"Just Go with It"

Just Go with It - Directed by Dennis Dugan, written by Allan Loeb and Timothy Dowling, based on "Cactus Flower" by I.A.L. Diamond, starring Adam Sandler, Jennifer Aniston, Brooklyn Decker, Nick Swardson, and Nicole Kidman - Rated PG-13

Not bad, the Kurgan laughed enough to give it his blessing.

Just Go with It is Adam Sandler’s latest comedy about a lifelong bachelor, Danny, who wears a fake wedding ring to pick up young women (the film is a remake of 1969’s Cactus Flower). Things go smoothly for Danny until he makes a connection with Palmer (Brooklyn Decker). Danny has to make up a reason why he has a wedding ring if he wants to stay with Palmer, so he starts lying to her on a massive scale because all meaningful relationships are built on lies apparently. Danny, who is a very rich plastic surgeon, drags his receptionist/assistant Katherine (Jennifer Aniston) into the mix along with her two children. Of course, the lies get more and more complicated and hilarity ensues.

Well, some hilarity ensues. Just Go with It is harmless in its humor and it is a nice enough and forgettable comedy. The small touches of humor work well, like a note Sandler leaves a conquest thanking her for not beating him like his wife does. The more subdued humor that occurs in conversations in the film works best, while the bigger, louder attempts tend to fall flat. There are just too many crotch hits and Sandler’s goofy voice bit is wearing extremely thin.

The film is saved by its characters. Initially, it could be easy to hate Danny. He’s so well off he can just throw obscene amounts of money away without worry. He’s a habitual liar. He seems to mistreat people around him for his own amusement. But somehow Danny’s still likable. Perhaps it’s the people surrounding him, but by the end of the film it is very easy to root for all involved. If Just Go with It had been a heartless comedy it would have failed miserably. Thanks to the heart of the film, it survives as a passable, enjoyable comedy.

There are still problems with the film. First off, it’s about twenty minutes too long. At nearly two hours, the point was driven home far too many times. Not to spoil anything, but that point was a very obvious one. Just watch the trailer for this film then take a wild guess how it’s all going to work out; odds are you are correct. The plastic surgeon stuff was a bit weak as well. Botched plastic surgeries are not exactly fresh ground for comedy. The messed up boob jobs and ridiculous giant noses were just childish.

The above issues are only issues if you don’t dig the comedy of the film, so all of the gags might work for you. If you have liked Sandler’s most recent work, like Grown Ups, then you’ll probably like this one. But the other issue with the film isn’t comedy related, its character intelligence related. This may be a comedy about humorous lying, but the lies told in this film are just too stupid and ridiculous for anyone, even a character in a comedy, to believe. On top of that, let’s say Sandler’s plan works and Palmer believes he really has children and an ex-wife, how would he explain these kids away once he has her convinced. Is he just going to have sleepovers with somebody else’s children every other weekend for the next decade to really sell the lie? To be fair, he does say he is going to fake their deaths, but as deceitful as he is, it is doubtful that he would be willing to stage a fake funeral for two children.

Once again, this kind of stuff is forgivable because of the players involved. Sandler and Aniston work very well together and Decker does fine since all that’s required of her is to run around in a bikini (she’s good at that). Nick Swardson is amusing as Danny’s cousin who assumes a part in the lie parade: he’s Katherine’s new German sheep-shipping boyfriend Dolph Lundgren. It’s kind of a stupid character, but it was my kind of stupid.

Nicole Kidman inexplicably shows up in the second half of the film and is quite amusing as Aniston’s nemesis. It was just nice to see her in something light-hearted after last year’s deadly serious Rabbit Hole. The rest of the cast is rounded out by odd cameos. Dave Matthews is amusing as Kidman’s husband. Dan Patrick had a funny scene as a hula dance contest emcee, and Kevin Nealon made one of the sight gags of the film work better than the rest. There are more, but listing cameos kind of ruins the surprise of them. The only issue I really had with the casting was that most of the Sandler regulars (like Allen Covert) were relegated to cameos instead of supporting players.

Just Go with It isn’t going to go down as a comedy classic and plenty of people will flat out hate it, but it is just some harmless fun with a little bit of heart. Some of it may be stupid and absolutely ridiculous, but those problems are easily forgiven thanks to a likable cast that works very well together.

Random Thoughts (Spoilers)

Andy Roddick? Heidi Montag? I just found those cameos completely random. And I thought Roddick was Seann William Scott at first…not a big tennis fan.

Dave Matthews as a gay character is a strange running joke in Sandler movies. (He was a gay guy in I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry.) I wonder what the story is behind that.

The fake sheep was idiotic, but I’m a sucker for obvious fake animals/humans so I loved that scene.

Palmer believes that one of the kids is British? That is ridiculous, and the little girl’s accent was annoying.

