Lenny (Sandler) and his three pals Eric, Kurt and Marcus (James, Rock and Spade) have moved back to their hometown, and are planning to have a big party like in the old days, complete with a 1980s theme. Their kids have various things going on, from first dates to driving tests. Although in Marcus' case, his child is a teenaged thug (Ludwig) he only just discovered he had. Meanwhile, the guys spark a war with a gang of airhead fratboys (led by Taylor Lautner, Milo Ventmiglia and Patrick Schwarzenegger).

At the start, four lamely written scenes re-introduce us to the characters, their families and director Dugan's over-reliance on cheesy digital effects. There's no mention of Rob Schneider's character from the first film, as if he never existed. But then, no one really bothers to act at all: Sandler is basically just playing with his friends. Hayek, Bello and Rudolph are back as Lenny's, Eric's and Kurt's wives, respectively, and their roles couldn't be much more thankless.

The movie's themes are all over the place, belittling any real issue that's brought up. There's no sense of friendship, loyalty, romance or camaraderie. These are just actors son cruise control. Then big-name cameo performers like Jon Lovitz or Steve Austin turn up to make rude, unfunny jokes. And it's not much better for bit-part players like Buscemi, Swardson, Meadows and O'Neal.

Frankly, this isn't much more than a relentless stream of sexism and homophobia. And a vivid depiction of seriously terrible parenting. It's little more than excretory jokes and misogynistic men leering at sexy women, and there isn't a single real laugh in the entire movie. Essentially it's like being trapped in a locker-room full of dim-witted 12-year-old boys for 100 painfully long minutes. And the problem is that the cast and crew would probably take that as a compliment.

themes, vulgarity, language, violence

28.Jul.13