Adam Sandler continues to reign at the box office as the king of comedy films. “Just Go with It” mixes laughs with drama, as well as touching moments, while still supplying a film that appeals to both men and women. The film is based on the 1969 film, “Cactus Flower,” which was adapted from an earlier Broadway stage play. This is Sandler’s fourth romantic comedy along with “The Wedding Singer,” “Punch-Drunk Love” and “50 First Dates.” It is directed by Dennis Dugan, who directed some of Sandler’s previous films, and was produced by Sandler himself.
The film also stars the lovely Jennifer Aniston who has also had her fair share of romantic comedies under her belt including “Along Came Polly,” “The Break-up,” “He’s Just Not That into You” and “The Switch.” The film also supplies an appealing supporting cast that includes Sports Illustrated model Brooklyn Decker, Dave Matthews (the singer), Nick Swardson (”Grandma’s Boy”), and Nicole Kidman.
In the film, Sandler plays Danny, a bachelor who pretends to be unhappily married to get sympathy from women. While at a party one night, he meets a woman, Palmer (Decker), who he actually falls for. She ends up finding his fake wedding ring, but Danny cannot explain himself and she wants nothing to do with him. Not wanting to lose his chance with her, Danny has his friend/secretary Katherine (Aniston) pretend to be his wife that he is divorcing and meet with Palmer. Things get worse when Katherine is talking on the phone to her kids, and Palmer thinks that Danny has kids and wants to meet them as well. Now Danny must involve Katherine’s kids into his lie which will eventually create an even larger web of lies that Danny tries to keep from unraveling.
“Just Go with It” is relatively better than most romantic comedies because Sandler and Aniston are as appealing as ever with their warmth and sweetness. Aniston even improves Sandler’s performance. However, as appealing as the cast may be, this film is nothing special and doesn’t do anything too different from previous clichéd romantic comedies. The film starts out with laughs and they stay pretty consistent throughout the film, which is a step up from most comedies. Sandler and Aniston’s characters show decent on-screen chemistry and you can’t help but like them. The supporting cast does not do justice for the film. They are rather irritating and obnoxious, but on the other hand that’s exactly how their characters are supposed to be.
The characters are anything but boring, and in their own ridiculous ways, add a faint glow of worth. This occurs especially when Katherine runs into her old competitive sorority sister, Devlin (Kidman), along with her hare-brained husband (Matthews). Kidman’s role of the snotty and competitive old friend adds a few laughs, while giving some relief from other characters. Newcomer Decker delivers an adequate performance for her role, looking bubbly and smoking hot in the process.
The film does get a little ridiculous at it progresses and eventually begins to veer into the usual slapstick humor required of just about all Sandler films, but stays a mark above those. “Just Go with It” isn’t the best or the worst romantic comedy from Sandler. While offering enough laughs and pleasure, it is still a bit of a cookie cutter film. Though it’s filled with problems, it does have its moments of entertainment and is worth a shot next time at the box office if you choose to go with it.
Anthony Santiago can be reached at [email protected].
