I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry

Release year: 2007
My Rating: ★★½ out of 5

Tagline: They’re as straight as can be, but don’t tell anyone.

Synopsis: Firefighters Chuck Ford and Larry Valentine are guy’s guys, loyal to the core—which is why when widower Larry asks Chuck to pose as his lover so that he can get domestic partner benefits for his kids, his buddy agrees. However, things get dicey when a bureaucrat comes calling, and the boys are forced to present a picture of domestic bliss.

Did somebody say MASTAPEECE!?

In 2007, the world truly wasn't ready for the instrumental LGBTQIA+ rights cinematic marvel that is I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry. I don't even know if the world is ready for it in 2026. This movie is so ahead of it's time that you may think it's offensive for it's constant gay stereotypes, promotion of the idea of gay people getting married just for the monetary benefits, Sandler faking being gay to get with Jessica Biel, bi-erasure, and constant use of slurs, but you just can't handle the power of how forward thinking it is. This movie has gone so above and beyond that in thousands of years they will look back on this movie and the direct line you can draw from this to the legalization of gay marriage across the world. That's right! And you shook your head in disgust as a fat guy fell on Kevin James and farted in his face. FOR SHAME!

And you know what's really homophobic? I bet you don't even know which of these characters is Chuck and which is Larry. The gay icons that paved the way for civil rights going forward. Move over Harvey Milk and Marsha P Johnson. It's Chuck And Larry's turn in the spotlight! 

Adam Sandler is truly on his A-game here. Maybe better than even Punch-Drunk Love. The way he masterfully plays the role of homophobe to activist is impeccably. Like wow! He plays a man who hides his true inner self by sleeping with women when deep down he knows what he truly desires. Kevin James. The way he delivers the lines "Balls and wieners all the way" and "This makes me so sad, and gay" makes you notice just how he begins to see his true self. A man in love with another man. Bros before hoes takes on new meaning here.

Steve Buscemi as the Gay Inspector

But we have a threat to their love. And that is the titular gay inspector, Steve Buscemi. Steve Buscemi's roll here is to show how bureaucracy is trying to thwart those not perceived as societally normal from living their best and regular lives. And he plays the roll so well. At every turn he's trying to prove to the world that all people want is to get married not out of love, but out of convenience and fraud. But Chuck and Larry, they prove him wrong at every point by needing to demonstrate how in love with each other they are, and how much they pine for the male form. Balls and wieners all the way indeed.

I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry is such a marvelous demonstration of the difficulties gay people go through every day: being called slurs, being looked at differently by your coworkers, having to prove your love to everyone around you, fighting bureaucratic injustices. But despite all that, Chuck and Larry push forward. Not just for themselves, but also for Larry's kids. They are the true heroes here, and them proving their love to the entire world, maybe, just maybe they can start to sway those who doubt them. When Chuck and Larry win, we all win.

Rob Schneider as the “Asian priest”

For real though, Rob Schnieder makes me angry in this. Not just because he plays a Japanese man, but because I didn't know it was him. I went all the way through this movie the first time not knowing that Rob Schnieder was in this movie. I was happy because I had finally found a piece of LGBTQ media that actually so excellently represents the gay experience. But then I go to Wikipedia and find out that he is in this movie! Uncredited by the way. It's almost like they didn't want you to know that he was playing an offensive stereotype of a Japanese man. Well I suppose no movie can be perfect. I'm sorry dear reader.

So what have we learned here. According to I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry, homophobia is bad, but racism is good? Maybe I need to rewatch this movie to determine if it is actually forward thinking. Maybe 5 sequential viewings should do the trick.