Film / Grown Ups

Grown Ups is a series of films starring Adam Sandler, Kevin James, Chris Rock, David Spade, and Rob Schneider as a group of guys who reunite to attend a former coaches funeral.

This movie series contains examples of:

• Actor Allusion:
  • Gloria mentions that Rob has been compared to a "midget Filipino Fonzie" - Rob Schneider has Filipino blood. It may also be a reference to Henry Winkler's appearances in several Adam Sandler films, such as The Waterboy, Little Nicky, Click, and You Don't Mess with the Zohan.
    • Crosses into Reality Subtext if you know that Rob really was estranged from one of his daughters at the time.
• Agony of the Feet: The group's game of Arrow Roulette ends with the arrow piercing Rob's foot.
• All Love Is Unrequited: Eric's daughter, Donna has a crush on Lenny's son Keithie which he is flattered by but does not reciprocate in "Grown Ups 2".
• Ambiguous Situation: Dickie claims that Lenny's game winning shot shouldn't have counted because his foot was on the out of bounds line while Lenny says otherwise. The way the scene of the shot is filmed makes it ambiguous, so it's impossible to tell who's right.
• Ambiguous Syntax: Rob's three ex-wives (each the mother of one of his daughters) are referred to as "the eater, the beater and the cheater", but it's unclear whether or not that was in the order they'd married Rob or reverse order, especially considering that multiple characters question how the older two girls could be Rob's daughters, while Bridget the youngest is clearly his kid.
• Ambiguously Gay: Rob's brother Nick Hilliard who admits to the guys that his wife left him after catching him eating a banana suggestively, admits to having trouble holding on to an attraction to women and finds himself drawn and being flirtatious to a gay man named Kyle at the 80's party, all while dressed up as Boy George from Culture Club.
• A Mistake Is Born: In "Grown Ups 2", Lamonsoff is revealed to being an unplanned child due to being conceived in a bathroom during a football game. Despite this, his parents still loved him. Meanwhile, Lenny tries to argue with Roxanne over not wanting another baby only to be dumbfounded when she reveals to him that she's already pregnant.
• Amusing Injuries: A game of "arrow roulette", where the five compete to be the last to avoid a falling arrow, ends when it goes into Rob's foot. Later Wiley gets stuck on a zipline and crashes into a hut... and later "wins" another round of "arrow roulette".
  • Noticeably averted with Eric and the tree-rope. It helps that a pigeon broke his fall.
• An Aesop: From Grown Ups 2, even an unexpected child deserves to be loved.
• Artistic License – Geography: The buff Canadian man at the waterpark who claims that he's from a place called "Saskatchetoon". Any Canadian who remembers their geography from the third grade can tell you that such a location does not exist, and that the name is just a made-up portmanteau of the province Saskatchewan and the city Saskatoon.
• Attack Pattern Alpha: "Motion 78".
• Aw, Look! They Really Do Love Each Other: Downplayed with Marcus and his long-lost son Braden in "Grown Ups 2"; Marcus manages to make headway by proposing to watch videos of Squirrels water-skiing.
• Berserk Button: Do not touch either any of Rob's daughters. Don't make fun of them either.
• Bestiality Is Depraved: Marcus waking up in the closet with Eric's dog. After bragging that he spent the night with a "short blonde."
• Big Badass Battle Sequence: In the second film, between all the grown ups and the cruel army of frat members.
• Big Little Brother: Officer Fluzoo in the second film is Malcolm's younger brother, though he is much taller than him.
• Bowdlerise:
  • The gym scene in the original cut of Grown Ups 2 had the gym teacher climb a rope not long after hitting Bumpty with a basketball, with the latter making a comment about the gym teacher needing to "put those easter eggs back in the basket". The clean version omits the rope sequence and has Bumpty respond to the teacher - after being hit - to "never sneak up on a brother."
  • Clean versions also exist of Dickie Bailey trying to fix the ice cream machine, with less focus on the chocolate ice cream coming out; Greg and Andre ditching the beer on the ground 'subtly'; Marcus vomiting after the ride from the tire; members of the Kappa Eta Sigma fraternity chucking a beer to Wiley, but omitting Andre lying about being wasted; and Officer Fluzoo enjoying the water in the Feder pool.
