I now pronounce you not funny

Adam Sandler and Kevin James set the progress of gay rights back a couple of decades as a pair of New York firefighters who enter into a paper domestic partnership to overcome a bizarre bureaucratic glitch apparently designed expressly for the needs of contrived comic situations.

Sandler is Chuck, a cocky, emotionally callous ladies man with the soul of an adolescent and the mouth of a sailor. James is Larry, a widower with two kids and a serious problem letting go three years after his wife's death.

The humor is built around the discomfort of these macho guys falling into their limited idea of homosexual behavior to maintain the charade when the city sends the "gay inspector" (a fastidious and glib Steve Buscemi) to challenge their claim.

Sandler drops his familiar man-child and repressed everyman personas to mouth crude invectives as a walking Bronx cheer. Even when he drops the attitude, it's to get cozy with his sexy lawyer turned gal-pal (Jessica Biel, cast more for her talent as a cinematic underwear model than her acting chops).

It's kind of like "Tootsie," only without the drag. Or the class. Or the laughs. Only that last bit should prove a problem for Sandler's core audience.

"I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry" plods through every narrative cliche and cultural stereotype with predictable results, but as if their triumph over prejudice isn't enough, it transforms the faux same-sex couple into heroes. That straight buffoons become the out and proud poster boys of New York's gay community is a backhanded slap that the film plays as some kind of bold gesture.

If it took more chances or dared to push more buttons, it might have laid waste to the stereotypes from sheer overkill. At least it would have been funnier.