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'''I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry''' (a.k.a. '''Chuck and Larry''') is a 2007 LGBT comedy film directed by Dennis Dugan and starring Adam Sandler and Kevin James. The film was released on July 20, 2007 in the U.S. and August 16, 2007 in Australia. It will be released on September 21, 2007 in the UK.

Contents

Plot summary

Cast

MPAA rating

Critical reaction

Response from social groups

Controversy

Filming locations

Interesting Facts

References

External links

Plot summary

Chuck Levine (Adam Sandler) and Larry Valentine (Kevin James) are veteran New York firefighters. Chuck is a womanizer and a self-described whore while Larry is a single father trying to raise a daughter and an effeminate son Eric (Cole Morgen). Because of Larry's sadness and obsession over his wife's death, he ends up not changing the primary beneficiary of his pension from his wife to his children within the deadline. His only option is to marry someone but Larry admits that there is no woman he knows that he would trust with his children's future.
While on a routine search of a burned house, Chuck is left hanging for his life. Larry catches Chuck and shields him from falling boards from the fragile floor above. They wake up in the hospital and Larry is struck by the reaction of his children being again in the hospital where their mother died. Larry decides to quit being a fireman because he’s afraid of dying and leaving his kids alone. While thinking it over, Larry finds an article about same-sex domestic partnership rights and decides to "marry" Chuck, making him the beneficiary and caretaker of Larry's children. Chuck is reluctant but gives in since Larry saved his life.
After registering their domestic partnership, a beneficiary office lawyer comes to talk to Chuck and Larry to verify their domestic partnership. Chuck and Larry put on an act and the lawyer quickly leaves, hinting that a surprise inspection may come in the future by a much more thorough person.
Chuck and Larry meet with their lawyer Alex McDonough (Jessica Biel). Alex tells the two that a specialist is indeed being sent in to see if Chuck and Larry are frauds; if they are faking being gay, them and anyone who knows about their lie will go to jail. She suggests they legitimize their relationship by truly getting married. Following her advice they elope and marry in Canada, since same-sex marriage in New York is not possible. Chuck then moves in with Larry.
After Chuck's first morning with Larry, Larry goes outside and finds Clinton Fitzer (Steve Buscemi), the specialist sent in to see if they’re faking being gay. He remarks that their trash is not very gay and leaves.
While shopping for more “gay stuff”, Chuck runs into Alex and she invites Chuck and Larry to a costume party that night. During the flamboyant party, the pair meet Alex's hyperactive gay brother, Kevin (Nick Swardson). After the party ends, the party-goers are confronted by a anti-gay rights group. The activists get into verbal arguments with the gays, culminating in activist leader Jim (Rob Corddry) calling them faggots. Chuck gets offended and punches Jim. The altercation makes its way to the newspaper tabloids the next day.
The next morning, Chuck and Larry are called to speak with FDNY Captain Phineas J. Tucker (Dan Aykroyd) who has seen through their scheme and warns them that if they get caught, they are not to bring the firehouse down with them. Chuck and Larry find themselves not accepted well by the other firemen. No one will play basketball, Larry has been asked not to coach Little League anymore, and Larry gets asked a lot of crude homosexual questions when he makes an appearance for his kids’ Career Day. While playing alone, Chuck is confronted by Fred Duncan (Ving Rhames), a newcomer quiet angry firefighter rumored to be an axe murderer. Chuck fears the worst but Duncan opens up to Chuck and admits that he acts mean because he has been in the closet for so long.
Chuck is getting to know Alex and spends time with her in a 'girl-girl' relationship exemplified by their friendship bracelets. She begs for him to rub and massage her feet which he was reluctant but decided to do so. One day, while Chuck is convinced to give love advice to Alex they end up passionately kissing. Alex backs out and apologizes for kissing a gay married man who's her client. Chuck claims he’s never felt this way about a woman before, but Alex tells him to leave.
While rescuing a man stuck in a chimney, Chuck and Larry get into an argument. Chuck tells Larry that because of the partnership, he can't get close to Alex and the whole situation would never have happened if Larry had put his dead wife behind him and found a nice woman to marry. To make matters worse, a petition signed by the firefighters has been signed to get Chuck and Larry to transfer from the station. Tucker refuses to remove Chuck and Larry, but instead moves them to different shifts so they can no longer work together. Larry confronts each of the signers and is disgusted by how people he saved, helped, and taught have betrayed him.
Back home, Larry sees Chuck nurturing Larry son's talent for tap dancing and musicals. Larry throws out his wife's clothing and apologizes to Chuck for everything.
Meanwhile, tabloids pick up on Chuck and Larry's case and their court case becomes a media spectacle. Inside the courthouse, Chuck and Larry confront the other firefighters who apologize and vow to stand with Chuck and Larry. During the court case, Chuck and Larry are grilled with personal questions. After testimony by Larry's children, the case looks to be firmly on Chuck and Larry's side. In a last ditch attempt, Clint asks the couple to kiss. After convincing by the audience, they attempt to kiss but are interrupted by Captain Tucker who admits that they are lying and his part in it but tells the judges that their lie has helped everyone around them and hurt no one. Clint convinces the judge that it doesn't matter since they still broke the law. In a Spartacus-inspired sequence, the firefighters all lie and claim that they helped Chuck and Larry break the law and should also be jailed.
Unfortunately, they are actually all thrown in jail. Councilman Banks (Richard Chamberlain) shows up and tells Chuck and Larry he'll drop all charges under two conditions: the firefighters all have to make a gay calendar because Chuck and Larry are still heroes to the gay community (plus it would also act as an effective fundraiser for AIDS prevention), and they have to admit that what they did was illegal, and the council will dismiss it as a misdemeanor.
Later, Duncan and Kevin get married at the same wedding chapel in Canada. At the reception, Larry is seen talking to a woman while Chuck goes over and talks to Alex. Chuck is uncertain if Alex has forgiven him so Alex shows him she still has the friendship bracelet they made tied around her ankle, and they end up dancing together.

