Boy Scout mention in upcoming Adam Sandler comedy

[Merlyn_LeRoy]

Hunt, I am mostly concerned with removing any government support of the BSA's discrimination, but I don't exclusively post in that vein; this was an example of the BSA being used as a well-known example of an antigay organization, hardly good PR for a youth group. And you still seem peeved at me for properly calling you a liar a couple of years ago, if we're now commenting on each other's motives for posting.

[evmori]

this was an example of the BSA being used as a well-known example of an antigay organization, hardly good PR for a youth group

 

Anit-gay is nor good PR for a youth group? Maybe the BSA should sign up LAMBADA as a sponsor!

 

Ed Mori

1 Peter 4:10

[GernBlansten]

LAMBADA? Why would a Brazilian dance want to sponsor a youth group?

[evmori]

Typo! Meant NAMBLA!

[evmori]

Big article on this movie in the USA Today & not one mention of tech Boy Scouts! Must not be all that big of a deal! If it was, a national newspaper would have at least mentioned it!

 

Here's the text

 

NEW YORK Kevin James knows the secret to a more perfect union.

 

It's called compromise.

 

Take his relationship with Adam Sandler and their conflicting sports affiliations.

 

"Adam's a big Yankees fan and I'm a big Mets fan, so we went to one (baseball game) of each," says James, 42.

 

Sandler has a different take on what makes their partnership function.

 

"Me and Kevin are remarkably similar. We both come from incredibly nice New York families. We both have beautiful families of our own. And we are both huge Adam Sandler fans," says Sandler, 40, via e-mail.

 

And this Friday, the two put their bond to the test as straight Brooklyn firefighters who pretend to be gay to get domestic-partner benefits in the comedy I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry.

 

It's James' first lead role in a film after wrapping up nine seasons of the CBS sitcom The King of Queens, which earned him an Emmy nomination.

 

He might marry Sandler in the film, but James' real-life man crush is a man from another league.

 

"I'd go with sports. That's who I relate to and look up to. I was with (All-Star first baseman) Keith Hernandez the other night, and he's a hero of mine. He's still looking good with the mustache. He could be it, from the '86 Mets," James says.

 

Chuck and Larry tackles the controversial question of gay marriage. It has earned the endorsement of the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD). From the start, director Dennis Dugan says, he and Sandler were sensitive to the reactions of gay activists.

 

"GLAAD read the original script and gave us notes. One of our writer/producers was gay, and he was our insight to the gay community. GLAAD came to screenings. In the end, they blessed it," Dugan says.

 

But any ensuing controversy notwithstanding, James and Sandler just set out to get some laughs.

 

"Adam and I aren't necessarily going to change the world. If things happen that are good out of the movie, that's great. But on the other hand, we didn't want to offend anyone, either. Honestly, we didn't," James says.

 

He did, though, have a problem shooting the film's shower scene, which had the firefighters sharing a communal facility while appearing naked but actually wearing flesh-colored thongs.

 

"I was so out of shape. I gained 20 pounds during the movie we were in New York, eating and partying and having fun. All the pizza here," James groans. "Things were being shot out of succession. And I find out that next week we're shooting the shower scene. I asked for a toiletry bag to cover up. It looks ridiculous."

 

Not that James minds looking silly, or having his weight mocked.

 

"I did nine years of The King of Queens, and fat jokes are great. I would write them," he says. "But I can't be a hypocrite and say we're making fun of these things, but not about my weight. I really don't have a problem with it. It's fine. If it did bother me, I'd tell (Sandler)."

 

The two guys had known each other in passing while James shot Queens on the Sony lot where Sandler was also shooting movies. Now, they're close friends.

 

"It was one of those magical things that works for them in life," Dugan says. "They both, off camera, sit in the video village and smoke cigars and talk for hours and crack jokes. Adam kept saying, 'We're never going to have this much fun on a movie again. It's impossible to have more fun than this.' "

 

According to James, "We'd shoot 14-hour days and spend the next two hours in the trailer, laughing, watching movies don't tell my wife."

 

As much fun as he might have with Sandler, James' heart belongs at home with his wife, Steffiana De La Cruz, 32, and their baby, Shea, 1 month, as well as her older sister, Sienna, almost 2. On his one day off during his pre-release publicity push, he shot an episode of Sesame Street for his daughters to watch.

 

"When it comes to the kids, they control me. The new one doesn't do much at all except for grunt and cry for food. Which is, oddly enough, the same thing I do. But Sienna, my older one, we have a lot of fun just playing and rolling around," James says.

 

And like their fathers, the James and Sandler children get along, too.

 

"Sienna and Sadie (Sandler's 1-year-old daughter) play. Sienna has been teaching Sadie how to eat crayons, which is nice. I'm glad my daughter picked that one up early," James says. "And I've been getting on (Sandler and his wife, Jackie Titone) to catch up and have another one. The wives get along, so it's been a perfect match."

 

And it's the same in the movie. Sandler and James share top billing in the comedy, and are both in the movie poster. But success comes at a steep price, James jokes: "He knows that because he gave me this part, I owe him for life. He did me a solid, and that's why I hate owing him, but I do."

