Some people refuse to grow up even after getting married and having a child.
The protagonist in “Full Grown Men,” just released on DVD, suffers this curious predicament.
Just don’t expect Adam Sandler-style hijinks in this arrested development scenario.
Alby (Matt McGrath) can’t believe he’s a grown man even though he still loves action figures and other silly kid stuff. So he storms out of his house after the latest fight with his wife, eager to reclaim a youth he’s never relinquished.
His family will have to make do without him.
Part of that journey involves reuniting with his childhood pal Elias (“30 Rock’s” Judah Friedlander). But Elias is a man now, someone who still seethes at the memory of Alby’s cruel games.
But adults will put up with plenty, and Elias helps Alby on his long-delayed journey toward facing his responsibilities.
As quirky indie fare goes, “Full Grown Men” is neither insulting nor illuminating. The quizzical supporting cast (Alan Cumming, Amy Sedaris and Deborah Harry) gives the film some off-filter charm.
It’s still tough for audiences to accept Alby’s behavior – or his predictable transformation.
The film does allow Friedlander to show a side of him we rarely see on his hit NBC sitcom or during his stand-up routines.
Craven brings his B-minus game to thriller
Wes Craven’s body of hits include “A Nightmare on Elm Street” and the “Scream” franchise. But not every Craven attempt at horror hit the mark.
Consider 1991’s “The People Under the Stairs,” just re-released as part of the “Wes Craven Horror Collection.” The film illustrates what happens when a gore maestro goes terribly off message.
Young, scrappy Fool (Brandon Adams) is trying to raise some extra money for his sick mother when he breaks into a home with some pretty nasty secrets. And said secrets feature more than those sub-stair dwellers.
We’re also treated to a bizarre husband and wife duo and some heavy handed class warfare sermonizing.
Craven’s attempt at social commentary here might not play so poorly if every element in the film weren’t so amateurish. Scares? You better look elsewhere, though for fans of “Mommie Dearest” style over acting you’re in for a treat.
“The Wes Craven Horror Collection” also features “The Serpent and the Rainbow” and “Shocker,” two other ’80s entry from the intermittently entralling director.
(Photo: Matt McGrath plays a married father who leaves his family in search of childih pursuits in “Full Grown Men”)
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I'm an award-winning journalist and film critic with more than a decade of experience in newspapers, magazines and the Web. I'm a member of the Broadcast Film Critics Association, the Washington, DC Area Film Critics Association and the Denver Film Critics Society.