Cast

★ ''Adam Sandler'' as Charles "Chuck" Levine

★ ''Kevin James'' as Lawrence "Larry" Valentine

★ ''Jessica Biel'' as Alex McDonough

★ ''Dan Aykroyd'' as Captain Phineas J. Tucker

★ ''Ving Rhames'' as Fred G. Duncan

★ ''Steve Buscemi'' as Clinton Fitzer

★ ''Nicholas Turturro'' as Renaldo Pinera

★ ''Allen Covert'' as Steve

★ ''Richard Chamberlain'' as Councilman Banks

★ ''Nick Swardson'' as Kevin McDonough

★ ''Mary Pat Gleason'' as Teresa

★ ''Cole Morgen'' as Eric Valentine

★ ''Shelby Adamowsky'' as Tori Valentine

★ ''Lance Bass'' as Himself

★ ''Rob Schneider'' as a Japanese minister (uncredited)

★ ''David Spade'' as a transsexual (uncredited)

MPAA rating

The MPAA initially rated the film R for "some crude sexual humor and nudity." Universal appealed the rating, but it was upheld.^[1] Upon losing the appeal, Universal edited the film, this version was rated PG-13 for "crude sexual content throughout, nudity, language and drug references."

Critical reaction

On the movie review aggregator site Rotten Tomatoes, the film has a 15% critic rating from 124 reviews, with a 13% Cream of the Crop rating based on reviews from major news outlets. User reviews are significantly more favorable at 58%.
The film has grossed $117,460,087 worldwide as of August 23, 2007.^[2]

Response from social groups

The film was screened prior to release for the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD). GLAAD representative Damon Romine told ''Entertainment Weekly'' magazine: "The movie has some of the expected stereotypes, but in its own disarming way, it's a call for equality and respect."^[3]
The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishop's Office for Film and Broadcasting has given the film the classification of "O - Morally Offensive" due to "pervasive sexual content and references, frequent crude and crass language, one instance of profanity, vulgar gestures, some bathroom humor, fondling of a woman's breasts, rear male nudity, much skimpy female costuming, frequent racial, gender and homophobic slurs, a drug reference, and much violence including fisticuffs."^[4]

Controversy

It was reported in the Australian media that the makers of the 2004 Paul Hogan Australian film ''Strange Bedfellows'' are concerned that Chuck and Larry is similar enough to their film to suggest that Chuck and Larry was a rip-off of their film.^[5]
''Strange Bedfellows'' was a movie about a straight businessman and a straight mechanic both volunteer fire fighters who lodge some forms indicating that they were gay in order to obtain a financial advantage. Upon being investigated by a government officer, they must act gay in order to pull off the illusion.
It was reported that Michael Caton, the star of ''Strange Bedfellows'' gave Rob Schneider, while they were on the set filming ''The Animal'', a copy of the script and Schneider most likely passed it on to Adam Sandler.^[5]
Critics have also said the character played by Rob Schneider, is a racist depiction of Asian men, though defenders respond that is an accurate depiction of Asian culture and ethnicity, albeit rare. [4]

Filming locations

★ 489 St John's Place, Brooklyn (Fire Station) ^[7]

★ Bensonhurst, Brooklyn

★
★ Filmed in the same area as the films ''Out for Justice'' and ''Saturday Night Fever''.

