Like the won't-name-them-here fashion brand whose puerile "Be Stupid" ad campaign renders criticism obsolete - if the goal is brainlessness, then any complaint translates as congratulation for a job well done - the new Adam Sandler flick "Just Go With It" acknowledges its lack of merit up front and asks consumers to play along.
With that lazy title, director Dennis Dugan and company acknowledge they're not going to try: Just give us your 10 bucks and don't expect us to sell you on the ridiculous premise, to justify our century-old attitudes about women, to come up with a new joke during almost two hours.
Just do it. It's easier than trying to find a good movie at the mall this week, right?
Sandler plays a middle-age bachelor whose pickup routine (explained away by a story of youthful heartbreak) involves pretending to be married to a deranged, abusive woman. When he finally meets a blonde he deems to be fodder for more than a one-night stand (Brooklyn Decker), he persuades his employee Katherine (Jennifer Aniston) to pretend to be the wife so he can "divorce" her and start his life with the girl half his age.
The setup is complicated by obstacles ranging from the predictable (Aniston's children become enmeshed in the charade) to the inexplicable (Nick Swardson worms his way in, impersonating a German sheep merchant, evidently for no other reason than to add a second ridiculously fake accent to the film). And the show goes on the road, to Hawaii.
The lowest-common-denominator factor can be measured in crotch slams (two or three), bland remixes of Police and Sting songs (most of the soundtrack is dusted-off Sting) and poop gags (counting would only encourage them). While not as evil-spirited as the last Sandler/Dugan outing, "Grown Ups," the movie does sport the same inevitable whiplash-inducing shift, in which Sandler transforms from a lying skirt-chaser into a family man who finally sees the true love that has been in front of him all these years. All it takes, really, is for Aniston to strip to a bikini and do a little hula.
Fortunately, as with that "Be Stupid" slogan, "Just Go With It" does invite a no-effort, effective response: "No."
"Just Go With It"
Our grade: D+
Genre: Romantic Comedy
Running Time: 117 min
MPAA rating: PG-13
Release Date: Feb 11, 2011
About the Author
Keep Reading
The Latest
Featured
