View image Rob Schneider in "yellowface", playing Mickey Rooney in "Breakfast at Tiffany's" in "I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry."
"Flamers" was the title of a screenplay by Barry Fanaro ("The Golden Girls," "Kingpin," "Men in Black II") that had been re-written by Alexander Payne and Jim Taylor ("Citizen Ruth," "Election," "About Schmidt," "Sideways"). Once Adam Sandler decided to star in the movie, this script was serially re-written some more by Sandler, his friends, and various others. The result opened this weekend as "I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry," directed by Dennis Dugan ("Happy Gilmore," "Big Daddy," "The Benchwarmers").
The film has not been well-received by critics (14% at Rottentomatoes.com at this writing). Manohla Dargis, in the New York Times, wrote:
Fear of a gay planet fuels plenty of American movies; it’s as de rigueur in comedy as in macho action. But what’s mildly different about “Chuck & Larry” is how sincerely it tries to have its rainbow cake and eat it too. In structural terms, the movie resembles a game of Mother May I, in that for every tiny step it takes forward in the name of enlightenment (gay people can be as boring as heterosexuals), it takes three giant steps back, often by piling on more jokes about gay sex (some involving a priceless Ving Rhames). Into this mix add the stunningly unfunny Rob Schneider, who pops up brandishing buckteeth, glasses and an odious accent in apparent homage to Mickey Rooney’s painful, misguided turn as the Japanese neighbor in “Breakfast at Tiffany’s.”But there's a little more to this one than the usual Sandler vehicle. New York Magazine explains some of the backstory in "A Peek at the Movie ‘Chuck & Larry’ Could Have Been":“I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry” has been deemed safe for conscientious viewing by a representative of the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, a media watchdog group. Given the movie’s contempt for women, who mainly just smile, sigh and wiggle their backdoors at the camera, it’s too bad that some lesbian (and Asian) Glaad members didn’t toss in their two cents about the movie. If Mr. Sandler dares speak in favor of gay love in “Chuck & Larry” — at least when it’s legally sanctioned, tucked behind closed doors and not remotely feminine — it’s only because homosexuality represents one type of love among men. Here, boys can be boys, together in bed and not, but heaven forbid that any of them look or behave like women.
And in the dramatic conclusion of Payne and Taylor's script, Chuck and Larry kiss on the courthouse steps — "not just a timid exchange," the stage notes add, "but the long, passionate melting together of soul-mates. Tongues and everything. Hot. Wow." Needless to say, this scene never made it into the final version.I believe that ending was already perfomed by Will Ferrell and Sacha Baron Cohen in "Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby."
16 Comments
Well, first off it's a Sandler movie so the reviews will have no effect anyway. In fact, Sandler films tend to have an inverse effect rule in place with criticism wherein the better reviewed a Sandler film is (Punch Drunk Love) the worse box-office it will do.
Secondly, would anyone expect A Sandler movie with a gay theme to be anything other that one big homosexual sex joke fest?
So, a Sandler film is bad, the gay sex jokes are piled on and Rob Schneider is unfunny.
I think Manohla Dargis forgot to tell us that the world is round and that rain falls down.
Jim, you've reviewed films before (including many more than usual in this last year due to Roger's complications)so let me ask you - When you're watching a movie like this do you (or did you) ever think, "What's the point? My review will fall on deaf ears."? Have you ever told an editor, "Look I can do more good reviewing this limited distribution film from an indepedent director than reviewing this big budget flop. Let me do it." Or was that futile as well because the paper (or site) just wanted a recognizable title in the movie review section?
Jim/everyone else,
You should check out the review by Nathan Lee in the Village Voice. It's a very intelligent and positive opinion about the film from the perspective of a homosexual.
Here it is! http://www.villagevoice.com/film/0729,lee,77246,20.html
Here's that kiss on YouTube.
Here's the kiss reprised at the MTV Movie Awards (on Dailymotion, since the YouTube version was out of sync).
Jim, don't forget BASEketball, that had a huge,tounges and all kiss between the South Park creators, that seemed as sincere as could be hoped for in a movie like, well, BASEket ball.
