Jennifer Aniston (Friends) and Adam Sandler (Grown Ups) have paired up on-screen for the new comedy, Just Go With It, directed by Dennis Dugan (I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry, You Don’t Mess With the Zohan, Grown Ups and the upcoming Jack and Jill). Just by the previous sentence, I really wasn’t looking forward to this movie, but I was pleasantly surprised and entertained.
(Warning: I’m going to give away a little more detail than the trailer, just to give this movie a chance.) Danny (Adam Sandler) had his heart broken the day of his wedding and discovers that he is able to play the field much easier by using his wedding ring to attract and “date” women. At a party, after removing his wedding ring to wash his hands, he meets Palmer (Sports Illustrated Swimsuit model, Brooklyn Decker) and the two spend a romantic evening on the beach. She discovers the wedding ring the next morning and promptly tells him she never wants to see him again. Danny really likes this girl, so to avoid telling her that he uses the wedding ring to attract women, he tells her he is married, but getting a divorce. Uh oh, now Palmer wants to meet the soon to be ex-wife. Enter Jennifer Aniston who plays Danny’s office assistant, Katherine.
I came out of the movie trying to figure out why it wasn’t so terrible. I think I have the answer. Jennifer Aniston. I like her. The chemistry between her and Sandler was fantastic and really kept the movie from being another stupid slapstick comedy. She really grounded the film and was genuinely funny. Brooklyn Decker, on the other hand, was basically a pretty face/body. Her character started out really interesting and well-rounded, but by the end she was reduced to an ‘N Sync loving teeny-bopper. That was very disappointing.
I was happy to see Sandler playing a real person and not just a silly stupid character. Danny is a plastic surgeon and besides the stupidity of the wedding ring thing, is quite funny and charming. Nick Swardson, although really over-the-top in places, was a fun addition. The children were also quite good, bringing real emotion to scenes that were unexpected.
Nicole Kidman turns up as Katherine’s college “frenemy” Devlin, along with her husband, Ian, oddly played by Dave Matthews (who was surprisingly really good until the end). It was really fun to see Nicole Kidman in this role and she seemed to really enjoy playing it as well.
Although the story is quite contrived, Aniston, Sandler & Co pull it off through the stringing together of funny moments and great on-screen chemistry. The humor is pretty standard and generic, but when you strip it down, it’s an enjoyable story with a good cast. In the end, you can almost imagine it actually happening in real life…almost.
Rating: Just Go With It, I think you’ll be surprised.
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