Image via Complex Original
If video stores existed, there would surely be a space dedicated to the growing genre of man child movies. Located in the back, right next to "the dirty room," entry to the man child section would require a secret handshake and one random act of immaturity.
Its shelves would be chock full of movies starring Will Ferrell, Vince Vaughn, Paul Rudd and Adam Sandler and the rules of pattern male behavior would be lifted, because the movie man child operates in a world all his own. One where Star Wars rules, hot and willing women are aplenty, pajamas are a fashion statement and fart jokes are always funny. Welcome to The Glorious Life of a Man Child, as Seen in Movies.
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Bromance over romance.
The movie: I Love You, Man (2009)
The player(s): Paul Rudd and Jason Segel
Even the prospect of becoming Mr. Rashida Jones isn't enough to put the brakes on the bromance brewing between realtor Peter (Rudd) and slacker Sydney (Segel), whose shared love of Rush and slapping da' bass creates a bond that can't be broken.
Hot chicks are willing to overlook immaturity.
The movie: American Reunion (2012)
The player(s): Seann William Scott
In the first film in the American Pie franchise, released in 1999, Steve Sifler's (Scott) immaturity can be chalked up to the fact that he is indeed playing an 18-year-old. But in later installments, including 2003's American Wedding and 2012's American Reunion, he's still got the ability to land the ladies, despite his continued high school-like antics. In the latest edition, he even manages to bed his buddy Finch's MILF, played by Rebecca De Mornay.
Women can't resist the lure of a man child.
The movie: The 40-Year-Old Virgin (2005)
The player(s): Steve Carell and Elizabeth Banks
Though Andy's (Carell) deflowering—and happily ever after—comes courtesy of Trish (Catherine Keener), he spends the bulk of the 116 minutes of this Judd Apatow classic fighting off the sexual advances of a bevy of interested female suitors, including up-for-anything Beth (Banks).
Jobs are for pussies.
The movie: Knocked Up (2007)
The player(s): Seth Rogen
Unemployment checks and personal injury settlements are a regular source of income for many a movie man child, including slacker Ben Stone (Rogen), whose laidback life gets turned upside down when a one-time (and rather drunken) sexual encounter with an out-of-his league blonde (Katherine Heigl) turns the duo into unwitting parents.
But if you are going to have a job, better make it a nonexistent one.
The movie: Ace Ventura: Pet Detective (1994)
The player(s): Jim Carrey
For those movie man children who do partake in the 9 to 5 grind, their jobs are typically lowly, temporary or—in the case of the film that launched Jim Carrey's movie career—nonexistent. Come on, we dare you to look up "Pet Detective" in the phone book.
Parents make the best roommates.
The movie: Failure to Launch (2006)
The player(s): Matthew McConaughey, Terry Bradshaw, Kathy Bates and Sarah Jessica Parker
In this poorly received rom-com, Tripp (McConaughey) is an otherwise well-adjusted 35-year-old who falls prey to one frequent man child tendency: an unwillingness to leave the comforts of his childhood home (yes, mom and dad still live there, too). Until his parents—anxious for their nest to be emptied—hire an "expert" dater (Parker) tasked with building up Tripp's self-esteem and desire to have a place of his own in the process.
Comic book collecting is a full-time job.
The movie: Mallrats (1995)
The player(s): Jason Lee
Really, any sort of collectible could replace "comic books" in this scenario. But when Kevin Smith is at the helm, there's bound to be one obsessive comic collector in the mix. In the case of Mallrats, Smith's follow-up to the wildly popular Clerks, it's Brodie (Lee) who plays the part (and, yes, he lives in his parents' basement). And even gets some advice on life and relationships from Stan Lee. It's worth noting that Smith himself is a comic book writer and owns Jay and Bob's Secret Stash, a comic store in Red Bank, New Jersey.
Farts are funny.
The movie: Caddyshack (1980)
The player(s): Rodney Dangerfield
Though man child movies are littered with hundreds of flatulence-related funny business, it's not difficult to pick the one joke to highlight. It comes from Harold Ramis' classic Caddyshack, in which country club misfit Al Czervik (Dangerfield) breaks the stuffiness—and the silence—of a fancy dinner when he lets one rip and asks: "Whoa, did somebody step on a duck?"
