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| Gentle Reminder: Kevin James' Career Has Seen Its Fair Share of Missteps |
What exactly are we doing here, folks? I don't mind that a particular Kevin James meme is making the rounds, as it's somewhat amusing. However, it's baffling how this meme has cast a rosy glow on Kevin James himself, not to mention "The King of Queens," a rather pedestrian sitcom that endured an excessively long run on CBS. Why, you may wonder?
It's as though we've conveniently forgotten about Kevin James' less-than-stellar cinematic endeavors, including the likes of "Paul Blart: Mall Cop," "Zookeeper," and "Here Comes the Boom." These films seem to rely on the notion that if an overweight individual takes a tumble, it must automatically be hilarious! But surely there's more to physical comedy than just a portly man stumbling about. Unfortunately, Kevin James seemed to have missed that memo, having even written several of these movies himself. These films not only center around overweight characters but also overweight, hapless, underemployed characters, often cohabitating with their mothers, yet somehow ending up with an attractive love interest thanks to heroic deeds that frequently involve a rotund man's pratfalls!
Even before the era of "Fat Joke: The Movie," Kevin James starred in one of the most cringe-worthy films of the 2000s, "I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry" (I had to double-check that release year because it's hard to fathom such an offensive movie coming out in the 2000s, but alas, it was 2007). In "Chuck and Larry," straight characters portrayed by Kevin James and Adam Sandler engage in a sham marriage for health insurance benefits. It essentially amounted to "Gay Joke: The Movie."
But, hey, we adore the meme! Let's conveniently overlook the fact that Kevin James has only been in two genuinely good movies: "Hitch," alongside Will Smith, and more recently, "Becky," in which he portrays a Nazi. Most recently, in 2022, he appeared in "Home Team," a Netflix film based on the New Orleans Saints coach, Sean Payton (now coaching the lackluster Denver Broncos). Kevin James apparently thought it was a splendid idea to celebrate a coach who faced suspension for rewarding players who injured opponents from rival teams. The film's plot revolves around Sean Payton reconnecting with his child while coaching a 6th-grade team during his suspension, once again, for incentivizing his players to harm others to enhance his team's winning prospects. Oddly enough, this disturbing plot point is glossed over in an otherwise family-friendly movie.
But hey, let's cherish Kevin James for his role in "The King of Queens," a television sitcom that essentially served as a precursor to the dark parody "Kevin Can F**k Himself." The latter show revolves around an attractive wife trapped in life by her inept, overweight husband. "The King of Queens" was 206 episodes of Leah Remini's character essentially being compelled to coexist with a man who couldn't adequately care for himself. She's attractive, he's a bumbling oaf. While there's nothing inherently wrong with couples having different levels of attractiveness, what was it about Doug Heffernan's personality that bridged that gap? Was it how he'd forget her birthday, prioritize watching a UFC match, and ignore her despite her distress about aging? Perhaps it was his attempt to manipulate his trainer into sexually harassing him to incite jealousy in his wife? Or was it the time Doug found himself stuck halfway up his attic while "Everybody Loves Raymond" was visiting?
And don't even get me started on "Kevin Can Wait," Kevin James' ill-fated attempt to recreate the magic of "The King of Queens" after his film career hit a wall. Did he bother to refresh the tired marriage tropes? Absolutely not! In fact, when the ratings took a dip, he abruptly had his on-screen wife (Erinn Hayes) killed off so they could bring in Leah Remini! Because, clearly, she wasn't a character; she was a mere plot device!
Nevertheless, despite all of this, we're just going to keep celebrating Kevin James, right?
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