15 Best Movies Like Grown Ups

For the first decade of Adam Sandler’s film career, he was generally the primary focal point in his movies — so much so that a bunch of them have titles that are literally just the name of his character. The films always had numerous supporting players, but were rarely true ensemble pieces. More often than not, they were vehicles for Sandler himself and the latest character he created. That’s to say nothing of the gorgeous female leads he always paired himself with, one of the things that happen in every Adam Sandler movie. 

Sandler’s 2010 comedy, “Grown Ups,” marked one of his first big ensemble films where there were a sizeable number of other characters who all got a fairly equal amount of screen time. It follows a group of childhood friends who decide to take a trip together as adults in the service of multiple goals. First, to reconnect with one another. Second, to allow their wives and children to also bond. And third, to get a bunch of screen-obsessed city kids to put down their devices and spend a few days playing outside and getting into trouble like their dads used to. 

Luckily for fans of “Grown Ups,” there are plenty of similar movies to check out that tick one or more of its boxes. Some are also family vacation movies, some are just about adults taking a trip together, some are more focused on the angle of being nostalgic about childhood, and a couple of them are other Adam Sandler movies with a similar vibe.

“The Great Outdoors” is an overall comedy classic, period, and it has found a place on a variety of best-of lists — best summer movies, best buddy comedies, best vacation movies, and on and on. But that last one is the most crucial here, as movies like “Grown Ups” wouldn’t exist if “The Great Outdoors” hadn’t helped to lay the foundation for comedies about city folk finding themselves hilariously out of their element in a rustic outdoor setting.

Roman Craig (Dan Aykroyd) and his brother-in-law, Chet Ripley (John Candy), seemingly couldn’t be more different. Roman portrays a life of spoiled opulence, while Chet goes for a more simple, working-class existence. When they find themselves vacationing together in the same cabin for the summer with their wives and kids in tow, that culture clash soon becomes a huge issue. But not nearly as big of an issue as the various dangers that the woods have in store for all of them — thunderstorms, abandoned mines, and bears, oh my! 

Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore have proven to be a fan-favorite romcom pairing. In fact, when Looper readers revealed the best Adam Sandler movie via a social media poll, a write-in option for “anything with Drew Barrymore in it” got multiple votes. Though “50 First Dates” and “The Wedding Singer” are the pair’s more well known and overall better-liked collaborations, “Blended” gets the mention here since its about a multi-family vacation where chaotic hilarity ensues.

Sandler and Barrymore play Jim Friedman and Lauren Reynolds, two single parents who go on a terrible blind date. Unfortunately, they aren’t able to just go on their separate ways, and can’t seem to stop awkwardly bumping into each other, since their resort accidentally booked both of their families into shared accommodations and itineraries as a blended family. It’s easy to see from a mile away where all this is going, but “Blended” is still a fun comedy of family vacation errors on the way to its obvious ending. 

Another solid entry in the subgenre of vacation comedies featuring mismatched families is “RV,” starring Robin Williams, Cheryl Hines, Jeff Daniels, Kristin Chenoweth, Will Arnett, and a young Josh Hutcherson. Bob Munro (Williams) has to cancel the family trip he had planned when his boss (Arnett) demands he attend a conference instead. But rather than break the news to his wife (Hines) and kids (Hutcherson and musician JoJo), Bob brings them along on what is actually his work trip, attempting to mask it as a family vacation.

In addition to all the usual road trip movie mishaps — gross lodging, mechanical issues, et al — there are the constant run-ins with the Gornicke family (Daniels and Chenoweth). While they are entirely harmless, their desire to be best friends with Bob and his wife and for the two families’ separate vacations to become a joint one doesn’t sit well with Bob. Not to mention further complicating his ruse. With a lesser cast, the fairly by-the-numbers “RV” could’ve been the comedy movie equivalent of a flat tire. But this particular group really elevate the material, and they have fantastic chemistry together. 

Two of the major dynamics at play in “Grown Ups” are reminiscing about childhood adventures, and the complex dynamics between children and adults. “Now and Then,” written by future “Pretty Little Liars” creator I. Marlene King, takes both of those elements and applies them in a rather novel way. The movie switches back and forth between adult friends Roberta (Rosie O’Donnell), Tina (Melanie Griffith), Samantha (Demi Moore), and Chrissy (Rita Wilson) reminiscing about a summer they spent together as tweens, and then actually depicting that summer. 

Playing the tween versions are Christina Ricci as Roberta, Thora Birch as Tina (then known by the nickname Teeny), Gaby Hoffman as Samantha, and Ashleigh Aston Moore as Chrissy. In addition to expertly-chosen casting between each pair of adult/child counterparts — O’Donnell and Ricci stand out in particular — “Now and Then” serves as a beautiful time capsule of childhood in the late 1960s. And three decades on, it now also doubles for an equally captivating time capsule of being a 30-something woman in the mid ’90s. 

