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Just Go with It

(2011) * 1/2 Pg-13
117 min. Columbia Pictures. Director: Dennis Dugan. Cast: Adam Sandler, Jennifer Aniston, Nicole Kidman, Nick Swardson, Dave Matthews, Kevin Nealon, Allen Covert, Griffin Gluck.

/content/films/3947/1.jpgThere are “movies with Adam Sandler in them,” and there are “Adam Sandler movies.” The former offer some hope of thoughtfulness and subtlety and style, while the latter strictly shoot for populism. Adam Sandler movies are for everyone! Unless you’re ugly, uncool, old, fat, gay, non-white or, heaven help you, all of the above. Adam Sandler movies are also, of course, critic-proof, though it’s hard not to read the title of the latest as some kind of a warning to my profession. Just Go with It implies that people just need to lighten up, ditch political correctness, and buy what Sandler’s hawking: a patent medicine formula of crass, classless humor and artificially sweetened, family-first romantic comedy. From an artistic standpoint, these elements mix as well as oil and water, but financially speaking, nothing succeeds like success, so what do I know?

Sandler’s sixth collaboration with repeat offen—err, director Dennis Dugan derives from an unlikely source: the 1969 comedy Cactus Flower with Walter Matthau, Ingrid Bergman and Goldie Hawn. Scripted by legendary Billy Wilder cohort I.A.L. Diamond (Some Like It Hot, The Apartment), Cactus Flower itself derived from a Broadway play based on a French farce. The 2011 version casts Sandler as successful plastic surgeon Danny, a cad with a heart of gold.

For a quarter-century, Danny has swindled women into his bed by flaunting a ring left over from an aborted wedding. A problem arises when Danny makes a love connection with Palmer (Brooklyn Decker), the hottest sixth-grade math teacher in recorded history. Caught with the ring, Danny doesn’t tell the simple lie of omission available to him, but rather fumbles his way into having to produce a wife he’s supposedly in the process of divorcing and, whoops, kids. Here, he relies on the good will of his assistant Katherine, a divorcée with two kids from Central Casting—err, her first marriage.

Matters get yet more picturesque—err, free vacation for cast and crew—err, complicated when another landslide of lies forces Danny to take Palmer, Katherine, the kids, and Danny’s cousin Eddie (Nick Swardson) to Hawaii. This is great news, not only for the Maui Chamber of Commerce but because it gets Sports Illustrated swimsuit model Decker under a waterfall in a scene that, well, hubba hubba. These Adam Sandler movies aren’t above any appeal to the red-blooded American male: they stoop to conquer.

For the ladies, there’s the growing realization between Danny and Katherine that they mean everything to each other, as well as a subplot about a years-long competition between Katherine and “frenemy” Devlin (Nicole Kidman). Yes, Kidman is so desperate to appear in a box office hit that she will engage in the strange spectacle of nuzzling with Dave Matthews and the stranger one of a hula competition with Jennifer Aniston, emceed by sportscaster Dan Patrick.

Like all Adam Sandler movies, Just Go with It profitably taps into a juvenile energy, but the trade-off is rancid racial stereotyping, loud product placement, and a cruel determination to laugh at people rather than with them. It all amounts not so much to romance or comedy as to the most strained of twentieth century farce.

[This review first appeared in Palo Alto Weekly.]

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Bluray

Aspect ratios: 1.85:1

Number of discs: 1

Audio: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1

Street date: 6/7/2011

Distributor: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment

The bright and colorful Just Go With It gets a bright and colorful Blu-ray from Sony: as expected, the image is clean, crystal-clear, and nicely detailed, with palpable texture and excellent contrast. Much of the film takes place under bright sunlight (and it's all been color-corrected to unreal perfection), so this film is pretty much made to shine on Blu-ray. Likewise, the film gets the customary DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 treatment, which ably brings the theatrical audio experience home with clear dialogue and substantial ambient immersion.

Plenty of bonus features add up on this disc, all in HD and many of them exclusive to Blu-ray. For starters, there's a playfully loose audio commentary with Adam Sandler, Nick Swardson and the filmmakers., as well as an audio commentary with director Dennis Dugan.

"Laughter is Contagious" (4:39, HD) is the blooper reel, and we get sixteen "Deleted Scenes" (16:57, HD).

The Blu-exclusive "Adon Living in Plastic" (2:30, HD) finds Kevin Nealon showing off his plastic surgery makeup in Rodeo Drive boutiques.

The Blu-exclusive "Along Came a Prop Guy" (2:53, HD) observes as the prop guy pranks the crew, while the Blu-exclusive "Decker’s Got Gas" (2:19, HD) similarly witnesses a prank by Decker Brooklyn.

"Dolph—Not the One From Rocky IV" (6:11, HD) focuses on Swardson and his character.

The Blu-exclusive "Kevin Nealon: The Plastic Man" (5:31, HD) records Nealon's make-up ordeal.

The Blu-exclusive "What’s a Dugan?" (5:27, HD) gathers cast comments about the director.

Next up is the Blu-exclusive "Look Who Else Is In the Movie" (2:40, HD). That'd be Rachel Dratch, Heidi Montag and Dan Patrick. The Blu-exclusive "Sneaky Kiki & Bart the Water Fart" (1:31, HD) checks in with Balee Madison and Griffin Gluck.

"The Perfect Couple: Jen & Adam" (5:51, HD) gets the cast on record about the stars, while the Blu-exclusive "The Not So Perfect Couple" (5:52) looks at Nicole Kidman and Dave Matthews.

In the Blu-exclusive "Decker’s First Role" (4:20, HD), Decker Brooklyn talks about her screen debut.

"Shooting Hawaii" (5:35, HD), not surprisingly, discusses the joys of shooting on location...in Hawaii, and rounding out the disc is a "Grand Wailea Promo" (7:08, HD).

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Review gear:
Panasonic Viera TC-P55VT30 55" Plasma 1080p 3D HDTV
Oppo BDP-93 Universal Network 3D Blu-ray Disc Player
Denon AVR2112CI Integrated Network A/V Surround Receiver
Pioneer SP-BS41-LR Bookshelf Speaker (2)
Pioneer SP-C21 Center Speaker
Pioneer SW-8 Subwoofer

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