  • The clean version omits most of the car wash sequence where the guys wash the Lamonsoff's car, even though the line where Wiley downplays that he and Andre went there is kept in.
• Blatant Lies: This exchange between Lenny and Becky after he shouted at her for meddling in the conversation with his old rival Tommy Cavanaugh.
  Becky: No, you didn't. You just yelled at me.
  Lenny: (in a very loud tone) I DON'T YELL AT YOU!!!
• Bratty Half-Pint: ALL THE KIDS, except for maybe Becky.
• Break the Cutie: Roxanne accidentally revealing to her daughter there is no Tooth Fairy.
• Brick Joke: The Canadian hunk that the wives meet (see Vocal Dissonance below). Later that day, Lenny and Eric wonder why their wives would want them to go all canadian during sex (and Rob for one is still at it).
  • Also at one point, Rob refers to corn as "maize", which leaves everyone to make fun of him and start saying it funny. Later, after talking to his daughter, he mentions that "the kids always pay". The gang then makes fun of the way he says that, and at one point says "they pay with maize"
• Butt-Monkey: Rob. Wiley is this for the Jerk Jock posse.
• The Casanova: Marcus
• Catchphrase: the buzzer noise (he's even nicknamed Coach Buzzer) is treated like this in-universe.
• Cheerful Child: Eric's son Bean. How could you not breastfeed him...
• Chekhov's Gun: The deer in the second movie.
• The Chew Toy: Wiley
• Chivalrous Pervert: Marcus.
• Chuck Cunningham Syndrome: Rob and his wife and daughters do not appear nor are even mentioned in the sequel. Instead, his long-lost baby brother Nick shows up in his place.
• Cool Big Sis: Rob's two older daughters Jasmine and Amber get along well with their (less attractive) younger half-sister and are clearly offended on her behalf when a ride attendant calls her "fugly".
• The Cutie: Becky, the most sweet-natured of the kids who is introduced trying to use Lenny's GPS to find Heaven so he can go visit the coach.
• Deadpan Snarker: Lenny and Marcus.
• Easily Forgiven: After getting shot in the foot, Rob takes out all his bottled-up anger entirely on Gloria and says some pretty hurtful things to her. Within a few hours though they're having crazy sex like nothing had happened. Downplayed though, since Gloria confessed that she was so upset at Rob for yelling at her, she wanted to call him "a bug-eyed sociopath with a little man complex", and "say that his hair makes him look like a dirty q-tip. Or that he resembles an older, gay Jonas Brother. Or a midget, Filipino Fonzi."
• Elephant in the Living Room: Lenny treats his Asian au pair^note nanny maid like this.
• Everyone Has Standards: Though he has a reputation for being a womanizer, Marcus is hurt when he is accused of sleeping with Rob’s daughters after a series of strange coincidences made it appear that way, saying he would never betray his best friend like that and that his daughters would never be attracted to someone like him anyway.
• Everything Is Racist: During the championship game, Young Kurt gets caught double dribbling. He immediately accuses the referee of only calling a violation on him because he's black.
• Evil Counterparts: Malcolm to Kurt (both being the only black guy in their teams); Wiley to Rob (both being the Butt Monkeys).
• Explain, Explain... Oh, Crap!: Robideaux reveals in the sequel that his mother jumped off the Suicide 35 while she was pregnant, which would explain why his left eye is dodgy.
• Expy: Marcus is a sex hound and the only member of the group who isn't married, kind of like a certain sexually active and unmarried character from a certain adult cartoon series.
• Fan Disservice:
  • Gloria fixing the heated car.
  • The reveal of Rob's third daughter who looks like a female version of him.
  • Deanne accidentally taking Sally's leaking breast milk to the face.
  • A man's wedgie after going down the water slide.
  • Nick drunk, shirtless, dressed up like Boy George.
  • Nick, getting drunk and making out with a dog. In-Universe reaction with the yoga instructor vomiting to the sight.
  • The guys having to jump off a cliff, naked in the sequel.
  • The male car wash in the sequel, complete with short-shorts.
• Fanservice:
  • Rob's daughter Jasmine fixing the heated car.
  • Amber running in slow-motion, complete with a Hair Flip.
