--- title: "Grown Ups 2" year: 2013 kind: "film" canonical: "https://film.one/film/grown-ups-2" fi1m_score: 24 critics_score: 18 critics_reviews: 16 published: "2026-09-16T15:11:35.326203+00:00" updated: "2026-09-16T15:11:35.931200+00:00" region: "US" licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # Grown Ups 2 (2013) Directed by Dennis Dugan · 1h 41m · MPA PG-13 · Comedy **Fi1m score: 24** · Critics 18 from 16 reviews *In a sentence:* A deer urinates on Adam Sandler, which is a demanding way to begin relaxing with friends > Dennis Dugan’s sequel mistakes a familiar cast for an evening’s entertainment. Adam Sandler and his fellow leads seem comfortable enough, but the repetitive bodily jokes and dutiful family lessons make this a miserable way to spend 101 minutes. ## Synopsis A deer urinates on the face of Lenny Feder (Adam Sandler). His friends Eric Lamonsoff (Kevin James), Kurt McKenzie (Chris Rock) and Marcus Higgins (David Spade) offer company and further opportunities to misbehave. Lenny wants to enjoy time with the men, while family demands compete for his attention. Roxanne Chase-Feder (Salma Hayek Pinault) is among those dealing with the domestic complications. Wives, children and a rivalry with fraternity boys occupy the friends, whose attempts to get through their encounters involve bodily mishaps and little inclination to behave like adults. ## Review *Grown Ups 2* asks for little more than permission to spend 101 minutes with Adam Sandler and his fellow leads. A loose comedy about middle-aged men behaving badly need not have much of a plot, provided the jokes keep arriving and the company remains pleasant. Dennis Dugan supplies plenty of incidents, but few develop beyond the first crude idea, and the friendliness feels taken for granted. It is a wearying, mostly unfunny sequel, and we would not recommend it. The opening deer urination gag establishes how little patience the film has for setting up a joke. An animal relieving itself on Lenny Feder’s face is supposed to be enough; there is little surprise once the action begins. We were irritated almost immediately, because the scene asks us to laugh simply at the fact of the urination. The problem persists throughout the film: jokes about bodies are pushed at us with so little invention that their supposed outrageousness becomes tiresome. The screenplay by Tim Herlihy, Adam Sandler and Fred Wolf has wives, children and fraternity rivals to draw on, so there is no shortage of possible friction. Yet each fresh encounter seems to excuse abandoning the previous one before it has produced much comedy. Nothing as elaborate as a tightly plotted farce is needed here; a running joke that becomes funnier with repetition would do. Tom Costain’s editing does not give these episodes enough momentum, and their accumulation makes the modest running time feel considerably longer. The car wash supplies a little of the silliness the rest of the film strains for, and deserves credit for it. Adam Sandler, Kevin James, Chris Rock and David Spade also have an ease together that occasionally makes simply watching them agreeable. But the film needs more from its leads than the reassurance that they are enjoying themselves, and their mugging too often prolongs material that has already run out. A good cast is allowed to relax; here we keep waiting for someone to notice that a scene needs a better joke. Theo van de Sande’s cinematography gives the bodily gags attention without making them any more inventive. Aaron Osborne’s production design contributes little that might divert us from the men and their antics; the surroundings rarely become part of a joke worth remembering. This matters in such a loosely arranged comedy, where an interesting background or a well-placed visual detail can keep a scene alive. Here, once the central gag fails, there is seldom much else to watch. Rupert Gregson-Williams’s music works towards an amiability that the family scenes struggle to earn. The script wants credit for caring about wives and children after making bodily embarrassment and mockery its chief attractions. That switch can work if the relationships have been made believable, but these life lessons feel attached out of obligation. We are being asked to care about people whose individuality has scarcely mattered to the jokes. There is nothing disqualifying about a comedy built from flatulence, foolish men and a thin excuse for a reunion. Such films need timing, escalation and at least a little affection for the people being made ridiculous, and Dennis Dugan gets too little of any of them into these episodes. Familiarity may explain the appeal, but it cannot supply the missing laughs. Even for an evening when undemanding company is all that is wanted, we would choose something else. *Fi1m score 24, published 16 September 2026.