Comedy star Adam Sandler tells Steve Pratt that he hopes a film about two men pretending to be gay can be approached with an open mind by audiences.

ACTOR Adam Sandler couldn't understand why the script for what's turned out to be his latest movie had been lying around for a decade. "I couldn't believe nobody did it. I read it, thought it was funny, it has a good message," he says.

The film in question is I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry, a comedy. "It was an easy premise - two guys who aren't gay pretending to be gay so they can get married," Sandler continues. "I don't know who wrote what. There were a hundred writers on it. The script was very funny. We also put our own stuff in there."

The film teams the star of The Wedding Planner and Reign Over Me with Kevin James, best known as the star of US TV sitcom The King Of Queens. They play firemen who pretend to be a gay married couple in order to claim insurance benefits.

Rather than being offensive to the gay community, Sandler hopes the film will be some good in preaching tolerance. "I have some gay friends, there's nothing in our heads to make us feel uncomfortable but there are people out there who feel that - and this movie is about those kind of guys.

"Two guys who are a little bit close-minded, and a little bit stupid. They walk in different shoes for a while, become wiser and realise how dumb it is to be that way."

He had no worries doing a pro-gay movie, wondering if that wasn't what prevented people doing the film in the decade the script was floating around Hollywood.

"I thought it was a nice message, funny just about marriage itself - gay, straight - people working out a relationship at home, the bickering. It didn't make me tense.

"Young people, when they do research, and when they tell them it's about two guys who pretend to be gay, sometimes their reaction is, 'I don't want to see that'. They get a bit jumpy, but hopefully that'll go away down the line."

Sandler says they wanted to make sure the gay community would be happy with the movie. "It shows how ignorant some people can be. I have gay friends, my wife's aunts are gay. They like the movie, my gay friends like the movie. It could be because they're related to me and they're my friends. I don't know.

"I had a nice thing the other day in California. I was in a gym and a guy came up to me and said, 'hey, I saw Chuck and Larry, I wanted to thank you. I'm gay and it meant a lot to me, that movie'."

He believes the film could make a difference in people's lives. "I don't think there will be gay people talking about this movie 50 years from now and saying, 'and then Chuck and Larry came out, and it all changed'. But I think it's meant to do the right thing," says Sandler.

Some reaction in the US has been negative from the critics but he says that's a common thing with his movies, not just this one. "The only time it bothers you is if it persuades people not to see it," he says.

'I hear this a lot from people who read the New York Times - 'I saw your movie, I actually liked it'. They're fighting against the person who wrote about it. That's the only negative - some people read the review and walk in with a chip on their shoulder - or if they persuade people not to see the movie at all.

"On occasion, I'll read a bad review. Or my mother will call me up and just spout out, 'this man said you're retarded'. I go, 'don't worry about it, mom'. It's like a slight business problem, but it doesn't hurt me mentally."

Co-star Kevin James, in London with Sandler to promote the movie, jumps to his defence. "A lot of people gun for Adam, but he's like Teflon. It doesn't matter. He's who the people want to see, and he's proven that time and time again."

He and Sandler are working on other projects together. "We're producing a movie that Kevin's writing right now," says Sandler. "He plays a security guard in a mall, and there's a hostage situation and he becomes the hero. "We had a great time making the movie. It was one of the best times I've ever had. I've shot a lot of movies so far, and me and him had fun constantly and hopefully we'll get to do it again."

* I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry (12A) opens in cinemas tomorrow.