Just Go With It. A Review.

Apparently I’m a film snob. I really didn’t think I was, but when my girlfriend suggested we watch the Adam Sandler film Just Go With It, I pulled this face…. 

…she may be onto something. Then when I decided to start reviewing films, she suggested I review JGWI, and after pulling the face again, I agreed. So here goes. 

JGWI is a remake of the 1969 film Cactus Flower, which itself was a remake of a Broadway show based on a french play. I must admit I have not seen any of these previous iterations, so I can’t comment on the integrity of the remake,JGWI was a fresh film for me. The plot itself does not break any rom-com moulds, wealthy plastic surgeon and commitment-phobe Danny (Sandler) falls for a beautiful younger woman Palmer (Brooklyn Decker) and through a series of predictably unpredictable mistakes and (large) white lies he must convince his secretary and her children to pretend to be his estranged family. Through further plot contrivances the action is transported to Hawaii with Danny’s oddball cousin in tow now playing the secretary’s new man. If this all sounds complicated, it isn’t. Suffice it to say the plot plays out pretty much as expected, forcing Sandler and co to construct greater and more farcical fallacies. 

So there I was, (fresh from rewatching Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight and smiling to myself in my film snob way as I enjoyed Heath Ledger’s blistering performance and Wally Pfister’s meticulous cinematography), confronted with Adam Sandler pretending that gorgeous Jennifer Anniston is his wife so that gorgeous Brooklyn Decker wouldn’t think he was a creep on the gorgeous island of Hawaii, and for some reason I wasn’t annoyed. Could it be that I’m not the film snob I’m reported to be?

Perhaps I wasn’t annoyed because of the performances. Danny the plastic surgeon is not the most challenging role Sandler has ever played, and at the start of the film I was yearning for Robbie the Wedding Singer and Bobby the Waterboy, however as the film progressed I began to find I didn’t mind the company of Danny. Sure he is no great departure from most of Sandler’s more recent on screen roles, but Sandler is likable on screen. His sarcastic comments delivered with half a wink to camera are generally harmless, Danny is a safe pair of hands comedy-wise, not reinventing the wheel but delivering the goods. 

Anniston manages to act away her good looks for the first ten minutes, she is genuinely believable as a harassed single mother and the secretary who the office would fall apart without. Her chemistry with Sandler is at its best in a platonic way, the two have actually been friends for a long time off-screen and this shows as they rib each other in the way coworkers do. Despite its ample running time, the film does not give Anniston many scenes with the children to show her ability to play the mother, however we can take it as read that she really cares for them - certainly enough to have forsaken any romantic life. In terms of comedy, there aren’t many actors with better credentials than Anniston. She more than holds her own against the other seasoned comics in the cast, and I found myself rooting for her in her dance-off with old school rival Nicole Kidman. Kidman is slightly wasted in a role that demands little, however she admirably ignored pride for her dance-off, making enjoyable watching

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Nick Swardon strayed the closest to irritating as Danny’s slacker cousin Eddie. Like almost every role in JGWI it is a part we have seen before. Swardon effects a germanic accent and takes most of the pratfalls in the film with a hit or miss ratio of around 50/50, the sequence involving the sheep best demonstrates this as it will have some in stitches and others bemused. It seems as though Sandler has decided to dedicate some of the more humiliating jokes to other actors when in years past he would have got stuck in himself, this can be a little frustrating as the supposed star coasts along in his own star vehicle. In the past costars have said Sandler is in control of nearly every aspect of production with an eye for detail, I just wish he would leave this to the producers and have a bit more fun on screen. 

Brooklyn Decker is on good form as Sandler’s siren Palmer. Palmer is  a twenty-something family-orientated teacher from North Carolina who’s interests involve NSYNC and children, Decker performs this with all the depth she can muster but is served a lean meal by the script. An alumni of Ugly Betty and The League, Decker surely possesses the comedic chops to make a more lasting impression, she is just not given the scope to do so.

The cast members that most impress are, as is so often the case, the youngsters. Bailee Madison and Griffin Gluck steal every scene they are in as Anniston’s mischievous offspring, and they bring out the best in Sandler as he is forced to be down with the kids! 

So the cast all carry the film of as frothy fun, and they are well served by direction and cinematography. Frequent Sandler collaborators Dennis Dugan and Theo van de Sande deliver postcard style visuals of sun kissed LA and Hawaii, but do not challenge. Special mention goes to Rupert Gregson-Williams for medley of Snow Patrol and The Police, which made me sit up and pay a bit more attention to the sad montage. 

Overall, Just Go With It is a mainstream pleaser that should have driven this supposed film snob crazy, only it didn’t. I was happy to sit and watch as Sandler and Co delivered exactly what I expected in a way that comforted like saturday morning television. As a romance it isn’t as bold as 50 First Dates, as a comedy it doesn’t crack ribs like Happy Gilmore, and it is little more than the sum of its parts. However the hollywood sheen hasn’t worn off yet, and I for one found myself choosing to join. 

WHO: Bailee Madison and Griffin Gluck show the adults how to get a laugh

WHAT: The prosthetic sheep. Yep. 

