Australian actor Michael Caton a few years ago starred in a film titled Strange Bedfellows, where he and Paul Hogan pretend to be gay in order to claim financial benefits.

Sound similiar to the plot of I now Pronounce you Chuck and Larry? Well, it is. And Caton claims that he gave a DVD of the film to Rob Schneider, and that ‘You owe me one pal.’

Schneider now gives him one, in an open letter featured in the Sydney Morning Herald.

“It is true you gave me a DVD copy of Strange Bedfellows but I must confess I’ve never watched it, as it is not on the same format as I have and it makes quite a nice drink coaster,” he writes.

Schneider, who plays an Asian minister in Chuck and Larry, claims the movie is based on a true story about two firemen from Virginia in the 1970s.

“I know that you recently made an early (and deserved) exit on Dancing with the Stars, still in my wildest imagination I never could see you as one who would ever become ‘bitter’,” he writes to Caton. “Unfortunately, that is the conclusion that you have forced me to come to. Now Paul Hogan I can understand!”

I thought the open letter might be a joke, but apparently Rob Schneider has an opinion on a lot of things, and an open letter is often his way of dealing with it. He took out an advertisement about a journalist who called him a third-rate comic after the first installment of Deuce Bigalow, and last year he took out another vowing never to work with anti-Semitic Mel Gibson. This week he’s commented on Dina Lohan’s parenting skills.

Now, script analysis of the two films has been undertaken and Strange Bedfellows producer Shana believes that legal action may result.

“The initial results have caused us to be more confident that there has been a copyright violation,” she said. “We are investigating all avenues open to us.”

The Age

One thing isn’t clear to me – when Michael Caton made the initial ‘you owe me one’ comment, was he serious? Or was it that dry, underplayed Australian joke-tone that doesn’t translate very well to America? Have we got open letters appearing in Michael Caton’s local paper because of a throw away comment?

Overall, the whole thing just doesn’t seem very gentlemanly.

Note by Celebitchy: I checked IMDB and couldn’t figure out how Schneider was involved with I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry apart from a bit part in the film. The story is that Canton gave Schneider the script for Strange Bedfellows when they were working together on The Animal. Canton thinks that Schneider passed it on to Adam Sandler. Strange Bedfellows, which came out in 2004, is described by Wikipedia as “a movie about a straight businessman and a straight mechanic both volunteer fire fighters who lodge some forms indicating that they were gay in order to obtain a financial advantage. Upon being investigated by a government officer, they must act gay in order to pull off the illusion.” Sounds just like I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry down to the professions of the pretend gay guys and the plot.

Rob Schneider is shown in the header photo at the Kids’ Choice Awards on 4/1/06.

Adam Sandler and Kevin James star in I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry, a film about two straight Brooklyn firemen who try to act like they’re a couple in order to get domestic partner benefits. Jessica Biel also stars, and I just bet she’s what blows their cover.

Here’s the trailer:

It looks kind of funny but it could also be dumb and overdone. It’s directed by Dennis Dugan, who also directed Happy Gilmore, Big Daddy, and Saving Silverman.

I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry is out in theaters on July 20.

Also shown at the premiere are Katherine McPhee, Steve Buscemi, Ian Ziering, and Anna Faris, who looks nothing like she used to. Thanks to PRPhotos. Stills from the film are also shown, and these are from AllMoviePhoto.