 

The film is a big break for James, who wrapped the perennially under-the-radar King of Queens this spring and is now venturing into movies after a supporting turn in Will Smith's 2005 blockbuster Hitch. Playing a parcel delivery-man on his low-key show, James says, proved a blessing: "It may have helped me in film, because when you're so identified with a character, like Friends or Everybody Loves Raymond, it's a harder jump, because (audiences) don't want to accept you as anything else."

 

On the big screen, he has been fortunate to click not only with Sandler but also with Smith. He says both actors "are amazingly true to who you think they are."

 

"Adam treats everyone on the cast incredibly all his friends and people he has been working with for years. He takes care of his friends and family. He put my brother in the movie he plays one of the firefighters. Adam wants to help everybody out and have a good time."

 

Ed Mori

1 Peter 4:10

[Merlyn_LeRoy]

Ed, that's an article on Kevin James, not a review of the movie.

 

Must not be all that big of a deal!

 

Who ever suggested it was? Can you even understand what a "Boy Scout mention" in a movie means? I wouldn't expect most reviews to even mention it.

[evmori]

Well, golly, Merlyn. The shower scene was mentioned! So was GLAAD!

 

You seem to think it's a big deal or you wouldn't of posted it!

 

Tell, me Merlyn, since I "can't learn", what does a Boy Scout mention in a movie mean? Does it mean the same a little league mention?

 

Ed Mori

1 Peter 4:10

[Merlyn_LeRoy]

Ed writes:

You seem to think it's a big deal or you wouldn't of posted it!

 

No Ed, that's why I called it a "mention" from the very start:

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/mention

[evmori]

Merlyn's original post -

Reportedly, after Adam Sandler pretends to be gay to enter into a domestic partnership to help out a buddy, he's no longer welcome in the Boy Scouts:

 

Does anyone see the word mention or any reference to it in Merlyn's original post?

 

Neither do I.

 

Thanks for the definition, though.

 

No Ed, that's why I called it a "mention" from the very start:

 

 

 

Ed Mori

1 Peter 4:10

[Merlyn_LeRoy]

Ed writes:

Does anyone see the word mention or any reference to it in Merlyn's original post?

 

Neither do I.

 

I do. It's the title of this thread that you've clicked on over a dozen times. Pay attention.

[Beavah]

Quite a funny thread, eh? You crack me up.

 

Merlyn, I gotta say, though...

 

The mention of the Boy Scouts and Little League seems pretty clear to me. "Let's use the two most respected and easily identified nationwide youth programs." That way everyone will immediately recognize 'em, and we don't have to waste any screen time doing backstory.

 

So to me, it seems like the only message is that Boy Scouting is still a respected and easily recognized nationwide youth program.

 

Although I'm sympathetic to Ed's POV. This may just be good product placement .

 

Beavah

 

[Hunt]

"And you still seem peeved at me for properly calling you a liar a couple of years ago, if we're now commenting on each other's motives for posting."

 

Well, I certainly do recall that piece of uncalled-for nastiness on your part, Merlyn, and you've exhibited the same behavior to others, equally without justification. I think it's fair for me to point out when you're just trolling, but I can see why you're sensitive about it--it really is kind of pathetic. Your motives have simply become more apparent since BSA has moved away from government-sponsored units, and you've had to move away from a reasonable law-based argument against BSA to more general vituperation.

 

[Merlyn_LeRoy]

No Hunt, it wasn't uncalled for; you lied by stating what I supposedly "will" do. Here's what you had written:

"Merlyn and his friends will try to push the point further, to argue that government facilities can't offer access to groups that discriminate"

You completely misrepresented my position as something it is not. You seem to have learned not to do that, as you now properly couch your comments with "I guess..." and such, which is an improvement.

 

I've stated before that I consider government support of the BSA to be the most important issue, but it isn't the only issue.

 

If you aren't interested in discussing scouting issues & politics, why are you in this forum?

[Zahnada]

Disclaimer: I have not seen this movie, nor do I intend to. Everything I say is purely me theorizing.

 

It's not hard for me to imagine that the scene in question was written as a back-handed slap at BSA's policy towards gays. As someone who works in Hollywood and has seen the different stages of production on major movies, I have first-hand experience of the "new image" of BSA.

 

Merlyn's observation is correct, at least in many circles on the west coast. Before, when Boy Scouts were used or mentioned in films, it meant a goody-two shoes, all-American boy who helps old ladies cross the street while obeying all rules ("Jim Kirk was many things, but he was NEVER a Boy Scout.") Indiana Jones was an adventurous Boy Scout, but that was outside the norm.

 

Now, there's a conflicting public opinion of the Boy Scouts. We still have the All-American vibe, but there's also a fairly hefty portion of society who view us as "intolerant," "bigoted," and even "hateful."

 

It's a new image that we should be conscious of and not ignore. I know that whenever I bring up Boy Scouts (which is very frequent because it played such a huge role in my youth), I always get a few raised eyebrows.

 

As for the movie, I doubt the scene is political or meaningful. I bet it was created as a gag. It's not going to form public opinion or hurt recruitment or have any real consequences. It's not a big deal at all.

 

It's just another reminder of the adjusted image that BSA has.

[evmori]

Merlyns only interest is to point out how bad the BSA, in his opinion, is. The BSA & little league were portrayed in the same fashion but Merlyn decided to point out the BSA comment & left the little league out! Neither show up in any trailer or any mention anywhere else! Making something out of nothing! Typical Meryln style!