In 2013, everyone expected Taylor Lautner to stay in his lane. He was the Twilight guy. The werewolf. The dude who couldn’t keep his shirt on for more than ten minutes of screen time without people losing their minds. Then Taylor Lautner in Grown Ups 2 happened, and honestly? It kind of broke the internet before we even used that phrase for everything.
He didn't just show up for a cameo. He became the primary antagonist of the entire film, playing a hyper-aggressive, back-flipping frat boy named Andy. It was weird. It was loud. It was genuinely funny.
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The Frat Boy Shift Nobody Saw Coming
Look, Adam Sandler movies have a specific vibe. You either love the "friends on vacation" energy or you find it exhausting. But when Sandler cast Lautner as the leader of the Kappa Eta Sigma fraternity, he tapped into something people didn't know the young actor had: self-awareness.
Lautner’s character, Andy, is a nightmare. He wears a visor, talks in aggressive "bro" slang, and leads a pack of collegiate meatheads who terrorize Sandler and his middle-aged crew. If you haven't seen the cliff-jumping scene, you’re missing out on a masterclass in choreographed stupidity. Andy forces the "grown ups" to jump into the water naked, mostly because he can.
Why he actually did it
People wondered why a massive franchise star would take an uncredited role in a slapstick sequel. Lautner has been pretty open about it in interviews, like when he told GMA News that he grew up watching Sandler's movies. He wanted to learn.
Working with comedy heavyweights like Chris Rock, David Spade, and Kevin James is a different beast than brooding in the rain in Forks, Washington. He was intimidated. Who wouldn't be? But he leaned into the physical comedy, using his background as a world-class martial artist to do things the other guys simply couldn't.
That Handshake and the Martial Arts Flex
One of the most memorable moments involving Taylor Lautner in Grown Ups 2 is the handshake. It’s not just a "sup, bro" moment. It’s an overly-elaborate, lightning-fast sequence of movements that looks like a dance mixed with a secret society ritual.
- It was actually unscripted in terms of the specific moves.
- Lautner worked with the other "frat brothers" (including Patrick Schwarzenegger and Milo Ventimiglia) to make it look ridiculous.
- The speed is real. No camera tricks there.
Sandler once joked that Lautner was a "pain" because he was too good at everything. During filming, Lautner would just casually do standing backflips while the rest of the cast was trying to remember their lines. In the movie, that athleticism translates into Andy’s arrogance. He’s the guy who knows he’s in better shape than you, and he’s going to make sure you feel every year of your age while he's around.
The Career Impact of a "Villian" Role
Usually, when a heartthrob tries to do comedy, it feels forced. They try too hard to be "the funny guy." Lautner did the opposite. He leaned into being the "annoying guy."
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By playing the villain, he escaped the shadow of Jacob Black for a few hours. Critics were generally pretty harsh on the movie itself—it currently sits at a rough 8% on Rotten Tomatoes—but most fans agree that the frat pack was the highlight. It showed range. It showed he wasn't afraid to look like a total jerk for a laugh.
He stayed uncredited in the film, which is a weird Hollywood move that usually happens because of contract disputes or because an actor wants to surprise the audience. For Lautner, it felt like a "just for fun" project that ended up being one of his most quoted roles outside of the werewolf saga.
What most people miss
Most viewers don't realize how much of a departure this was for his "brand" at the time. In 2013, he was still the "super nice guy" archetype. Andy is the literal opposite. He’s a bully. He’s entitled. He’s the physical embodiment of every annoying college kid you’ve ever met at a lake.
How to Revisit the Performance Today
If you're looking to catch this specific era of Lautner’s career, you won't find it in the first Grown Ups movie. He only appears in the 2013 sequel.
Pro-tip for fans: Watch the blooper reels. You can see the genuine chemistry between him and the older comedians. It's clear that despite the "tough guy" frat persona, he was basically the "little brother" of the set that everyone wanted to mess with.
- Check out the "handshake" clip on YouTube—it has millions of views for a reason.
- Look for the "cliff jump" sequence to see his physical comedy in action.
- Pay attention to Milo Ventimiglia’s performance alongside him; the two of them together are a bizarrely perfect duo.
Next time you're scrolling through Netflix or Hulu and see Grown Ups 2, don't skip it just because of the ratings. Watch it for the absolute chaos Taylor Lautner brings to the screen. It’s a rare moment where a massive star decided to just stop being "cool" and started being hilarious instead.
If you want to see more of his comedic timing, you should definitely check out his work in the BBC series Cuckoo or his recent appearances on various podcasts where he breaks down his time in the Sandler-verse. He’s got a lot more to say about those "Abercrombie" jokes than you’d think.