Just Go With It

There are some actors who compel you to see every film they are in, because you never know what to expect. Actors like Daniel Day-Lewis, Russell Crowe, even Leonardo DiCaprio of late.

And then there is Adam Sandler.

Sandler has played the same part for the better part of twenty years and is still reeling in massive audiences. He may have had more misses than hits over the last decade, but box office wise the eternal man-boy is going strong.

Some of you may remember my scorn filled review of his last effort, Grown Ups, which was my least favorite film of the year. Well, you can put all your fears of a repeat aside because Just Go With It was welcomely, shockingly, mediocre! Huzzah, Mr. Sandler!

The plot of Just Go With It centers on Sandler's Danny, a shallow plastic surgeon (is there any other kind?) who is caught in a web of lies as he tries to bed a beautiful, much younger teacher Palmer, played by new-comer Brooklyn Decker of Sports Illustrated fame. The rookie actress held her own playing the dumb blonde here and she could make a career of it, but lets hope her self esteem convinces her to try other career paths.

Just Go With It also stars Jennifer Aniston as Danny's endlessly loyal assistant Katherine, whom he finagles into posing as his soon to be ex-wife.

Naturally, the lie begins to roll out of control, and rather than just admitting the truth, simple as it may be, Danny is soon buying a weekend get away at a posh Hawaii resort for Palmer, Katherine, her two kids, and Danny's cousin Eddie (Nick Swardson, who as far as I could tell was only there for "comic" relief; his often unfunny character was a low point in the movie).

There are actually some laughs to be had in Just Go With It, which was a relief. Sandler's one liners and funny voices actually hit their mark more often than not, and Katherine's kids (named Kikidee and Bart by Danny) were also a comedic high point. Their smart milking of the situation was good for quite a few chuckles at least.

As promised by the trailer there is plenty of female flesh on display, which could be what pushed this film to a weekend box office victory over the Bieb. Having Decker come out of the water Ursula Andress style in a too-small bikini was a no brainer. But Aniston, at 41 years old, held her own in a later scene and was the more appealing female character throughout the film, making Danny look like even more of an idiot.

As mentioned earlier, amongst the low points of the film is Swarsdon's character who really just seems along for the ride. His incessant antics were mildly entertaining at best, and at one point I honestly hoped his character would be killed by a feral pig. Alas, no such luck.

The film has some stretches of poorly directed and edited exposition at its beginning, as well as some mistimed physical gags. The introduction of Palmer into Danny's life happens mind-numbingly fast even by romcom standards. However, the movie was saved by some good lines and a few well used cameos and small appearances.

At the end of the day, regardless of quality this film will break 100 million box office just because Sandler is in it. I'm ok with that, having learned to accept it as one of the immutable laws of Hollywood (along with biopic+big name= Oscar nomination). I only hope that audiences going to see it are ok with accepting the immutable laws of Adam Sandler; He will play a morally suspect man, learn a few lessons about love and honesty along the way, and there will be nut shots.

Attendance: 3/5
Crazy Fan Boy Factor: 0/5
Crowd Response: 3/5

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Production Value: 3/5
Humor: 3/5
Plot: 2/5
Best Running Gag: Plastic surgery gone wrong

Overall: 6/10