For Adam Sandler, putting together the cast of “Grown Ups” was something of a no-brainer. The film follows five childhood friends (Sandler, Chris Rock, David Spade, Kevin James and Rob Schneider) who reunite as adults for a Fourth of July weekend. “The whole idea was about putting together old friends who get to hang out together for a weekend,” Sandler says. “And these guys are my old friends, so that made total sense. I’m glad they said yes to it.”
He’s quick to admit, though, that the pals and comedy veterans were hardly long-lost friends. “In real life it ain’t much of a reunion. We see each other enough,” he explains. “So it’s not like this gang hasn’t seen each other in 30 years. We see each other a lot. In fact. I see my friends from growing up a lot. There are no reunions in my life. I see everybody too much.”
Getting a group of comic actors like that together — Sandler, Spade, Rock and Schneider are all veterans of “Saturday Night Live” — obviously meant a decent amount of improvisation.
Director Dennis Dugan admits he didn’t have as much to do as on other films. “My job basically was to say, ‘Action,’ and they’d talk sometimes for 40 minutes,”?he says. “And then I’d say, ‘Cut’ because we ran out of tape. And we’d put new tape in and I’d say, ‘Action,’ and later on when they ran out of really funny stuff to say, I’d say, ‘Cut.’”
