A few years back, Adam Sandlers on-screen antics tended to polarise audiences. Some would clutch their sides as they watched him angrily belt the nose off a plastic clown with a golf club in Happy Gilmore, while others sat mirthlessly as he put newspaper down when his foster kid pissed the bed in Big Daddy.
Nowadays though, hes left his nuttier and more furious personas behind in favour of playing a middle-of-the-road everyman who just has a knack for scoring unfathomably hot women. As annoying as it is to watch Sandler beating the ladies off with a stick, the tone of his latest material is certainly less likely to grate on the nerves of those who found his older stuff unbearable. As such, we end up with these pretty inoffensive comedies that, while having a broader appeal, are bereft of the belly laughs that fans loved about his older stuff. For better or worse, Just Go With It is another of those knockabout comedies that wont bowl anybody over, but will kill a couple of hours on a Friday night and help to maintain the lifestyle to which Sandler is no doubt accustomed.
A remake of 60s Walter Matthau/Goldie Hawn vehicle Cactus Flower, Just Go With It sees Sandler playing a plastic surgeon named Danny who lands the girl of his dreams (Decker) by using a shoddy concoction of mistruths. Convincing his assistant (Aniston) to pretend to be his ex-wife to give the fib a bit of clout, everythings going well until things get out of control. Before we know it, hes off to Hawaii with his new girlfriend, his assistant and her kids in tow. Naturally mild amusement ensues and everything builds towards an ending that youll never see coming…unless youve seen any other rom-com, that is.
In all seriousness though, theres nothing particularly wrong with Just Go With It. Pretty much everybody plays their parts likeably (the exception being the daughter whos fake British twang is like fingernails down a chalkboard) and the pacing is steady in terms of gag frequency even if theyre not all comedy gold.
As for extras, the disc is actually pretty impressive as it loads on a handful of bits from the cutting floor, a pair of commentaries and a bunch of featurettes. Not a bad bunch of extras considering youre likely to have little to no inclination to go beneath the surface of the film in any way. Still, marks for effort on the bonus loot,
Overall Verdict: Exactly what you should expect an okay comedy that youll forget a couple of days afterwards. Nothing more, nothing less.
Special Features:
Commentary with Adam Sandler, Nick Swarsdon and The Filmmakers
Commentary with Director Dennis Dugan
Laughter is Contagious
Dolph-Not The One From Rocky IV
The Perfect Couple: Jen and Adam
Shooting Hawaii
Grand Wailea Promo
Reviewer: Jordan Brown