Grown Ups 2

Expectations:
Sequels, sequels, sequels... Engulfing the world in which we live. Sure, it's ok when giant hits like Iron Man and Paranormal Activity get follow ups, but do we really need a sequel to films like Red and Grown Ups? If it really is all about the money (and it is), then films with mediocre box office success shouldn't be getting the sequel treatment. Nevertheless, here we are. Not only did Adam Sandler give us a sequel to Grown Ups, but he also convinced me to give him $15 and two hours of my weekend. Time I will never get back. My expectations for Grown Ups 2 were lower than my expectations for any film this year, to this point. However, I hadn't been to the theater in 10 days and was starting to have serious withdrawals. So, without much hope of enjoyment, I headed to the theater to watch Adam Sandler continue to destroy his career...

Plot:
There just wasn't one... not one little bit of one. The entire film was designed around a party at the home of a 40 year old man with three children, which was actually more exciting than it sounds, although completely ridiculous. Sure, each character had something going on in their life that made them significant individually, but there was absolutely nothing to tie together the various characters. The only aspect of the plot that was remotely funny was the over-zealous fraternity brother scenes, featuring Taylor Lautner. While they were way over the top, it was actually a good idea. I was hoping the car wash scene with Andy Samberg and crew would also shine, but it was basically exactly the same as what you saw in the trailer.

Character:
There is no doubt that Rob Schneider wins the award for smartest actor to star in Grown Ups 2... because he doesn't star in Grown Ups 2. Nobody really knows why Schneider didn't want to be a part of the sequel, but, if he read the script at some point, that probably didn't help them win him over. However, it was probably because of money, as Schneider has never shied away from stupid films in the past.

Negatives:
Pretty much EVERYONE! The underuse of Maya Rudolph and Andy Samberg mixed with the overuse of Alexander Ludwig and Tim Meadows just made for a disastrous cast, aside from the four main cast members.

Positives:
It's pretty hard for the four guys pictured above to do anything that isn't funny, and that remained true with their individual moments in Grown Ups 2. David Spade was still his perveted, ridiculous self. Chris Rock was still whiny and sarcastically black. Kevin James was still fat. And, finally, Adam Sandler, the leader of the infamous crew, was his usual hilarious self . The best part of the first film was watching these four interact, and, with Grown Ups 2, the attempt to create 10,000 cameos really took away from the story that could have just focused on these four friends.

Conclusion:
Many times, in the past, low expectations have been met with slightly impressive results, which is always a pleasant surprise. Unfortunately, with Grown Ups 2, I don't believe I could have set my expectations low enough. There are many movies that lack what it takes to make an entirely impressive film, and then there are some films (Grown Ups 2) that have absolutely nothing going for them. As stupid as Pacific Rim looked, I don't think there is any way that it could have been as bad as Grown Ups 2. If you have $15, please go to Raising Cane's, buy some $5 DVDs, or donate it to a nice charity. But, whatever you do, stay away from Grown Ups 2! I give Grown Ups 2 1.10 out of 5 stars.