I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry (Blu-ray)

Connect to Facebook/Twitter, recommend via email and much more.

---

The picture contains a number of cameos. Nicholas Turturro, Richard Chamberlain, Allen Covert, Lance Bass, Dave Matthews and ESPN´s Dan Patrick are all familiar faces that pop up during the running time of "Chuck and Larry." Many of the faces in the film are very familiar for any of Sandler´s productions, but he seems to be expanding his stable of talent. Unfortunately, Sandler seems to have taken a step back and plays more to the "Happy Gilmore" and "Billy Madison" crowd than he does those that enjoyed "50 First Dates," "Click" or "Big Daddy." Sandler is a talented comedic actor that doesn´t need to resort to childish humor and stereotypes. The mean spirited comedy was left behind for years, but like his earlier films that succeeded by picking on the flaws, race or ethnicity of others, "Chuck and Larry" digs into this same formula to deliver laughs. If it wasn´t for the final courtroom sequence in the film, there would be hardly any redeeming qualities to the picture and "Chuck and Larry" would be nothing more than a long stream of gay and sex jokes.

Video:

The VC-1 codec used for the previous release is recycled and the 1.85:1 framed "I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry" is identical to the former HD-DVD release. The picture failed to entertain me, but I feel it is a strong release that is detailed, colorful and clean. Colors are strong and vibrant. This is to be expected from such a recent film. Fleshtones are spot-on perfect and the rest of the color spectrum holds up well. Red fire trucks look good and the yellow and black of the uniforms look strong as well. Speaking of blacks, the black level is strong. Detail is fitting for a high definition Blu-ray release. The scene where Larry falls down a ladder is one of the more visually strong moments. Leaves and grass look strong as well as the texture of the bricks. There are plenty of other strong scenes found in the film. Source materials are pristine and the film is about as clean as possible.

Sound:

The Blu-ray release of "I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry" is slightly amped up for its second outing on a high definition format with the inclusion of an English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 soundtrack. The mix feels very similar to the previous HD-DVD release, but an A-B comparison shows that the musical score is slightly warmer and there are more decibels flowing from the speakers. "Chuck and Larry" is one of the better sounding comedies I´ve heard in a while and the musical numbers featured in the film and some of the fire fighting action sequences sound great. A few other scenes offer a heightened sense of sound that is quite effective in delivering sound to each of the six channels. The .1 LFE channel is not used extensively, but its presence can be felt on occasion. Rear surrounds are used effectively to build a nice enveloping experience. The film´s dialogue is very clean and strong and easily heard throughout the film. This is a rare comedy where I felt the soundtrack was an asset.

Extras:

Universal has gutted the Blu-ray release of "I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry" and ignored much of the material that was on the HD-DVD release. This included deleted scenes, outtakes and a few other brief vignettes. They have also not included the online functionality and had been doing so for nearly every other recent Blu-ray release. The U-Control feature contained on the HD-DVD disc is retained and the Friendship Test returns. This provides pop-up questions throughout the film. The feature tabulates your answers and gives you a final score at the end of the film. The U-Control menu shows which scenes have questions and which ones have been answered. My Scenes support is also provided to allow bookmarking to the best moments featuring Jessica Biel or the fine supporting cast.

"I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry" contains two commentary tracks. Te first Feature Commentary with Director Dennis Dugan, Adam Sandler and Kevin James is the better of the two commentary tracks and finds the two stars and the film´s director laughing and enjoying the film and talking more about what is going on on-screen. This is a very energetic commentary track and James and Sandler feed off of each other the entire time and provide a nice colorful look at the film. The second Feature Commentary with Director Dennis Dugan is more detailed about the actual making of the picture, but it is a bit drier than the first track and Dugan does go silent for a number of stretches during the commentary. If you only have time to listen to one of the two commentary tracks, then I strongly suggest the first one with the film´s two stars.

Closing:

Adam Sandler´s career has been in decline and "I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry" is a movie that I cannot decide whether or not I hate it or find it as passive entertainment. The film tries to make a worthy statement about alternative lifestyles, and I feel Sandler meant well, but his mean spirited stereotypical humor feels juvenile and pedestrian when compared to many of the other films he has made recently. Kevin James deserved a shot in a big picture and neither him nor Sandler are bad in their roles. Jessica Biel is present in the picture, but seems to serve a purpose of only having her breasts fondled by Sandler. Perhaps I´m jealous, but she could have been used to a greater extent in the film. This is a movie that has funny moments, but isn´t nearly as good as most other Adam Sandler films. The Blu-ray release axes most of the bonus materials from the previous HD-DVD release and features a good looking and identical picture and slightly improved sound. I´m disappointed that Universal took a step back with the bonus features of this release and ponder as to why this Sandler movie was given the shaft.

---

Connect to Facebook/Twitter, recommend via email and much more.

---