Just Go With It (Sony Pictures)
The Perfect Valentine Movie
Adam Sandler is on a roll with his audiences. The critics may not have loved Grown Ups but his fans did, and now the critics may not like his new romantic comedy Just Go With It but his fans will eat it up. The grown up Sandler still knows how to be funny but his warmth adds an extra spark. This is the perfect date movie for the Valentine season.
Sandler is Danny, a successful plastic surgeon who knows how to make time with the women. He does it by pretending to be married. For some reason, as an abused and/or misunderstood husband he is totally appealing to single hot girls. When he meets Palmer (Brooklyn Decker) he is completely taken by her but she is furious when she discovers his wedding band. In response he creates a complex ruse in which he says he is in the process of divorcing his wife,
When Palmer asks to meet his soon to be ex-wife he convinces his assistant Katherine (Aniston) to pretend to be her. When the two women meet things get even more complicated as Palmer learns Katherine has children and thinks they are Dannys. Eventually Palmer, Katherine, Danny, her two kids, and Dannys best friend Eddie (Nick Swardson) go to Hawaii on vacation together. Yes, I know it sounds silly but somehow it works in the context of the film.
In this role in this film Sandler gets to be subtle in his comedy. He and Aniston have a warm on screen chemistry and their remarks back and forth are the best laughs in the movie. Swardson gets to do most of the physical comedy and he is a welcome addition.
Anistons two kids, Maggie (Bailee Madison) and Michael (Griffin Gluck) also get their share of laughs. Then there is an unexpected cameo by Nicole Kidman as an old enemy of sorts of Katherine. Kidmans appearance in the film is a surprise and she nearly steals the film. She is totally eccentric in an offbeat role. Decker is out of her league with this cast but she makes the perfect dream girl for Danny.
The film is rated PG-13 for profanity and sexual situations.
There is a new maturity to Sandlers movies and he still has a huge fan base. They have made the transition with him from goofy young guy to more mature married man. He still has a tendency to include some bathroom humor but he has tamped it down a good bit. Now the humor comes from the relationships he enjoys on screen.
If you want a romantic comedy that is not of the Judd Apatow type then sign up for this one with Sandler and Aniston. Sandler is at his comic best while Aniston has her best role in ages. She and Sandler play well off each other and the audience is the beneficiary of their rapport.
I scored Just Go With It a gone 7 out of 10.
