'That's My Boy' trailer teams up Adam Sandler and Andy Samberg as father and son

Right below The Hollywood Reporter's posting about the trailer for the most recent Adam Sandler picture, That's My Boy, is a link to the "Teflon Actor Awards," with Sandler in the top spot as the "critic-proof comic." His movies have been rated just 29% positive on Rotten Tomatoes, yet they have grossed $1.3 billion. Based on that information, who cares what I think of the trailer ?

The R-rated comedy comes out on June 15th, and it appears to be aiming for the Bad Teacher and The Hangover crowd. After looking at both the green-band and red-band trailer, I'd say it definitely deserves its R rating. So much so, that the filmmakers appear to have hedged on their racy content by filming a number of scenes with an actress in both revealing clothing and marginally less revealing clothing. I guess when key plot points take place in a strip club, that's what you have to do.

That's My Boy appears to be a little bit like Meet the Parents in reverse. Adam Sandler plays a young dad (as in the mother was a teacher who went to prison) who raised his son (Andy Samberg) with some pretty laissez-faire methods. Just as the tax man comes calling, he discovers his son is wealthy and about to marry--a perfect time for him to drop in and reconnect. I like that the story seems to be taking place from Sandler's perspective rather than the designated uptight person's perspective (Samberg). That's one thing I found trying about Ben Stiller's performance in Meet the Parents. Sandler always plays juvenile characters, so it's a nice riff on his star persona to have him play an immature father. Samberg, who really does look incredibly like Sandler, gets to be the one calling Sandler out on all his crazy antics--and maybe lightening up a bit.

Although I laughed along with Sandler's childish humor in Billy Madison, Happy Gilmore, and The Wedding Singer, I'm still recovering from the 2010 monstrosity that was Grown Ups. That's My Boy doesn't look great even in the trailer, but it has some novelty and infusion of fresh comic talent with the addition of Samberg. If tradition holds, the more this comedy bombs with critics the better it will do with audiences. Still, I hope that That's My Boy gives some of Sandler's old fans just a little bit of that humor that we used to enjoy so much.