Arrow-right Camera
The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

‘Grown Ups 2’ lacks laughs

Kevin James, David Spade, Adam Sandler and Chris Rock in “Grown Ups 2.”
Rick Bentley Mcclatchy-Tribune

A comedy that didn’t work and a drama that ended being comic are available on DVD this week.

• “Grown Ups 2” D-minus: Sequel to the family comedy starring Adam Sandler.

This is the latest regurgitation of old jokes, sight gags and bathroom humor from Sandler that looks like it was put together from suggestion-box ideas supplied by third-graders high on Yoo-hoo. What little structure there is to this sequel to the 2010 offering only serves to loosely tie together bad material about a group of buddies who spend the day together and top off the evening with a party.

Comedy works best when there’s a constant stream of good material that has some degree of consistency. This movie starts at a juvenile level and regresses from there.

• “White House Down” D-plus: A Washington, D.C., police officer (Channing Tatum) must save the White House.

The film isn’t funny when it tries to be and is funny when it doesn’t. The worst examples of failed humor come from Jamie Foxx as the president. He’s the focus of an attack on the White house but is more concerned about his sneakers.

Tatum does a passable job as the surprise hero but doesn’t have the muscle to complete the entertainment mission.

• “Twilight Forever: The Complete Saga” B: It seems like only yesterday people were picking Team Jacob or Team Edward, but it’s been five years since the first “Twilight” movie hit theaters. To mark the anniversary, a special set that features all five films, more than two hours of new content and over 10 hours of special features is being released.

• “Weeds: The Complete Collection” A-minus: This is a first-rate cable series that is the female equal to “Breaking Bad.” Mary-Louise Parker plays a suburban mom who turns to selling drugs to take care of her family. It starts out OK, but eventually she gets pulled into a very dark world.

Great acting and writing make this a must-own set.

Other DVDs coming out this week:

“Saved By The Bell: The Complete Collection”: The ’90s sitcom looks at life in the classroom.

“Lovelace”: Amanda Seyfried stars in this tale of the porn star.

“2 Guns”: Mark Wahlberg, Denzel Washington star in the film based on the graphic novel of the same name.

“Doctor Who: The Complete Series 1-7 Limited Edition”: Includes complete adventures of the Ninth Doctor (Christopher Eccleston) and Tenth Doctor (David Tennant).

“Parkland”: Recounts the chaotic events that occurred in Dallas on Nov. 22, 1963.

“Family Ties: The Complete Series”: Family comedy starring Michael J. Fox.

“Ice Road Truckers: Season 7”: Follows exploits of drivers on perilous routes.

“Steve Martin: The Best of the Bestest Better Best”: A look at the comedy of Steve Martin.

“Care Bears: The Great Giving Holiday”: Bears face new adventures full of holiday cheer.

“Dora the Explorer: Dora’s Ice Skating Spectacular!”: Dora and Boots skate to the rescue of the Snow Princess.

“Clear History”: Larry David stars as a marketing executive at a start-up electric car company.

“The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey”: An extended edition of Peter Jackson’s fantasy adventure is being released.

“Mad Men: Season 6”: Continuing drama of the ego-driven “Golden Age” of advertising in the late 1960s New York.

“Under the Dome”: CBS series about a small town trapped under a dome.

“Angelina Ballerina: Twirling Tales”: The curtain rises on Angelina Ballerina and her friends.

“Naked City: The Complete Series”: Paul Burke, Horace McMahon and James Franciscus star in the 138 episodes.

“My Name is Nobody: 40th Anniversary Edition”: Spaghetti Western from Sergio Leone.