If you watch “Grown Ups” with your kids, put them to bed or send them off to play “Fortnite” if you want to have a more adult-oriented double feature. The various adults in “Couples Retreat” — a bawdy vacation-based romcom co-written by stars Jon Favreau and Vince Vaughn — do in fact have children. But they left them at home in order to have a fun, sexy getaway at an oceanfront resort with some of their other couple friends. At least, that’s what they thought they were signing up for.

As it turns out, the supposedly optional workshops and counseling sessions aimed at struggling couples are anything but optional. In fact, that’s more or less the entire point of the resort. Naturally, the couples that are most outwardly cocky about how little they need the help are the ones who end up needing it the most. And should you and your partner want to vacation at the gorgeous resort where “Couples Retreat” was filmed, it’s a real place located in French Polynesia. Whether it’s a steamy getaway, a couples counseling retreat, or something in between is for you to decide. 

Another landmark, can’t-miss classic for anyone looking for vacation movies is “National Lampoon’s Vacation.” Though it needs to be said right off that bat that, although the movie is about a family and does feature children, it very much earns its R rating, so proceed with caution on that front. Like so many R-rated ’80s comedies, it arguably didn’t really need to be R and could’ve easily been PG-13 without any crucial edits, but it is what it is.

The debut outing of the Griswold family — parents Clark (Chevy Chase) and Ellen (Beverly D’Angelo), and children Rusty (Anthony Michael Hall) and Audrey (Dana Barron) — sees the clan embark on an ultimately ill-fated cross-country trip to amusement park Walley World. Anything that can go wrong, does go wrong, and then some. The Rotten Tomatoes critical consensus calls it, “one of the more consistent — and thoroughly quotable — screwball comedies of the 1980s,” high praise indeed, considering how many classics that genre produced during that decade. The subsequent “Vacation” movies had diminishing returns and are largely skippable, with the main exception being perennial holiday favorite “Christmas Vacation.”

The most obvious connection between “Grown Ups” and “Tommy Boy” is that both are vacation/road trip movies featuring “Saturday Night Live” cast members. However, there’s also the sad fact that Sandler originally intended for Farley to be in “Grown Ups” in its earliest planning stages, but Farley’s death obviously changed those plans. 

As for “Tommy Boy,” it’s a classic road trip movie where Farley plays the son of an auto parts factory owner who decides to take his dad’s planned sales trip after his dad dies. David Spade plays the dad’s right hand man, who reluctantly gets roped into taking the trip as well. The two had been frenemies at best up to that point, and their friction frequently comes to a head as they spend hours couped up together in a car and in hotel rooms. 

While most of the times that Farley broke people on set happened on “Saturday Night Live,” it was also a common occurrence during the production of “Tommy Boy.” Farley loved working with his pals, and he would’ve had the time of his life if he had the chance to make a version of “Grown Ups” with Sandler and Spade. 

Despite his undeniable brilliance as a comedic performer, Martin Short has had a pretty rough go of it in terms of a film career. And it’s not without a fair bit of irony that among his few cult classics is a movie where he actually plays the straight man opposite someone else’s over-the-top funnyman. Indeed, in “Captain Ron,” it’s Kurt Russell as the titular skipper who is the “character,” with Martin instead playing the role of a square, constantly befuddled father.

That father, Martin Harvey, finds out that he has been left a boat in his uncle’s will. Having no interest in boat ownership, Martin wants to sell it — and decides to make a family vacation out of traveling to where the boat is docked. Not only does the boat turn out to be junk, but the whole process brings the shifty Captain Ron into their lives. And thus begins a wild adventure that involves pirates, guerillas, international smuggling, and even prison. It’s a family vacation the Harveys certainly won’t forget. 

Adam Sandler’s first foray into film animation, “Eight Crazy Nights,” fell flat in its admirable goal of giving Jewish families a fun Hanukkah movie to watch every year. It was a full decade before he starred in another animated movie — but this time, he chose well, as “Hotel Transylvania” turned out to be a lot of fun.

Remarkably, each installment of the initial trilogy was better than the last, with “Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation” earning the best reviews of the series to date and the first to fall in fresh territory on Rotten Tomatoes. But that’s not the only reason it is representing the franchise on this list. It’s also the only installment that specifically revolves around a family vacation, which is what makes it most similar to “Grown Ups.” 

The overarching story of the series is about the relationship between Count Dracula (Sandler) and his daughter, Mavis (Selena Gomez), with “Summer Vacation” seeing single father Dracula finally find love. But the woman might not be who he thinks she is, and Mavis needs to get to the bottom of it before it’s too late.

While considered a comedy-drama, “The Big Chill” is most certainly the least funny movie on this list, and the most tonally different from “Grown Ups.” But it is worthy of consideration for fans of “Grown Ups” as it’s also about a group of old friends who drifted apart, and have come back together to reconnect on a vacation of sorts. In fact, just like with “Grown Ups,” the reunion at the heart of “The Big Chill” comes as the result of everyone gathering for a funeral.

