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Full Grown Men (2006)
Time to man up
Rated: n/a (contains mild language) | Review date: 12-Oct-2009
Full Grown Men, written and directed by David Munro and co-written by Xandra Castleton, follows the story of a man child named Alby (Matt McGrath) who suddenly decides to run away from home. His wife wants him to grow up, his son needs a father, but Alby just wants to have fun. So, with a suitcase full of action figures Alby sets off to Diggityland, an amusement park, but first making a stop to his mother’s house in his hometown.
While in his hometown he meets up with his old best friend Elias (Judah Friedlander; 30 Rock), but the reunion isn’t all fun and games. Alby clearly hasn’t changed much since their school days, where he apparently was a bit of a bad friend to say the least. Alby’s old manipulation still has some effect, however, and the two move on their way to Diggityland (where Elias happens to be meeting his special needs students).
On an interesting drive across sunny Florida, the two encounter a crazy and disgruntled former Diggityland employee. It’s also on this drive that Elias decides he’s no longer going to let Alby’s old ways work again, thus leaving him along the side of the road. From there on, Alby meets up with a bunch of crazy and unique characters (featuring cameos including Deborah Harry and Amy Sedaris) that slowly, and I mean slowly, begin to help him realize the type of person he is. From mermaids to little people, Alby’s strange encounters begin to open his mind and influence him to change.
Full Grown Men depicts a scared man that’s afraid to grow up. He’s managed to have a family, but he doesn’t see how that should make him take any responsibility. The film’s a classic tale of finding one’s self through a journey, both physical and mental. It ends up being a heartwarming story, with plenty of humor and serious moments alike. The movie is fairly predictable for the most part, but that doesn’t prevent it from still being enjoyable.
The acting is great, especially by McGrath. The character of Alby is so ignorant and immature that he often becomes annoying, but intentionally so. The ending was very good as it was not a simple happily every after ending, but still didn’t leave us with any negative feelings. Overall it was a very pleasant film that will surely remind us of someone we might know (or that we ourselves might be). It’s a nice slice of life movie that will entertain as well as make us feel good about life and family. The only thing I felt could have really been improved was the writing. While it was a good story and had plenty of funny scenarios, the dialog wasn’t as funny as it could have been.
Rating: 5 out of 7