  • Jasmine getting a wedgie after going down the water slide. Complete with a shot of her back side.
  • The women's car wash in the sequel.
• The Fashionista: Lenny's wife Roxanne.
• Four-Man Band: As of Grown Ups 2.
  • Only Sane Man: Lenny
  • The Smart Guy: Kurt
  • The Pervert: Marcus
  • The Butt-Monkey: Eric / Marcus
• Granola Guy/Cloudcuckoolander: Rob is equal parts of both.
• Groin Attack: Rob lets Marcus have one of these when he believed Marcus had sex with one of his two hot daughters. Then does it again when the other daughter is dragged into it.
  • With the same injured foot, even.
• Hair-Trigger Temper: Rob, apparently he had a lot of anger bottled up inside.
• Honor Before Reason: Why the five accept the Jerk Jock posse's challenge, even with Rob's foot injury.
• Humble Parent, Spoiled Kids: Lenny is a wealthy Hollywood talent agent, but remains the same humble guy he was when he left the group's small New England town. Most of the reason he rents the lake house with his old friends and their families is because he hates how spoiled his kids are and wants to teach them how to have fun like normal kids.
• Hypocrite: Deanne accuses Kurt of spending time with Rita over her, clearly forgetting that she's always taking him for granted and barely bothering to listen to his problems for once. Kurt lampshades this to her.
• Jerk Jock: The posse in the first movie, and the college kids in the second movie.
• Kavorka Man: Marcus. The others may count as well, but Marcus stands out the most, because he is a ladies' man Then again, David Spade has had a lot of girlfriends over the years and at one point he was even called "The George Clooney of the comedy world'' by eonline.
• Laser-Guided Karma: Kurt's mother-in-law trips and lands her face on a cake. Kurt is happy.
• Like Father, Like Son: Several examples.
  • During the championship celebration in 1978, Marcus's dad gets drunk and makes a scene. Marcus himself does the same thing 32 years later when everyone is hanging out at the lake house.
  • Greg and Andre form a close friendship just like Lenny and Kurt.
  • The group used to do dangerous stunts when they were kids such as go racing in shopping carts. Late in the film, their kids are seen using an air mattress to go blobbing in the lake.
  • Greg develops a rivalry with Dickie's son not unlike their fathers'.
• Likes Older Women: Rob. Lampshaded by his first daughter Jasmine, who's broken off with an older man herself.
  "I wish I could like guys my own age, but it turns out I've been chasing down the dad who ran out on me."
• Locked Out of the Loop: Rita had no idea of Lenny's cover story of her being an exchange student.
• Meet Cute: In the sequel, when Greg's crush Nancy Arbuckle comes over to the ice cream stand he's working at, just seeing her makes him crush the cones in his hands, then tries to cover up his gaffe, while distractedly trying to recite advise that his dad had given him (most of which wasn't meant to be said out loud). Nancy finds it adorable and agrees to go to the party with him.
  Greg: That was a squeeze test. These cones failed.We're gonna try cardboard cones next....You have such a nice smile...Go out with me tonight before your friends say I'm fugly.
• Mistaken for Cheating: During the confrontation scene, Deanne chews out Kurt for supposedly flirting with Rita. Kurt says he’s still loyal to his wife, but it was nice to have someone who actually pays attention to him, unlike her.
• Mistaken for Gay: Marcus, by Rob’s daughters. Rob warns them that Marcus only seems like he’s gay and implies that he uses it as a ruse to attract women.
• Never Heard That One Before: Wiley, despite being put in the body cast after the midpoint of the movie. The third jibe from Marcus is new to him, though.
• Not in Front of the Kid: Marcus, being a Deconfirmed Bachelor, has to be reminded by his friends to tone down his language and behavior in front of their kids.
  Becky:(about the bug zapper)'' Daddy! Where is it taking them?
  Marcus: Hell.
  Lenny: Higgins, don't say that!
  Marcus: Oh, I'm sorry not Hell. Mexico.
• One Prince Limit: In the sequel, at the 80's Party held at the Feder house, Kurt and Malcolm both went as Prince, leading to a hilarious argument.
• Overly Long Gag: Oh so many.
• Parental Abandonment: Rob is rather distanced from his two hot daughters from previous marriages (but learns to go Papa Wolf later on).
