The Rob Reviews Grown Ups 2

Is it worth seeing, and how does it compare to the original?

This weekend I got a chance to get out to the movie theater.  While I admit it's weird I STILL haven't seen Wolverine, I was able to get out and see the Adam Sandler comedy Grown Ups 2.

I was marginally excited to see it.  The cast has a track record to me of great potential, however the first Grown Ups let me down greatly.  I REALLY wanted to like the 2009 original, but I really didn't.

That being said...  Grown Ups 2 is awesome!  Adam Sandler's comedies can be split into two distinct categories:  His GOOD movies, and his BAD movies.  My personal rule of thumb is everything up to and including 2003's 50 First Dates is pretty good, and everything after has largely been garbage.  I'm happy to report that Grown Ups 2 falls more in line with Sandler's brilliant 90's comedies (like Billy Madison and Happy Gilmore) than his latest craptaculars.

The movie kept me laughing and happy the whole time.  The jokes are paced very well, and offer something for everybody.  There are some sight gags, some complex humor, some cheap laughs, some knee-slappers.  My only complaint would be a few too over-the-top that they made me groan.  The jokes that I thought were too much though often inspired a group of about six or so eleven-year-olds behind me to laugh hysterically, though.

You'll also have a fun "Where's Waldo" experience because the list of celebrity cameos is seemingly never-ending.  You'll recognize nearly everybody that steps on screen, many of which not even from the world of acting, and fans of "Saturday Night Live" like me will have fun recognizing almost every cast member in the history of the show.

I've seen most of the major league comedies this summer...  Hangover 2, The Internship, This is the End.  Much to my surprise, Grown Ups 2 was funnier than all of those put together, and is easily the funniest film I've seen in theaters all year!