After Grown Ups, I think Sandler just makes movies for his own personal enjoyment. Did this film need to be in Hawaii? I have a theory that Sandler just wants to get paid to party on the island.

It’s odd that the climax of the film (Danny leaving Palmer at the altar) isn’t shown, but rather is stated by Sandler. Oddly enough, this element of poor storytelling was refreshing because I didn’t feel like seeing the cheesy scene described by Sandler.

The soundtrack had a lot of Police covers. I would have rather heard actual Police songs, though.

I don’t know any plastic surgeons or anything, but my God, apparently they are multi-millionaires. The amount of money Sandler throws around in this film is sickening.

It is never really explained why there is a connection between Palmer and Danny aside from Danny flat out saying there is one. Not a big problem since it’s a forgettable comedy, but that kind of crap wouldn’t fly at all in a regular movie.

Sigh…oh how I wish Sandler would make a movie that is as funny as his comedy albums.

"Grown Ups"

Grown Ups - Directed by Dennis Dugan, written by Adam Sandler and Fred Wolf, starring Adam Sandler, Kevin James, Rob Schneider, David Spade, and Chris Rock - Rated PG-13

Grown Ups is simply boring and forgettable.

Adam Sandler has been a comedic favorite of mine since I was in grade school. I loved his comedy albums and his early movies like Billy Madison and Happy Gilmore. I guess you could say I grew up enjoying Adam Sandler’s comedy. It’s unfortunate, but now I think my sense of humor has grown up past Sandler’s. Or more accurately, his sense of humor has lost its edge.

On paper, Grown Ups sounds like a sure thing. It has Sandler, Chris Rock, Kevin James, Rob Schneider, David Spade, and a number of cameos. If all of these guys are in it, it has to be funny, right? Well…yes and no, mainly no.

Grown Ups can best be described as a family comedy (if the youngest child in your family is around 9-10, that is) and that was part of the problem for me. I’m not a family comedy kind of guy. I don’t recall enjoying the more innocent comedies even when I was young enough to be considered “innocent.” They’re just not my thing. If your idea of comedy involves playful (translation: bland) jabs between spouses and old friends, then you’ll probably like this one.

I call the jabs bland because it all seemed so forced. I thought, if anything, this film would realistically represent what a group of old friends could be like. For one thing, most of these guys actually are old friends in real life, but they couldn’t get that across onscreen, though. Instead, we get a group of guys playing it safe. What’s worse, they laugh at their own jokes, creating a strange kind of laugh track for the audience. There’s nothing worse for a comedy than a character laughing way too hard at a weak joke, trying to trick the audience into believing that they’ve just witnessed comedy. All that forced laughter just accentuates how unfunny it all is.

Grown Ups just isn’t all that funny. I want that to be clear before I point out a few positive comedic elements. Make no mistake, though, this film is a disappointment. It’s really hard not to laugh at least a few times during a comedy and this film did have a moment or two. The biggest laughs this film got out of me came from the supporting cast. I’m a sucker for a good cameo and this film has plenty of regulars from the Sandler movie universe. My personal favorite was Steve Buscemi. I don’t want to go into too many details because a good cameo is a bit of a surprise. Just know that if you watched SNL during Sandler’s time and you’ve seen his other films, a few familiar faces will crop up.

The fact that my favorite moments were cameos is a big problem. The main cast, who have all starred in their own comedies, should be the ones bringing the big laughs. The only one that I found consistently funny was Kevin James. This is strange because I’m not much of a Kevin James fan (the popularity of Paul Blart will forever confuse me). I enjoy a self-deprecating heavyset guy, though, and James is perfect for the part. He takes the fat jokes very well, and then he’s willing to dance around with an empty chicken bucket on his head.

Kevin James’ character is one note, just like the rest of the stars of the film, but his note was funny to me. It’s quite possible that someone may find Rock funny as the stay at home husband, or Spade as the single, aging ladies man, or Schneider as the new age idiot with the older wife. It all comes down to taste.

Sandler’s character is the only one that didn’t seem one note to me. He’s a successful (agent, producer, I couldn’t really tell) Hollywood man who has lapsed in the parenting department, leaving the job to a nanny. (His explanation for having a nanny around all the guys provided a few laughs for me.) He tries to set things right by forcing his kids to abandon technology for some old fashioned outdoor fun and this is where the film works. When Sandler looks around and sees what is happening to his family and friends, the film shows a pulse. It’s just a shame that the film didn’t focus more on that. If this film had been a comedy that took life and how things change over time a bit more seriously, then I am sure the laughs would be genuine and the movie itself would have had a lasting effect on me.

