|
"Tell Me About The
Rabbits, George" |
 |
Directed by Dennis Dugan
- Written by Allen
Covert, Nick Swardson
Starring Rob Schneider,
Jon Heder, David Spade,
Jon Lovitz
Distributed by Sony -
2006 - 85mins - Rated
PG13 |
|
Richard Propes'
Review
|
  |
C+ |
|
| |
|
It's never too late to take a stand. |
| |
It takes a very
special person to enjoy "The Benchwarmers."
I am such a person.
I admit it. I enjoy Adam Sandler movies, and I've gotten at least
modest enjoyment out of nearly every film from his production company,
Happy Madison. Heck, even the recent flop "Grandma's Boy" had a
certain charm to it.
"The Benchwarmers" is just plain WRONG on so many levels.
Think about the characters. The three leads are all thirtysomethings
who were impacted by childhood bullying to such a degree that it has
clearly impacted their normal developmental processes.
There's Gus. As played by Rob Schneider, Gus is the "together" guy of
this rather infantile threesome. Gus is employed, married to quite the
hottie, and seemingly fairly well-spoken. Schneider, more subdued than
usual, is actually quite effective in a role that requires almost no
stretch.
Then, There's Richie. As played by David Spade, Richie is a painfully
shy, never been kissed video store clerk with a "Dutch Boy" type
haircut and who lives in a small apartment with his "Dutch Boy"
agoraphobic brother, Howie (Nick Swardson, a near master at portraying
socially inept, infantile characters).
Finally, there's Clark. Clark is, in fact, my favorite character here.
Jon Heder basically does a dumbed down version of Napoleon Dynamite
and creates a character who is constantly sweet, frequently funny and
who frequently had me going "AWWWWWWWWWWWW." Clark is a paperboy who
lives with his mom who, according to himself, has not even ever talked
to a girl. Once you see Clark, it's fairly easy to believe it. Though
the over-the-top stereotype of being "slow" is a bit mean-spirited at
times it never completely crosses the line into offensiveness.
The script, by Allen Covert and Nick Swardson, follows the typical
Sandler route of gross-out humor, juvenile situations and those
occasional really sweet moments. I am, admittedly, a Covert fan as an
actor and writer. Covert does a marvelous job at writing simple, brief
scenes that just endear you to his characters.
The basic premise of the film centers around these three misfits
taking a stand for all the nerds who never got a chance to play
baseball. As adults, in essence, they stand up to the bullies for all
the kids who can't stand up for themselves.
Therein lies the basic problem with the film. While the message of the
film is striving to be a "statement" about inclusion and getting
along, there's something that just always feels inappropriate about
having this message delivered through the vehicle of thirty-something
males taking advantage of their younger teen opposition. Do these
bullies deserve a lesson? Of course. Should it be administered by the
hands of older adults? Ummm. No. Even as a "joke," that would be
considered child abuse in almost any state. I understood what the
film-maker was going for, but the script never fleshed out enough to
make these lessons completely palatable.
That said, the film does manage to exhibit the usual Sandler flair for
balancing gross-out stupidity with a simple sweetness that makes it
impossible to completely hate. The film works on a certain level
because, clearly, the aim for the film is not that high. This is
nothing more than a silly, juvenile comedy and everybody in the cast
seems to know it. Jon Lovitz, as a former nerd now billionaire, offers
a joyous performance filled with toys, gadgets and quite a few zingy
one-liners. Likewise, as Gus's fertility obsessed wife, Molly Sims
combines sweetness, sincerity and goofiness.
The film, directed by Dennis Dugan, has a variety of fun, smaller
cameo appearances including Tim Meadows, Norm MacDonald and, yes, even
a quick one by Sandler himself. In fact, if you read through the
film's credits at the end, you'll see a variety of extras with such
familiar last names as Sandler, Dugan, Jackson (two, including
baseball legend Reggie) and quite a few others.
I have often read that Adam Sandler is a very loyal friend. He
surrounds himself with those people who bring him joy, and it is often
this core of joy that radiates in even the silliest of his films. "The
Benchwarmers", for me, radiates this same joy. Once again, Sandler has
shown that loyalty to his friends by producing a film written by
friends, starring friends, staffed by friends and directed by friends.
Is "The Benchwarmers" a brilliant film? Nope, not by a long shot. Is
it even brilliant comedy? Nope, to be honest it's not. "The
Benchwarmers" is, however, a friendly, easygoing film with a gentle
spirit, generally good heart and more than a few laughs supported
nicely by a cast that seems to saying "This is all a waste of time,
but man it's nice working with you guys again."
Hmmmmm.
I just had this odd thought. "The Benchwarmers" is sort of like
"Ocean's 11" for Dummies. |
| |
|
© Written by Richard Propes -
Email Me! |
TC Candler's Comment
The only way
to judge a film like this is by the laughs...
and boy did I laugh. The jokes may be
asinine, but seven times out of ten they manage
to elicit a belly laugh. This is a solid
comedy rental.
Jacob Hall's
Comment
n/a
|