  "The first twenty years of a child's life are more important than I thought..."
• Pet the Dog: Even though he chucks a pitcher of soft drink at Bumpty after, Kurt encourages Charlotte to go on a date with him.
• Petty Childhood Grudge: Dickie and Wiley still hold a grudge against Lenny and the other men due to them winning a basketball game when they were children, which Dickie claims is unfair, as Lenny's foot was over the boundary line when he scored the winning basket^note Rewatching the basketball flashback reveals Lenny's foot was not over the line when he scored..
• Player Elimination: In-universe. Arrow Roulette is a Game of Chicken where an arrow is fired directly upwards. The last player to run away wins.
• Random Events Plot: The first film to a degree, the sequel much more so.
• Recycled In Space: Fans are calling it "The Comedy Expendables".
• Shout-Out: The 80's Party in the sequel is one huge Shout Out to everything from that decade. Even Trump.
• Similar Squad: Dickie and his team are this to Lenny and the gang.
• Ship Tease: Lenny's son, Keithie, being crushed on by Eric's daughter, Donna.
• Spoiled Brat: Lenny's sons, Greg and Keithie, start out as this, but over time, they learn to have fun without technology.
• Surprisingly Realistic Outcome: In the first film, the friends agree to a rematch against their old basketball rivals and begin to play a full court match to 21 points in what seems to be a climatic Big Game unfolding. However it's eventually subverted as, since they're all over 30 years older, most of them are out of shape and have various ailments that cause all but Lenny and Dickie to eventually have to sit out.
  Marcus: (walking off the court) This is ridiculous. Someone's gonna have a heart attack.
• Suspiciously Similar Substitute: Nick, Rob's younger long-lost brother in the second film is one to Rob, judging by the hair.
• The Ugly Guy's Hot Daughter: Rob has two incredibly hot daughters.
• Truth-Telling Session: Everyone decides to tell the truth about themselves after Roxanne discovers a message on Lenny's phone about their trip to Milan.
• Those Two Guys: Amusingly, Lenny's son Greg forms this with Kurt's son Andre.
• Throwing the Fight: Throwing the Game. When Lenny realizes just how much winning the game would mean to Dickie and his family, he deliberately misses the last shot and gives Dickie's team the win.
  • In the sequel Tommy offers to throw a fight to Lenny in order to impress Lenny's son, he quickly changes the plan to simply begging not to be hit since he didn't think anyone would believe Lenny could knock him out.
• Tin Can You Hear Me Now: The kids play a cute little game of this at one point in the first film.
• Token Minority: Both Kurt and Malcolm.
• Ugly Guy, Hot Wife: This is practically Ugly Guy Hot Wife: The Movie. Almost all the guys have hot wives, with Kurt being the only one who can be considered just as attractive as his.
  • Lampshaded by Marcus at one point.
• Urine Trouble: Actually played straight with Eric.
  • Happens to Lenny when a deer walks into his house, and stands up in fright, after his wife screamed, seeing the deer, which then proceeded to unleash a yellow stream of urine all over poor Lenny.
• Villain Respect: In the sequel, Dickie Bailey stands up to the frat boys in support of his rival Lenny. Dickie is later seen eating dinner with him and Lenny's friends.
• Vocal Dissonance: With the hunk the wives meet at the pool.
  "Hose-teasers!"
• Volleying Insults: Any time the guys are together (except maybe Rob).
• We Used to Be Friends: In Grown Ups 2, Dickie admits that he used to be kindergarten friends with Lenny, but drifted apart due to going to different classes.
• What Happened to the Mouse?: Rita, the Feder's nanny, is absent from the second film. She isn't even mentioned.
  • The same goes for Curly, the Lamonsoff family dog.
  • The mini subplot involving Donna's crush on Keithie is never resolved.
• What the Hell, Hero?: Several of the characters in the group give each other this for lying and keeping secrets about themselves in the first film.
• Wham Line: In the first film, when Higgins said that he's sorry that he doesn't have his life together like Lenny, Roxanne chimes in with this:
  Roxanne: Oh, 'together, like Lenny'? I answered your phone, you hypocrita! That was your agent on the phone? I asked him if he canceled our trip to Milan. He said he did, before we even came here!

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