I Now Pronounce You, Adam Sandler, Out

I do not mean out, as in out of the closet; I mean out as in out of favor with movie audiences. It is a moment I have long been waiting for. I have never found Adam Sandler's comedy funny. His style of "humor" is classically sophomoric and represents the least desirable qualities of straight males. I could overlook this if he was at least attractive, but that face and that voice do nothing but repulse me even further.

Did I mention how proud I am that I have never seen an Adam Sandler movie in its entirety? There have been surprisingly many of them and for this I think Sandler does deserves a lifetime achievement award for stretching a one-note, one-dimensional routine into what feels like a lifetime of cinematic refuse. I see that a number of reviews agree with me.

Thank goodness, I finally see the sign of the end with the preview of his latest movie I Now Pronounce You Chuck And Larry. The synopsis is that two straight firefighters, Chuck (Sandler) and Larry (Kevin James), pretend to be a gay couple in order to receive domestic partner benefits, which leads to comedic results. Playing gay for laughs is fairly common in movies as a quick gag, but going full on gay as the central element of the story may be the indication that Sandler's career is heading in its long delayed downward direction.

My reasoning is based on the article "That Joke Isn't Funny Anymore" by Mike Albo (Out magazine, September, 2006). In the article about straight comics playing gay for laughs, Albo states

"Straight comics will usually fall back on gay when their jokes are falling flat and they are flailing, feeling the audience slipping out of their grasp. Then, out comes the word gay and, voilà, someone in the audience will laugh nervously, encouraging others to laugh, and the audience is back on track. It's like the comedian is jump-starting an old crappy car."

Though the situation is not exactly as described in the article, it is still close enough for me to believe that the club of extinguished SNL stars can now prepare to welcome its long lost initiate.