* ## What the critics say The consensus on Grown Ups 2 is uniformly negative: all sixteen reviews reject the sequel, with most critics finding its bodily-function jokes repetitive and its cast poorly served. Praise is scarce and confined to isolated moments rather than any sustained strength in the writing, direction or performances. Vulture finds some energy in Taylor Lautner’s frat-boy character, while RogerEbert.com notes occasional fun in scenes such as the campy car wash. The differences concern how the comedy fails, rather than whether it works. Most critics describe a lazy, slack collection of incidents with little narrative connection; Slant Magazine instead finds conspicuous effort that produces irritation rather than laughs. Several reviews also find the attempts at family warmth unconvincing, particularly when set against the crude or cruel jokes. The spread is narrow: even the less severe notices find an immature rehash, and none offers a qualified recommendation. ### Reviews we read (16) - **IndieWire**, Gabe Toro (30/100, inferred): The review finds the film a laborious, out-of-touch effort with a patchy script and juvenile gags that fail to land. It criticizes the disconnect between the rich stars portraying middle-class characters and the insincere attempts at warmth. [Read](https://www.indiewire.com/criticism/culture/review-grown-ups-2-starring-adam-sandler-kevin-james-chris-rock-david-spade-96160/) - **The Hollywood Reporter**, THR Staff (30/100, inferred): The sequel is a water-treading rehash unlikely to match the first film's audience, with humor that remains cartoonishly broad and immature despite toning down some buddy nastiness. The Bottom Line notes that this doesn't make it any easier to watch than the original. [Read](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-reviews/grown-ups-2-film-review-583268/) - **RogerEbert.com**, Marsha McCreadie (25/100, inferred): The critic finds the film crude and juvenile with too many gross-out gags and little plot or emotional depth. She singles out the deer urination scene and overall lack of sophistication as complaints while noting occasional fun moments like a campy car wash. [Read](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/grown-ups-2-2013) - **Los Angeles Times**, Mark Olsen (20/100, inferred): The critic describes the film as a slack, lackadaisical effort that reveals Sandler as lazy and unwilling to aim higher. He singles out the opening deer urination gag and overall arrested-development humor as cheap and unworthy of the talent involved. [Read](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/la-xpm-2013-jul-11-la-et-mn-grown-ups-2-review-20130712-story.html) - **Slant Magazine**, Chris Cabin (20/100, inferred): The obvious hard work put into this out-of-touch sequel makes it irritating, with a suffocating amount of story and juvenile, revolting comedy that rarely lands. Attempts at familial warmth feel insincere and saccharine, highlighting the disconnect of wealthy stars playing middle-class roles. [Read](https://www.slantmagazine.com/film/grown-ups-2/) - **The New York Times**, Andy Webster (20/100, inferred): The critic calls the film pap with scattered raunch-lite gags devoid of emotional resonance or connective logic. He singles out the reunion of SNL alumni and flatulence/urination jokes as emblematic of its lazy, disappointing execution. [Read](https://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/12/movies/adam-sandler-and-snl-alumni-return-in-grown-ups-2.html) - **Total Film**, Ken McIntyre (20/100, inferred): The critic finds the film an equally shameless and shoddy follow-up to the original, full of life lessons and fat gags. The only novelty noted is a deer-piss gag amid the predictable plot about wives, kids and frat-boy rivals. [Read](https://www.gamesradar.com/grown-ups-2-1-review/) - **Variety**, Andrew Barker (15/100, inferred): The critic deems the film among the slackest and laziest major-studio releases in years, barely functioning as narrative. He singles out the deer urination and castration bookends as the closest it comes to any throughline amid random gross-out incidents. [Read](https://variety.com/2013/film/reviews/film-review-grown-ups-2-1200561423/) - **Screen Daily** (10/100, inferred): The review brands the sequel a punishingly unfunny abomination that amplifies every flaw of the original. It singles out the endless stream of self-involved mugging and lack of any honest character