Vintage T-shirts are a fashion statement.
The movie: Step Brothers (2008)
The player(s): Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly
In the right context, this sartorial statement is totally spot-on. But there's a difference between "vintage" and "old." And just because you've been wearing the same Star Wars T since high school doesn't make it vintage. In Step Brothers, Brennan (Ferrell) and Dale (Reilly) duke it out in more ways than one—including an unsaid competition for who can wear the oldest/least stylish T. It's a toss up in their video for "Boats & Hoes," though given the Miami Vice vibe, maybe they're more fashion forward than meets the eye. (The Nina, the Pinta, the Santa Maria...)
Diehard sports fans are real men.
The movie: Fever Pitch (2005)
The player(s): Jimmy Fallon and Drew Barrymore
The true test of a great girlfriend is her willingness to endure a sporting event, even if she has no idea how the game is played. The true test of a man child? His innate need to choose sports over said girlfriend, regardless of the consequences. Such is the conundrum facing workaholic Lindsey (Barrymore) and Red Sox fanatic Ben (Fallon) in this Farrelly brothers joint.
Bowling is a competitve sport. As is dodgeball. Ping-pong, too.
The movie: The Big Lebowski (1998)
The player(s): Jeff Bridges
The Dude abides. And by that we mean by the cardinal rule of man child participatory sports: they've got to be a little offbeat. Hence The Dude's (Bridges) tendency to only leave the house (in his pajamas, no less) when there's a bowling competition afoot.
Playboy counts as high-brow literature.
The movie: Miss March (2009)
The player(s): Zach Cregger and Trevor Moore
We're all familiar with the "I read it for the articles" excuse when it comes to an issue of Playboy. But in the world of a movie man child, The Hef's iconic lad mag is about the only piece of literature you're likely to find. In the case of Miss March, it's the main source of connection twenty-something Eugene (Cregger) has to the outside world after awakening from a four-year coma... only to discover that his high school sweetheart is now a Playboy centerfold.
Good Housekeeping can be used as porn in a pinch.
The movie: Step Brothers (2008)
The player(s): Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly
After battling their newfound brotherhood, after the marriage of their parents, stay-at-home forty-somethings Brennan (Ferrell) and Dale (Reilly) learn that they actually have much more in common than they originally thought. Including the velociraptor as their favorite dinosaur, a man crush on John Stamos and Good Housekeeping as their "favorite non-pornographic magazine to masturbate to." Did they just become best friends? Yep!
The Rebel Alliance is a legitimate political party.
The movie: Spaceballs (1987)
The player(s): Mel Brooks
The man child in question here is not one of the film's stars, but its director, the perpetually childlike Mel Brooks (though he does have a role in the film, as President Skroob). His 1987 Star Wars parody is a tribute to the longtime and growing number of fanboys whose lives revolve around George Lucas' sci-fi franchise, with a few appropriately immature tweaks: Han and Luke are one character (Lone Starr), Princess Leia has become Vespa, Darth Vader is simply known as Dark Helmet and the cuddly wookie played by John Candy is Barf.
Wrestling with your brother is normal at any age.
The movie: Four Christmases (2008)
The player(s): Vince Vaughn and Jon Favreau
After three years of successfully avoiding going home for the holidays, happy couple Brad (Vaughn) and Kate (Reese Witherspoon) must endure four separate family visits, where she learns that the boyhood tendency of wrestling with your brother is one Brad's brother Denver (Favreau) has yet to outgrow. And he takes his tussling seriously.
It takes a minimum of six years to earn a BA.
The movie: Animal House (1978)
The player(s): John Belushi
Higher education is not a common pursuit of the movie man child. But when he does it, he does it right—and never in four years. In John Landis' Animal House, Bluto Blutarsky (Belushi) is in his seventh year as an undergraduate and has amassed a mind-boggling GPA of 0.0. Which makes him perfectly suited to his future career as a U.S. senator.
What is fun for a 12-year-old is still fun at age 30.
The movie: Big (1988)
The player(s): Tom Hanks
To be fair, Josh Baskin (Hanks) has the right to act like a 12-year-old because he is one. But when his wish to be bigger comes true, he ends up in the body of a 30-year-old who somehow finds himself in an executive role at a big-time toy company. Hence the sweet loft adorned with blow-up toys (no, not that kind), pinball machines and one kick-ass trampoline.
