No humour or character development in 'Grown Ups'

Only for those who like Sandler’s clapped-out brand of gross-out humour pitched at the flatulence/obese/dumb kids/sexy women level – he co-wrote the tired script – and the obvious look of a film in which the cast, all pals in real life, are having a better time than the audience.

The idea could have been turned into an observant and witty examination of adults drawn back to their moment of glory when at college, of the changes life has brought them, of growing up and moving on.

The problem with a film with such a title as this is that no maturity of any kind is to be seen, the characters (many of them merely shadowed in) are without interest and unable to enlist our sympathy.

The problem here is that the film has too many characters and too many of them left undeveloped and with nothing worthwhile to do.

The plot concerns five college pals, whose greatest moment was as members of a championship-winning team, who gather for the funeral of their beloved coach, taking along a collection of family members of mixed interest.

The basis of the film concerns itself with a series of limp jokes and increasingly brutal banter between the men, none of it humorous.

Star Rating: 1/5