As it stands, though, this film focused more on some really clichéd and goofy comedic elements like a bad toupee, a farting grandma, a muscleman with a high pitched voice, etc. There was so much potential here, though. It’s a shame they went goofy and lame with it. But then again, I have a darker, more cynical sense of humor. If you like your humor extremely light (so light it’s almost nonexistent at times), then you may enjoy this one.

"Funny People"

Funny People - Directed by Judd Apatow, starring Adam Sandler, Seth Rogen, and Leslie Mann - Rated R

The evil Kurgan would've rather watched a comedy, but he'll settle for this dramedy.

Funny People, marketed as an Adam Sandler comedy "from the same director that brought you Knocked Up and The Forty-Year Old Virgin, is more of a drama than knee slapping comedy. That doesn't mean it's a bad movie. It just means that if you are going into this film expecting to laugh throughout the 146-minute runtime, then you are going to be very disappointed (as a few audience members at the showing I went to were). I can't really fault the movie for taking a serious tone, but I can fault the movie studio for trying to sell this as a complete comedy. Once I got past the idea that I was not supposed to laughing, I started to enjoy this heartfelt film.

The movie is about George Simmons (Sandler), a lonely comedian/movie star who finds out he is dying. George decides to start doing stand up comedy before he dies and he comes across a young talent, Ira (Seth Rogen), who he hires to write jokes, fetch Diet Cokes, drive him around, and talk him to sleep. Usually dying people does not equal comedy, and that doesn't change with this film. There are some depressing moments in this film as we see George undergo treatments and tests while trying to keep his disease a secret.

It's not all misery and death, though. This is still a movie about comedians. I'm particular about stand up comedy and I usually don't enjoy it, but some of the routines are quite funny in this. But fair warning: this film is rated R for a reason and all of the stand up jokes and pretty much every comedic element in the film is extremely dirty stuff. This is what makes the film a bit strange. One second you have a touching moment between George and his long lost love (Leslie Mann), the next there's a comedic bit about male reproductive organs (which is the movie's go to subject for comedy). I suppose this combination of R-rated comedy and straight forward drama worked for me, but I think it works only because of the characters and the actors.

Every character in this film is surprisingly realistic. George is not exactly a likable guy, but he's not over the top in his selfishness. Sandler does an excellent job of conveying misery in this film and he really proves that he's capable of being a dramatic actor (which I completely support, if Zohan is his idea of being funny). Seth Rogen continues to impress and it's great to see him play a character like Ira, who is gullible, friendly, and easily impressed, which is much different than Rogen's usually sarcastic and cynical characters. The supporting cast provides plenty of laughs. Jonah Hill is on familiar ground, but he's still funny. Jason Schwartzman is funny as a slightly famous sitcom star. Eric Bana has a few moments as an excitable Australian. And the celebrity cameos provide plenty of laughs from the likes of Andy Dick, Eminem, Ray Romano, Sarah Silverman, etc.

The laughs provided from the supporting cast are few and far between. But I think that the interactions between Sandler and Rogen make up for it. I was interested in how things would end up for everyone involved. If that interest isn't there, however, then you're going to find yourself yawning. This is quite a lengthy movie and even though it held my interest, I still felt that it was about twenty minutes too long. I've had this problem with other Apatow films as well. The man needs to learn how to trim the fat in the editing room.

Funny People isn't always funny (which is the ironic joke of the title), but it has realistic characters in serious, dramatic situations. That might not sound like what's expected in an Apatow movie, but if you can get past your expectations, and have a bit of patience, then you should enjoy this.

*I want to get into a SPOILER element that has been bothering me ever since I saw the first full trailer for this film. The trailer reveals that Adam Sandler's character gets better. At the time, I read that that wasn't exactly a spoiler and it happens relatively early in the film. While it's certainly not something that happens at the end of the film, I still think it was a bit ridiculous that they would put that plot element in the previews. I didn't check my watch or anything, but it seemed like Sandler's character didn't get better until the second half of the movie. But I watched for an hour or so just waiting for him to get better. I think that the dying plot element would have worked much better if I had gone into the movie thinking the entire film was about his struggle, then be surprised when he gets better and the movie keeps going. Maybe it's not a big deal, but I thought it was a mistake to give so much away in the preview for this.

I wanted to write a bit more about Sandler's character, well, his character's career, anyway. George makes idiotic movies like Merman, Re-do, My Best Friend Is a Robot, etc. I thought the posters were kind of funny, but I expected the clips they show in the movie to be funnier, but they all fell a little flat. Maybe it's because they all look like films that Sandler might actually make. I expected bigger laughs from the fake movies, though.

Oh, and I forgot to mention the other supporting stars of this film: T-shirts. It seems like every character in this film has an extensive collection of T-shirts referencing comedy, music, film, etc. and each shirt is featured prominently. Not a complaint or anything, it's just something that stuck out to me. Maybe it was because each T-shirt looked brand new. I don't know.