The only other example of a mainstream media passionate kiss between two men was Rimmer and Lister in Red Dwarf. It was actually kinda hot.
I doubt this post will be read by you folks, but I just had to try:
For the uninitiated, here's Mickey Rooney in Breakfast at Tiffany's as a Japanese man.
The individual who put it on YouTube has the N-word in his name, and the video description contains the J-word (used in an ethnically derogatory comment), and the whole thing is so awful that JE probably won't even put this post up... but it sure was funny to submit.
JE: Thanks for finding this! I'm always in favor of pertinent info that helps us see the context in which something is made -- even if it's just an Adam Sandler movie.
In conversation with Keith Uhlich, he told me that its one of the best movies of the year so far, and remarkably pro-gay. I'm hoping he'll offer a more detailed account on The House when he gets back from vacation.
What I don't get is why Schneider, who's half-Asian, opted to do the Rooney bit, unless he intended it to be ironic in some way.
As a counterpoint to the view that "I Now Pronounce You..." is the lame, retrograde, and offensive piece of junk it seems, check out the review by Nathan Lee in the Village Voice. (I am still going to save my money, however.)
What I found most interesting about the critical response (after having seen the trailer) was that most reviewers have not seen the film as anti-gay. What they've complained about is the awkwardness and preachiness of its "message of tolerance." The trailer just looks like a bunch of old gay jokes, but (as some have speculated) perhaps that's the sales strategy: to appeal to the usual Sandler crowd and then slip a "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner"-style message in on 'em....
That moment in "Talladega Nights" spoke more to me than anything in "Brokeback Mountain" did (which I thought was so-so.) I can't imagine Dennis Dugan really having anything all that interesting to say about this particular film.
But perhaps Rob Shneider's role is in response to your posts about Jolie's role in "A Mighty Heart". I remember Peter Seller's playing a Japanese man to hilarious effect in "Murder by Death", I wasn't offended by that. Perhaps Rob's a little smarter than we take him for... *ahem*
Um, minor correction: I believe Sydney Wang, in "Murder by Death" was Chinese, though he did have an adopted Japanese son.
There is no force on earth that could actually force me to spend $9 or 90 minutes on this movie. I don't care if Ebert calls it Movie of the Year.
I've never seen Breakfast at Tiffany's. After watching that Mickey Rooney clip, I doubt I ever will.
AG, that's unfortunate, as most of the film is a charming, funny romance (of sorts). The Rooney bits amount to perhaps 1-2 minutes combined screen time. In my opinion, altogether too much attention is paid to a relatively minor element in an othewise fine film. People don't seem compelled to dwell on the horrendously outdated sexual attitudes shown in most Bond films when one is up for discussion (and they are inarguably more integral to the Bond experience than Rooney is to Tiffany's), yet I never hear a positive word about Breakfast at Tiffany's without a lengthy qualification regarding the Rooney part. Indeed, the part is offensive, but let's keep some perspective.
Dane, oops, you're right. It's still a performance I've never heard anyone talk about.
People chuckle about Heston as a Mexican, but it's such a well made movie!
I never have seen John Wayne as Genghis Kahn.
If they had a Japanese actor do the same thing Rooney did, would it still be racist?
Jim,
This is only tangentially related to "Chuck and Larry" (which I haven't seen), but have you noticed that for a certain brand of comedy...let's call it lowbrow...the movie posters and advertisements use a remarkably similar font for the titles? It's usually bright red and sort of balloon-like. I know for sure that "Wedding Crashers" used this font, and "Chuck and Larry" does also. I'm quite sure I've also seen it for some other recent lousy comedies: Robin Williams' last three films may well have used them.
Is there something about this font that movie producers think will entice the audience? It would be an interesting marketing study. I know whenever I see what I now call a "balloon red font" movie, I usually try to avoid it. "Chuck and Larry" is no exception.
P.S. My condolences on the passing of your friend Sherman.
In answer to Philip Kelly, I can say that in my case the casting is not what bothers me. The scene would be just as bloody crude, distatefull and thoroughly unfunny if a japanese actor did it. I realize that this performance is hardly the main gist of the movie but I can't imagine that I could find the film the least bit credible when it features a scene like that.
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