★ DUMBO, Brooklyn

★ Los Angeles, California

★ New York City, New York

★ Universal Studios

★ Philadelphia was considered as a possible filming location.

★ Downtown Brooklyn, New York

Interesting Facts

★ This is Adam Sandler and David Spade's first movie together since Coneheads (1993)

★ David Spade made a cameo in the film as a transvestite dancer.

★ Daily Show's Rob Corddry appears as a priest protesting gay marriage. Unlike his usual work, this was a serious/non-comedic role.

★ Writer/Creator of TV Funhouse Robert Smigel appears Ron a creepy mailman. This is Smigel's first role in a Sandler movie since Little Nicky and his first on-screen role since Wedding Singer. Smigel helped write the script for Sandler's upcoming feature You Don't Mess with Zohan.

★ Jennifer Love Hewitt was offered Jessica Biel's part in this film, but turned it down due to scheduling conflicts

★ Alexander Payne and Jim Taylor wrote the screenplay, their first screenplay together since winning the Best Adapted Screenplay Academy Award for 2004's ''Sideways''. Coincidently, Sandler presented the Best Adapted Screenplay award to the pair at the 77th Academy Awards ceremony.

★ The popular musician Dave Matthews appears as an overtly effeminate salesman mid-way through the movie.

★ Gary Valentine and Rachel Dratch (who guest-starred on ''The King of Queens'' as Spence's girlfriend Denise) have cameos in the film. Valentine plays a fellow firefighter, and Dratch is cast as Larry's caseworker.

★ The two New York baseball teams are very well-represented in the film. A Yankees cap sits in Chuck's apartment, and Larry is seen wearing a Mets shirt in select scenes. Larry's TV is also turned to a Mets game in one scene. In real life, Sandler and James are big fans of the Yankees and Mets, respectively.

★ Veteran sportscaster Dan Patrick made a cameo appearance, playing the role of a New York City police officer.

★ The book that Adam Sandler reads to Larry's kids is "The Puppy Who Lost His Way" which was also seen in Billy Madison.

★ Several things seen in the original previews were cut from the actual movie to get the PG-13 rating. The cut items are still in the commercial previews.

★ Lance Bass made a cameo appearance at the end of the movie.

★ During one scene Eric (Cole Morgen) gets involved in a fight with a homophobic bully, one of the students in his school. The bully attempts to punch Eric but he dodges it by doing the splits, and punching him in the groin. This highly resembles Mortal Kombat character Johnny Cage's signature move the "Split Punch", in which he does the exact same thing. The difference is that Eric does a victory tap dance when he wins the fight.

★ When Chuck and Larry are out buying stuff that looks "gay" enough, one of the items they get is a DVD of ''Brokeback Mountain'' which is seen in their cart.

★ According to Kevin James on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno, the film was based on a similar incident with a Philadelphia firefighter

★ This is the second film in which Adam Sandler plays a fireman. The other being Mr. Deeds, in which he is a volunteer firefighter for Mandrake Falls, New Hampshire.

★ The last names of Chuck and Larry are Levine and Valentine. They are the same last names of the lead singer and lead guitarist of Maroon 5, Adam Levine and James Valentine, respectively. Adam & James are the two members who usually appear together to promote Maroon 5. Valentine is also the last name of former Mets manager Bobby Valentine, and Larry's favorite team is the Mets. Additionally, Valentine is the last name of Kevin James' real brother Gary Valentine.

★ A running gag throughout the film is the fact that Chuck is the woman of the relationship. If you pay attention, when Chuck and Larry first go into Alex's office, she pulls back Chuck's chair for him (a common courtesy to do for ladies is to pull the chair back for them when they sit).

★ In the last episode of Kevin James' sitcom, The King of Queens, he is last shown wearing the exact Mets shirt he is wearing most of the time in I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry.

★ In real life Richard Chamberlain is gay.

★ Director Dennis Dugan played the part of a young Gay man, Norman's lover, in the film ''Norman, Is That You?''.

References

1. [1]
2. Box Office Mojo, Retrieved on August 24, 2007.
3. [2]
4. [3]
5. New Sandler comedy is not a Hogan rip-off - The Sydney Morning Herald, ''20 July 2007''
6. New Sandler comedy is not a Hogan rip-off - The Sydney Morning Herald, ''20 July 2007''
7. Filming Locations

External links

★ Official Website

★

★

★ ''I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry'' at hollywoodreporter.com

★ DVD Talk on ''Chuck & Larry''

★ On Set Video

★ Official Trailer