Plot summary (with possible spoilers): Having just been summarily fired from his job, former CIA agent Osbourne Cox (played by John Malkovich) decides to write a memoir about his time in the spy world. His wife Katie (Tilda Swinton) has had just enough of Osbourne, and the lost job — plus the nerve to think he has anything worthy of putting into a memoir — drives her to finally file for divorce. As part of the divorce proceedings, Katie’s lawyers urge her to copy Osbourne’s financial records. Katie inadvertently copies a first draft of the memoir instead. A secretary at the law firm subsequently loses the file at a health club.

The disc is found at Hardbodies (the health club) and ends up in the hands of trainers Chad (Brad Pitt) and Linda (Frances McDormand). Once those two realize they have their hands on some “secret spy shit,” they decide it would be a good idea to try to get some money out of the disc’s owner. Linda, after all, has her heart set on four different plastic surgeries so she can reinvent herself. Chad’s computer whiz friend identifies Osbourne Cox as the writer, and Chad and Linda proceed with their blackmail plan from there.

To make the plot even more complicated, we have a Treasury Department man named Harry (George Clooney) who is having an affair with both Katie and Linda. His involvement has shocking consequences that cause the whole situation to spiral out of control.

Warning: Spoilers below!

Liked:

• I thought Brad Pitt and Frances McDormand were really good in this film. Pitt is an actor I can take or leave. I have never gone to see a movie specifically for him, nor have I intentionally avoided one because he was in it. I don’t think I’ve ever seen him in a dark comedy like this, but he nailed the part of Chad, the airhead trainer. He was funny pretty much throughout. McDormand is an actress I’ve come to like since her turn in Fargo, and she doesn’t disappoint here. There’s something about her that makes me pay attention whenever she’s on screen.
• I’ll admit it, the chair contraption Harry made in his basement had me laughing out loud at the reveal. OMG, did that come out of left field or what?!
• Harry shooting Chad in the forehead was an unexpected shock. I like being surprised like that when watching a movie — so long as the surprise is somewhat believable. The Coens set up that whole scene when Harry said sometimes “muscle training” just takes over, so I believed it.

Disliked:

• I was expecting more laughs out of this one. There weren’t actually too many funny scenes (yes, I know this was a “dark comedy”, so I wasn’t looking for slapstick), so besides Harry’s chair, I only chuckled a few other times.
• There were some boring stretches where I caught myself looking at my watch. That’s not a good thing, particularly since this film was only 96 minutes long to begin with. The boring scenes made the run time feel longer.
• OK, I know I’m dipping into the shallow end of the pool here, but I did not like all the close-ups of Richard Jenkins. Seeing his face splashed across my 50-inch TV was not fun. All I kept thinking was that the poor man should check out acne scar treatment options ASAP. Terrible, I know, but I couldn’t help it.
• I didn’t care for the scene where Osbourne completely lost his head and started beating on Ted in broad daylight. That rage seemed to come out of nowhere, and didn’t fit in with how the Malkovich character had been acting up to then.

Rating:

Coen films are a crap shoot for me, as I like some and hate others (No Country for Old Men, I’m looking at you!). I wasn’t particularly enthralled by previews of Burn After Reading (which is why it took me so long to finally get around to watching it), but have to say it turned out to be a pretty decent film after all. I give it 3 stars out of 5.

Summary (from the publisher): Just because you grow older doesn’t mean you have to grow up! Comedy superstars Adam Sandler, Kevin James, Chris Rock, David Spade and Rob Schneider are at their hilarious and outrageous best playing childhood friends who reunite one holiday weekend to relive the good old days. It doesn’t matter that these five guys are now respectable businessmen, husbands and fathers. Once they get back together, nothing is going to stop these kids-at-heart from having the time of their adult lives in this hilarious and heartwarming film that proves men will be boys from the people who brought you Click.

Liked:

• The first time they showed Rob Schneider’s “ugly” daughter, with her hair styled just like his, I admit I laughed out loud.

Disliked:

• Was there a point to this movie? It felt like I was just watching footage of Adam Sandler’s weekend retreat with a group of friends. It was all just random stuff without any hint of a cohesive plot.
• I didn’t like the jokes directed at Chris Rock, where he was called “bitch” and was put down constantly by his wife and mother-in-law. What’s wrong with being a “househusband?” Can you imagine if the roles were reversed and the Rock character demeaned his wife in the same way? I know this was just a comedy, but I do not like to see relationships depicted this way.
• The fat old mother-in-law was such an unnecessary character. She farts and blames the dog, and serves as a convenient target for other characters to say how she needs to start taking the best diet pill for women ASAP. How lazy was that writing? Those are jokes my 7-year-old would come up with.
• I could tell there were many ad-libbed scenes. They pretty much sucked.
• It’s amazing to me that all these comedians could get together and NOT be funny. Well, actually, let me take that back. When are Rob Schneider and David Spade ever funny? And Kevin James? Meh. I guess this goes to show you shouldn’t just cast your friends.
• The fact that this “movie” made $162,000,000 proves that you don’t even have to make an actual film in order to rake in big bucks in Hollywood. More power to Adam Sandler.

Rating:

I don’t expect big things from any Adam Sandler movie, but I do expect to at least be entertained and treated to a few laughs. This didn’t happen with Grown Ups. It was unfunny, tedious, and didn’t even have the slightest trace of a plot. I give it 1 star out of 5.