Sun and Sand-ler

JUST GO WITH IT (2011)

I must confess I am not the biggest Adam Sandler fan. Before you take my word for this one (or even consider it) you must know this piece of information. Strangely enough, Adam Sandler is one of those stars in Hollywood who just needs to sleep-walk his way to the set and he will have a hit. He’s found his audience and they sure know what to expect (or not expect).

I knew what to expect too. Honestly I’ve seen almost every Adam Sandler film. I do tend to go soft on this guy. Yes, yes, yes, this is going in that direction where I’m finding difficult to admit I did not hate this film! I kind of enjoyed it. It was more like a guilty pleasure. 

 

But then there are some Sandler movies that I have loved! Punch-Drunk Love (2002) was a minor masterpiece. (It was not a comedy so I guess this is disqualified). But then there are his early films - Happy Gilmore (1996), The Waterboy (1998), and The Wedding Singer (1998). The only recent Sandler “comedy” that I was not guilty of liking was Funny People (2009). That too because of Judd Apatow and his band of actors, mainly. I need to stop lollygagging and name-dropping movies and people and talk about Just Go With It.

It’s a typical romcom, typical situations and characters. The plot involves a philandering plastic surgeon, Danny (Sandler) making his assistant (Aniston) pose as his soon-to-be-divorced wife to cover up a scheme of lies told to a 23 year old who he feels could be "the one". Yeah you know how that will turn out. Just add a trip to Hawaii somewhere in there. It mostly works because of Sandler and Anniston. Jennifer Anniston is sure to lend some of her humor which she carries forward from her TV sitcom days and she does.

I had no idea that Nicole Kidman would be in this film and when she showed up I couldn’t complain anymore (I’m heavily biased there). And seriously, that Hula competition… my Nicole whooped Anniston’s ass! It was an obvious case of miscasting. You needed someone with lesser charm and beauty.

Aniston and Sandler did share chemistry. An odd fit but they sparked some fire there. Here’s a test for you… how to figure whether a movie like this is worth your time or not. There’s a slow motion shot in the film, with 4 prominent characters walking, if that makes you laugh, you won’t find the movie as tiresome as it is. If you don’t well.. just go with it. (I had to crack that one)

But I guess the better bet would be to know if you’re a fan of Sandler, Aniston or Kidman. If not, watch The Cactus Flower (1969), the original or just go with this (here it is again). I won’t call it a good film but it’s just about okay.

Rating:  ** ½  on *****