Chuck Levine (Adam Sandler) and Larry Valentine (Kevin James) are best friends who are firefighters in Brooklyn. Chuck is single and Larry is a widower trying to raise his daughter Tori (Shelby Adamowsky) and son Eric (Cole Morgen). Distracted by sadness over his wife's death, he neglects to change the primary beneficiary of his pension from his wife to his children within the deadline. His only option is to marry someone, but he finds no woman who can be trusted with his children. Inspired by an article about same-sex domestic partnership rights, he decides to register Chuck as his partner, making him Larry's beneficiary and caretaker of Larry's children. Larry saved Chuck's life, so he agrees to the arrangement.
On the advice of their lawyer Alex McDonough (Jessica Biel) they are legally married in Niagara Falls, Canada when it becomes clear that their case is likely to be investigated. But when investigator Clinton Fitzer (Steve Buscemi) becomes suspicious, the two straight guys are forced to behave as love-struck newlyweds. Eventually they are taken to court, and the case becomes a media spectacle. The fraud is exposed, all the firemen claim they helped Chuck and Larry, and all are sent to jail. Councilman Banks (Richard Chamberlain) offers to free Chuck and Larry if they admit to a misdemeanor and raise funds for AIDS research. Larry meets another woman, suggesting he is starting to move on from his previous marriage. Singer Lance Bass makes an appearance to play a song emphasizing the importance of freedom.
Adam Sandler told Newsweek magazine: "I know Kevin, and it's kind of a strange thing to have to play. So to ease the tension, before the first day of shooting, we had sex with each other. We just got it out of the way so it wouldn't be an issue. It's an old tip I picked up from working with Jack Nicholson." The movie received mostly bad reviews. Newsday's John Anderson wrote, "What were they thinking? Simple: They weren't." Rupert Gregson-Williams composed the original music. Barry Fanaro, Alexander Payne, Jim Taylor, and Lew Gallo wrote the screenplay. Dennis Dugan directed.
On the advice of their lawyer Alex McDonough (Jessica Biel) they are legally married in Niagara Falls, Canada when it becomes clear that their case is likely to be investigated. But when investigator Clinton Fitzer (Steve Buscemi) becomes suspicious, the two straight guys are forced to behave as love-struck newlyweds. Eventually they are taken to court, and the case becomes a media spectacle. The fraud is exposed, all the firemen claim they helped Chuck and Larry, and all are sent to jail. Councilman Banks (Richard Chamberlain) offers to free Chuck and Larry if they admit to a misdemeanor and raise funds for AIDS research. Larry meets another woman, suggesting he is starting to move on from his previous marriage. Singer Lance Bass makes an appearance to play a song emphasizing the importance of freedom.
Adam Sandler told Newsweek magazine: "I know Kevin, and it's kind of a strange thing to have to play. So to ease the tension, before the first day of shooting, we had sex with each other. We just got it out of the way so it wouldn't be an issue. It's an old tip I picked up from working with Jack Nicholson." The movie received mostly bad reviews. Newsday's John Anderson wrote, "What were they thinking? Simple: They weren't." Rupert Gregson-Williams composed the original music. Barry Fanaro, Alexander Payne, Jim Taylor, and Lew Gallo wrote the screenplay. Dennis Dugan directed.