moments. [Read](https://www.screendaily.com/grown-ups-2/5058274.article) - **The Telegraph**, Robbie Collin (10/100, inferred): The critic delivers a scathing verdict on this Adam Sandler sequel, likening the experience to months of spinal surgery and noting its near-total lack of plot or redeeming qualities. He singles out the crude, leering humor and digitally enhanced vulgarity for particular complaint. [Read](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/film/filmreviews/10234888/Grown-Ups-2-review.html) - **Time Out**, Matt Patches (10/100, inferred): The critic dismisses the film as a lowbrow exercise in potty humour and middle-aged malaise. The opening scene of a deer urinating on the star's face is singled out as emblematic of its rapid descent into crude gags. [Read](https://www.timeout.com/movies/grown-ups-2) - **Vulture**, Bilge Ebiri (10/100, inferred): The film exemplifies absurd laziness and is the worst of Sandler's career, with leads sleepwalking through gags that are hammered to death or left without context. Minor pleasures come from Taylor Lautner's energetic frat-boy character, but overall it suggests Sandler should take a break. [Read](https://www.vulture.com/2013/07/movie-review-grown-ups-2.html) - **Paste**, Tim Grierson (2.2/10): The critic calls it one of Adam Sandler's least interesting films and a lazy cash-grab sequel with no good reason to exist. They single out the desperate, episodic use of scatological humor and lack of the original's warmth or communal spirit. [Read](https://www.pastemagazine.com/movies/grown-ups-2) - **Den of Geek**, Ron Hogan (1/5): The critic finds the sequel interminable and unfunny, criticizing its cruel jokes about bodily functions and physical oddities along with a wasted cast and sluggish direction. [Read](https://www.denofgeek.com/movies/grown-ups-2-review/) - **The Playlist**, The Playlist Staff (F): The critic calls it a non-movie even worse than the first, plotless with no laughs, focusing on crude jokes about bodily functions and ogling women. They single out the final fart joke involving Salma Hayek as emblematic of its low point. [Read](https://theplaylist.net/review-grown-ups-2-starring-adam-sandler-kevin-james-chris-rock-david-spade-20130711/) - **The Wrap** (10/100, inferred): The critic finds the sequel hackneyed, overlong, blisteringly stupid, and a waste of time, with asinine and offensive jokes that repeat endlessly. The one mildly positive note is that Rob Schneider did not return, and an inflatable raft is funnier than the cast. [Read](https://www.thewrap.com/grown-ups-2-review-see-adam-sandler-chris-rock-chuckle-their-own-moronic-jokes-102401/) ## Details - **Director:** Dennis Dugan - **Director:** Dennis Dugan - **Writer:** Tim Herlihy, Adam Sandler, Fred Wolf - **Cinematography:** Theo van de Sande - **Editor:** Tom Costain - **Music:** Rupert Gregson-Williams - **Production design:** Aaron Osborne - **Costume design:** Ellen Lutter - **Producer:** Adam Sandler, Jack Giarraputo - **Cast:** Adam Sandler as Lenny Feder; Kevin James as Eric Lamonsoff; Chris Rock as Kurt McKenzie; David Spade as Marcus Higgins; Salma Hayek Pinault as Roxanne Chase-Feder; Maya Rudolph as Deanne McKenzie; Maria Bello as Sally Lamonsoff; Nick Swardson as Nick - **Runtime:** 1h 41m - **Certificate (MPA):** PG-13 - **Release (the US):** 12 July 2013 - **Genres:** Comedy - **Budget:** $80 million - **Box office:** $247 million - **Trailer:** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EClDbUb-bgc ## Where to watch in the US - Amazon Prime Video: rent $3.99, uhd - Apple TV: rent $3.99, hd - Apple TV: buy $7.99, hd - Amazon Prime Video: buy $16.99, uhd *Checked 2026-09-16.* Also available in: AE, AR, AT, AU, BE, BG, BR, CA, CH, CL, CO, CZ, DE, DK, EC, EE, ES, FI, FR, GB, GR, HK, HU, ID, IE, IL, IN, IT, JP, KR, LT, MX, MY, NL, NO, NZ, PA, PE, PH, PL, PT, RO, RS, SE, SG, TH, TR, UA, US, VN, ZA. Add `?region=XX` to this URL for another country. ## If you liked this - *The 'Burbs* (1989): Idle men make trouble close to home, with rather better comic consequences. - *The Castle* (1997): Family affection and broad jokes, supported by people worth spending time with. - *Good Morning* (1959): Bodily jokes and domestic routines, with considerably more affection for everyone involved. - *Dazed and Confused* (1993), Fi1m 86: Loose plotting works when the company is this carefully observed. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/dazed-and-confused.md) - *Hot Rod* (2007): Grown men behaving like children, with proper invention behind the stupidity. --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/film/grown-ups-2