with an AUDIO COMMENTARY from Director Dennis Dugan. The Disc contains ten OUTTAKES & DELETED SCENES which run about 10 minutes. There's really nothing new here, and the outtakes consist of Maya Rudolph riffing lines and reactions, and Sandler trying to make a basket. "Laughing is Contagious" (4 minutes) is just a bunch of footage showing the cast cutting-up on-set. The 4-minute GAG REEL seems kind of pointless, as the whole movie is a gag reel. "Riff-O-Rama" (5 minutes) is just an extended scene from the film, showing the main actors improvising. "Dennis Dugan: Hands On Director" (5 minutes) has a lot of on-set footage combined with occasional comments from Dugan and the cast. "The Lost Tapes of Norm MacDonald" (7 minutes) shows us that MacDonald was in the film, but completely cut out. "The Cast of Grown Ups" (7 minutes) has the actors talking about their characters and one another. "Busey and the Monkey" (3 minutes) is a deleted scene with Gary Busey and a monkey.