The incredible ensemble of “The Big Chill” includes Jeff Goldblum, Glenn Close, William Hurt, Tom Berenger, Kevin Kline, Mary Kay Place, Meg Tilly, and JoBeth Williams. Needless to say, with a powerhouse group like that, even a movie that consists almost entirely of talking is endlessly compelling to watch. Goldblum credits the isolation of the production for helping the cast bond, and it certainly worked as it really does feel like a group of old friends who know one another inside and out. Come for that acting, and stay for an iconic soundtrack that includes some of the best R&B of the 1960s.

In recent years, the behind-the-scenes turmoil that occurred during the making of “What About Bob?” has arguably overshadowed the legacy of the movie itself. But in spite of the intense friction that burned white hot between co-stars Bill Murray and Richard Dreyfuss, it was ultimately in service of an undeniable classic. “What About Bob?” ended up being a surprisingly respectful representation of mental illness and the way patients often fall through the cracks of a deeply flawed system.

It’s also just an absolutely hilarious film about a high-strung psychotherapist named Leo Marvin (Dreyfuss) whose attempt at a peaceful family vacation is thwarted when one of his patients, Bob (Murray), tracks him down. Bob quickly endears himself to Leo’s family, which only further enrages Leo, convinced that they are just being duped into liking a deeply unlikable man. The more Leo’s family falls in love with Bob, the more Leo spirals — until the viewer is left to ask themselves who truly is, for lack of a more politically correct term, the “crazy” one. 

The guys in “Grown Ups” grew up having summers where sports were a constant source of entertainment and camaraderie, but that’s only shown briefly at the very beginning. What if there was a movie that was just kids of a bygone generation spending their summers bonding over sports and outdoor adventures? “The Sandlot” is not only one such movie — it’s one of the greats.

It’s set in the summer of 1962 when a kid named Scotty Smalls (Tom Guiry) has just moved to a new city.  His mother encourages him to go out and find some friends, and he stumbles upon a group of kids playing baseball. The group quickly welcomes him, though not without a fair amount of friendly hazing, and soon they all have one of those summers that people reminisce about for the rest of their lives. While we do get a brief check-in on two of the kids as adults near the end of the film, which we won’t spoil if you haven’t seen the movie, that part of it’s not really the point. “The Sandlot” is a movie about kids being kids.

Several Adam Sandler movies see him play a character who has concocted some elaborate ruse that allows him to hook up with woman without worrying about attachment. In the case of “Just Go With It,” the ruse is that Danny (Sandler) wears a wedding ring to bars and pretends to be in a deeply unhappy marriage to a terrible wife. When he tells his sad story to impressionable young women, they feel bad and sleep with him. But him being married means that he has an “out” to prevent it from being anything more than a one night stand.

It’s all very problematic, of course. But it works out for Danny when it brings him to Palmer (Brooklyn Decker), a woman he actually develops feelings for. He of course can’t just say he lied about the marriage, so he comes up with this ridiculously complicated plan that involves his assistant Katherine (Jennifer Aniston) not only posing as his wife but her kids posing as hers and Danny’s. Where the “Grown Ups” connection comes in is that Danny, Katherine, the kids, and Palmer end up taking a vacation together that involves all sorts of mishaps and shenanigans.

A remake of the 1950 film of the same name, the 2003 “Cheaper By the Dozen” ended up being a massive hit. So much so that it earned a sequel released just two years later. While “Cheaper By the Dozen 2” does smack a bit of a fast-tracked follow up, it’s still an endearing family vacation film that sees parents Tom and Kate Baker (Steve Martin and Bonnie Hunt) attempt the unenviable task of bringing 12 kids on a trip to a lake.

That would’ve been a wild enough premise for a vacation comedy. But in “Grown Ups” spirit, another family is involved in the trip — and wouldn’t you know it, the Murtaughs also have an above-average amount of children. Of course, the Bakers and the Murtaughs don’t mesh particularly well, and the result is what has to be a record-breaking ensemble size for this type of movie. 

It always feels a little on the nose to recommend that fans of a movie watch that movie’s sequel. But in some cases, the sequel is worth checking out and isn’t just being suggested out of a sense of obligation. “Grown Ups 2” is a slight step down from its predecessor, no question. However, it still manages to be another fun romp that does just enough to differentiate itself from the first movie to not feel like a complete retread. Rob Schneider also doesn’t return, which is sure to be a bonus for some people.

This time, the gang is back to their regular lives but are still in touch and hanging out. That doesn’t mean there aren’t challenges to face, adventures to have, and bodily functions to laugh at. It may lack some of the novelty of the original, but “Grown Ups 2” is like getting back together with old friends again.