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Just Go With It
| Released |
11 February 2011 |
| Director |
Dennis Dugan |
Starring
|
Adam Sandler, Jennifer Aniston, Nicole Kidman |
| Writer(s) |
Timothy Dowling, Allan Loeb |
Producer(s)
|
Jack Giarraputo, Heather Perry, Adam Sandler |
| Origin |
United States |
| Running Time |
117 minutes |
| Genre |
Comedy, romance |
| Rating |
12A |
|
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Just go away.
Hollywood giveth and Hollywood taketh away. On the one hand the cinema is full of noble, conquering heroes; the kind of men you’d be proud to count among your number. Then on the other end of the scale, is the romantic comedy; a genre which has, for the last few years, seemed set to show men at their very worst. There has been a non-stop conveyor belt of philandering, charmless misogynists who we are not only supposed to find funny (they rarely are) but root for them to get together with female counterparts who are frankly too good for them.
The latest example is Danny (Adam Sandler) “hero” of Just Go With It (directed by Denis Dugan). Danny is a despicable liar whose tactic for wooing the ladies is to wear a wedding ring and gain their sympathy by describing his fictional, abusive marriage- a system which frankly seems superfluous considering he’s a successful plastic surgeon living in California. As also seems to be a trend in these films, Danny has trouble running his own life; enter Katherine (Jennifer Aniston), the reliable female assistant who stands by this shallow pig claiming he has a heart of gold. He doesn’t.
As evidence, here is how the plot unfolds- Danny meets a beautiful girl sans wedding ring. Things go well until she discovers it in his pocket and he comes up with the story that he is in the middle of a divorce. Bribed by some free designer clothing (so we can have a nice transformation shot), trusty Katherine steps in to play the ex wife. Lies compound upon lies until eventually the whole crowd end up on holiday together in Hawaii (don’t ask) accompanied by Katherine’s kids and Danny’s zany best friend.
Sandler remains a banner name for a film release but increasingly he seems content to lay back almost in the position of the straight man. Any laughs there are in the film (and there are but few) come from secondary characters- the bizarre cameo from Nicole Kidman and Dave Matthews as a rival couple was enough to raise a chuckle, while the pratfalls of Danny’s best friend were silly in a Happy Gilmore kind of way. Neither Sandler nor Aniston flex their comedic muscles and the pair have no romantic chemistry between them making their attempts at banter (some of which seems to be improvised) as funny as the grave.
Unless you found Grown Ups or Couples Retreat (which this bears an unpleasant similarity to) the pinnacle of comedic achievement -I hope you didn’t- save your time and steer well clear.
Linda O’Brien |
