"Grown Ups" is Surprisingly Sad

When I say I have seen Grown Ups a hundred times I am not kidding. Growing up the only movie that was downloaded on my family's iPad was Grown Ups so I used to watch it all the time. Nothing used to make me laugh as hard as this film, and I definitely considered it my favorite movie for a while. I recently realized that I hadn’t rewatched Grown Ups in around six years so I thought it was about time to rewatch it, but I was quick to notice it wasn’t the movie I had adored and remembered.

Now that I am older, the sadder tones of Grown Ups have been brought out due to my ability to understand the complex themes of death, growing-up, marriage and relationships. The movie used to seem light-hearted and fun but now the darker themes shine through, causing the movie to cease being so funny anymore. For instance, the setup of the movie is actually extremely sad, surrounding a group of friends mourning the loss of their youth basketball coach. Rewatching many years later I felt more sad and melancholic while watching it, rather than happy and goofy. I was able to empathize with the characters and their mournful journey and wasn’t as quick to laugh at certain points, as the depressing set up hazed over the mood. Many plot points of Grown Ups were brushed off and some scenes I didn’t even recognize while rewatching due to my naiveness when I was younger. For example, I didn’t remember the funeral scene or when the ashes of Coach were spread. It felt like a whole different movie than the one I used to obsess over.

Although the sadder themes have been brought to my attention as I’ve matured, I am also now able to understand and laugh at many jokes that previously flew over my head. It seriously makes me wonder why I used to even watch this movie so much when I didn’t understand most of the jokes and a lot of plot points wouldn’t have even made sense to the younger me. For example, Grown Ups has a ton of sex jokes - like seriously a lot. I’m actually surprised at how I used to enjoy this movie with the amount of jokes and references to sex that obviously went over my head. There are even a few scenes in the movie that are hard to follow without an understanding of the meaning behind the jokes that caused the scenes. It’s hard to believe my parents actually let me watch this movie on repeat as upon reflection, it certainly isn’t a children’s movie.

This movie surely shaped my life for the strangest reasons and I don’t necessarily regret being obsessed with it when I was younger. For example, every time I go swimming in a public pool I think about the scene when Eric peed in the waterpark pool triggering the blue urine detector. Also, “Don't Stop Believing” by Journey will forever be associated with this movie in my mind, although it isn’t even in the first Grown Ups movie. I seriously went into rewatching Grown Ups thinking that the song was featured in it but turns out it’s not. I thought I had gone insane and deep dived into the internet searching for the scene I had imprinted in my brain. I’m just going to assume it’s in the sequel and I didn’t shape my entire impression of “Don’t Stop Believing” on a movie scene that doesn’t exist…

Do I recommend you let your kids under 13 watch this movie? No. Would I advise your whole family to screen this movie? No. While Grown Ups is so hilarious at points that even nine-year-old me laughed at, it isn’t a family or children’s movie and the comedic element thinly veils an exploration of difficult topics such as death, marriage, relationships and getting older. Yes, Grown Ups is a comedy but it also is a hidden hard-hitting drama that features the grieving process. Rewatching Grown Ups was in a weird way a realization of how I have changed, matured and served as a reminder that I am no longer a kid. My realization of my past naiveness was interesting and unexpected. My impression of Grown Ups has certainly changed. I don’t know what to expect from the sequel.