WHY: Because Sandler is a safe pair of hands to get you through with a bottle of wine.

WHEN: It’s raining outside and you want to imagine you live in Hawaii.

Kings of Summer. A Review

I tried to run away from home once. I got as far as the backdoor, the contents of my backpack totalling two clean pairs of underwear and a pack of biscuits. Joe Toy goes a step of two further in Kings of Summer, culminating in an intense moment where Joe sits backed up against the wall of his makeshift cabin in the woods, having the staring contest of a lifetime with a copperhead snake. As he gazes into cold-blooded reptilian eyes it is as though he is staring into the inevitable - growing up.

Joe (Nick Robinson) is something of a maverick with mischief and has convinced his friends to  build a cabin in the woods, the goal to become their own masters. It is the ultimate childhood fantasy; to escape the cloying suburbs and become one with nature, and the boys follow through with all the recklessness that childhood can afford. Much of the conflict in the film comes from the point of view of concerned friends and parents, while the boys live guilt free in the woods, playing at being men but in many ways missing the point.

It is a skillful script and a wonderful performance that makes the essentially bratty Joe a delight to spend an hour and a half with. His mannerisms and delivery of witty remarks sometimes make him seem like the lone sane person in a mad world, and his decision to live in the woods begins to seem logical as the narrative unfolds. Joe is so charming that if he asked me to help him with a zany scheme - I would have a hard time saying no. Nick Robinson summons this charm with ease and is very watchable.

Robinson is ably supported by a remarkable cast, all of whom inhabit their roles with ease.

The children carry the film, with Joe’s stoic friend Patrick (Gabriel Basso) quietly providing a rock for the audience to latch on to. Often the role of straight man is a thankless task, but here it is performed so well that Basso wins the audience over, he is the heart of the group to Joe’s mind, and without him things begin to unravel.

The object of Joe’s affections is the beautiful Kelly (Erin Moriarty). In his mind she is like an ethereal goddess, appearing in vignettes that could be a photo shoot for Vogue. It is a relief then that Moriarty more than holds her own, and delivers a very human performance, she is not the perfect girl that Joe imagines, she is much more. Kelly teaches Joe a very painful lesson in love, and it forces him to grow up in a way he was not expecting.

The most risky performance comes from oddball Biaggio (Moises Arias). While he provides many of the films biggest laughs, he is certainly an acquired taste. It is to Arias’ credit then that despite his comic relief role, he constantly hints at something deeper. While we are explicitly shown why Joe and Patrick choose to run away, we are left to guess at what Biaggio is escaping.

The adult cast all do a good job of rounding out the story without stealing focus from the children. Nick Offerman gives a particularly strong performance as Joe’s Dad Frank, a bruised widow who turns his grief outwards by becoming bitter and sarcastic. At the same time he is relatable, I found myself rooting for him - especially in his tirade against an infuriating delivery boy. If there is a weak link it is Patrick’s cloying parents played by Megan Mullally and Mark Evan Jackson. The stepfordian perfection of their American dream existence is outright creepy, and we are not surprised to hear the mother utter racist slander at the hapless police. When compared to the depth of Offerman’s performance, the robotic pair seem not fleshed out enough. This is a minor gripe as both parts are well played and it is certainly understandable why Patrick chooses to run away.

Ross Riege’s cinematography is gorgeous to look at. There are particularly neat tricks using focus pulls to change location, and visual stings that would put national geographic to shame. The woods themselves are a character, a beautiful environment of dappled sunlight and golden green, but also a hostile obstacle for the boys to surmount.Jordan Vogt-Roberts’ direction is masterful. It plays the right side if indie and rarely strays the wrong side of quirky. Particular highlights are the opening shot of the boys drumming on an industrial pipe, and the two games of monopoly played out with al the tension of a game of Russian Roulette. He gets strong performances out of his cast, and keeps the tone of the film light overall, even the darker moments playing out like the painful moments of adolescence they are rather than becoming melodramatic.

The film is not without missteps. One particular sequence involves Joe’s fantasy daydream of dueling his father to save his maiden fair. The sequence feels as though it was lifted from Scott Pilgrim vs The World, which is a fine film but tonally not in step with Kings of summer. Also a couple of remarks from the film’s wildcard Biaggio illicit  afterwards, they are not lingered on as the film moves along at a breathless pace.

Overall, Kings of Summer is a joy to watch. It captures so well that awkward age between adolescence and adulthood, and does so while being hugely entertaining. The cast are charming and a delight to watch, and the script gives even secondary parts a chance to shine. Visually Summer is a treat with enough flourishes of its own invention that it doesn’t look like a collection of sepia Instagram snaps. Kings of Summer manages a fine balancing act, being all about growing up, but letting the audience decide what that really means. 

WHO: Nick Robinson gives an assured and promising performance

WHAT: The cabin is a delightful piece of set.

WHY: An uplifting and joyous film

WHEN: As soon as possible!

(Art from: http://www.movieweb.com/giveaway-win-four-the-kings-of-summer-alternate-posters)