There’s nothing worse than having to sit down and watch videos of someone else’s family holiday. Actually there is: having to sit down and watch some fading actors pretend to have fun with their pretend families on film.

When they were in school, Lenny (Adam Sandler), Eric (Kevin James), Kurt (Chris Rock), Marcus (David Spade) and Rob (Rob Schneider) were the best of buds. They all played in a basketball team that won a championship under a coach they all admired.

Fast forward a number of years and they all get news that the coach has died. With their lives going in different directions, his funeral brings them all together. This leads them to stay a weekend in a large cabin in the woods, with all their wives and children.

This gives the guys time to not only reminisce about the good old days, but also get their kids away from electronic devices and do a very old fashioned thing: play outside. It may only be a long weekend, but every last one of them learns a valuable lesson about life.

You know what? This certainly beats working for a living.

Although it’s oddly difficult to hate Adam Sandler personally, the same can’t be said for the films he appears in. His entire career is made up of mediocre films, with only one exception (Punch-Drunk Love, as if you didn’t know). Everything he has appeared in has been all about the lowest common denominator; he is the polar opposite of Woody Allen in every sense.

Grown Ups is a rather woolly allegory for the loss of youth and a heavy sigh towards modern living. In actual fact it serves more as an allegory for the diminishment of the careers for all those involved; all of them have seen better days. This film feels like a swansong for all of them, but that’s probably just wishful thinking.

There was a chance that the gathering of comic talent would lead to a spark or two of laughs, just like in the old days. It didn’t. The script is just as tepid as the premise, with the only surprise that the project got green-lit in the process.

Clearly the days of taking chances for Sandler are well and truly over. Even the director Dennis Dugan is part of his usual entourage, having directed a large number of ‘classic’ Sandler flicks (including You Don’t Mess with the Zohan, Big Daddy and Happy Gilmore).

It’s not difficult to see why everyone signed up for the film; it’s mostly set in an idyllic lakeside location, with the chance to hang out with old friends. It was no doubt a blast to make, but sadly it’s just a bore to watch. If you’re a fan of Sandler’s shtick though, you’ll probably love it. And if that’s the case, shame on you.