Grilled

When I first heard that Kevin James and Ray Romano were doing a movie together, I thought it was a great idea. Shortly after that, I learned that the movie was being re-tooled and would be headed straight to DVD. Obviously this curbed some of my enthusiasm.

However, after seeing the movie, I think it was good enough to be released in theaters. I have seen many theatrical releases that were worse than this.

Certainly there are problems, mostly with the plot (meat salesmen following leads?) and story lines left undeveloped (the relationship between Kevin James' character and his daughter). But the one redeeming quality that makes the movie worth watching is the characters. James and Romano both play their parts well. However, I will say that James is better suited for his loud mouth, slapstick-style humor that can be seen in King of Queens or the sweaty, nervous guy that he played in Hitch and his character in this movie could have used a little more of either. The supporting/cameo roles turned in by Burt Reynolds, Juliette Lewis, and Michael Rapaport along with a few other familiar faces are quite good.

All in all, this is an average movie. I'm a little surprised it went straight to DVD since I think it would have done alright in the theaters given its star power. I'm not saying it would have won any Oscars, but I'm sure people would have gone to see James, Romano, and Reynolds with the right kind of promotion. I'd recommend the DVD for fans of James and Romano, although it won't measure up to their respective sitcoms.

You would think that a movie starring both Ray Romano and Kevin James (each extremely funny on their sitcoms) couldn't possibly fail. This movie doesn't necessarily fail, but with the talents of these two great comedians, it definitely falls short. Romano and James show that they're both good actors, and can play characters different from the ones on their sitcoms. Hopefully, next time they'll be working with a better script. Other than the novelty of the main characters being door-to-door meat salesman, the movie doesn't contain much originality. I chuckled quite a few times throughout the course of the film, but there are no big laughs. I can see why "Grilled" went straight-to-video, despite the popularity of the two actors. If it played in theaters, it would probably have a worse box office performance than "Welcome to Mooseport." To be fair, the plot does thicken in the second half, and I found myself pretty intrigued. However, being a big fan of both "Everybody Loves Raymond" and "The King of Queens," I couldn't help but feel disappointed. And I'm sure other fans will be disappointed as well.

5 out of 10

That is because I just couldn't make up my mind if this movie was good or bad. It had a lot of classic humor. The problem was that while watching a movie which stars two of the biggest sitcom actors / comedians you expect BIG laughs. It doesn't have BIG laughs. It has "Hmm that's funny" laughs.

I reserve this film for the "if you have seen all the big hits" and just want something different, then this is for you.

It's a decent flick and I will leave it at that.

Enjoy the show.

"Grilled" was a pretty funny and suspenseful dark comedy. Ray Romano and Kevin James play meat salesman who are in a slump. If they don't make at least two sales, they're going to be fired.

Ray Romano was really good in this. He doesn't have to wait for a laugh track this time. Kevin James is his usual bumbling self, but he showed that he can be serious also and he pulled it off. You care about their problems. Jon Polito, Juilette Lewis and Michael Rapaport put in funny performances. The two stand-outs are Burt Reynolds and Kim Coates. They take one-dimensional characters and make them interesting.

This is a pretty big straight to video release. It doesn't deserve a quick death. It's worth watching.

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This is one of those movies that you watch waiting and hoping for it to get better. And the good news is Grilled gets better. The movie was s-l-o-w for first 35 minutes; and after that Grilled is fast, suspenseful, clever, and funny. Don't skip the slow part though or you'll be lost in the last half of the film. The actors excellent performances compensate for the bland story line.

This movie is like a bag of potato chips. Its junk food, not gourmet, but some times we all like a little junk food.

The movie's irregular pace explains why Grilled was released straight to DVD. Its a B movie worth a rent, but not worthy of any home shelf space.