Insanity is a desirable trait.
The movie: Elf (2003)
The player(s): Will Ferrell and Zooey Deschanel
In order to fully embrace Jon Favreau's Elf with all its charms, you must believe that an attractive young department store employee (Deschanel) would agree to a date with Buddy (Ferrell), a seemingly insane Christmas enthusiast who claims to be an elf from the North Pole. And this is after he busts into the bathroom where she's showering to turn a Christmas carol into a duet. At least he introduces her to the world's best cup of coffee.
Two man children are better than one. Four is even better.
The movie: The Hangover (2009)
The player(s): Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms, Zach Galifianakis and Justin Bartha
Put Zach Galifianakis in any situation and there's bound to be big laughs. But surround him with a posse—including the smooth-talking Phil (Cooper), a strait-laced dentist (Helms) and that other guy (Bartha)—and you've got a full-on wolf pack... one worthy of two sequels and more than $600 million in box office receipts.
Incompetence is infectious.
The movie: The Internship (2013)
The player(s): Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson
You can't have a truly successful man child duo without a few followers. In the case of The Internship, Billy (Vaughn) and Nick (Wilson) persuade a handful of their serious-minded twenty-something Google co-horts to spend a night out on the town, where they engage in all sorts of debaucherous (and drunken) fun.
Consequences? What consequences?
The movie: Hall Pass (2011)
The player(s): Owen Wilson, Jason Sudeikis, Jenna Fischer and Christina Applegate
All it takes is one rather off-handed remark from a female neighbor for Maggie (Fischer) and Grace (Applegate) to issue their husbands—Rick (Wilson) and Fred (Sudeikis)—a hall pass, a week off from marriage where they can sow their eye-wandering oats without consequences. After realizing that Applebee's is probably not the best place to get laid, the duo seem to have no problem finding a few more than willing ladies. And they can do it all guilt-free. Yes, it's just the sort of thing that happens in every healthy marriage.
Old rivalries never die.
The movie: Grown Ups (2010)
The player(s): Adam Sandler, Kevin James, Chris Rock, David Spade and Rob Schneider
If you've ever imagined what the kids in 1979's Meatballs might be doing nowadays, Grown Ups is it. The SNL orgy (plus Kevin James) reunites a group of childhood friends 30 years after high school graduation to relive the glory days of a 1978 basketball championship and, of course, stage a rematch against the guys they beat (with Colin Quinn as their opponents' ringleader). Three decades does much to hurt a man's athletic abilities.
Cluelessness is a virtue.
The movie: The Jerk (1979)
The player(s): Steve Martin
The bumbling idiot who manages to wobble his way to success is a common comedy trope, and one perfectly illustrated by The Jerk, Carl Reiner's 1979 cult comedy classic. Steve Martin plays Navin R. Johnson, a southern simpleton with dreams of making it in the big city. Along the way he lands a job—and a place to sleep—at a gas station, where he slowly begins to realize that the man he is helping is probably not the Mrs. Nussbaum his credit card purports. It takes a while, but he eventually gets there.
He who drinks the most wins.
The movie: Old School (2003)
The player(s): Will Ferrell, Luke Wilson & Vince Vaughn
By day, Frank Ricard (Ferrell) is a newlywed who spends his Saturdays at Bed, Bath and Beyond. But at night—and with the encouragement of college buds Mitch Martin (Wilson) and Bernard Campbell (Vaughn), he becomes "Frank the Tank," a mean, lean, streaking machine. Oh, he's also a founding member of a brand-new fraternity... started about two decades after his college graduation.
Adam Sandler is god.
The movie: Billy Madison (1995), Happy Gilmore (1996), The Wedding Singer (1998), The Waterboy (1998), etc.
The player(s): Adam Sandler
Sure, other grown men have taken a run at the title. But the sum total of Adam Sandler's man child efforts—as a would-be heir forced to repeat grade school in Billy Madison, a golf pro who gets his ass kicked by Bob Barker in Happy Gilmore, a jilted groom taking out his depressive tendencies in the form of song in The Wedding Singer and a simpleton with serious football tackling abilities in The Waterboy—cannot be touched. Neither can his box office totals.
