Movie Review: ‘Just Go With It’

The best thing about the new Adam Sandler movie, “Just Go With It,” is the title. The name of the film serves to implore its audience to suffer through the slapstick monotony that it relies on. The weak comedy raked in a respectable $30.5 million in its opening weekend, which was thankfully more than Justin Bieber’s ridiculous documentary “Never Say Never.” However, it completely failed to impress me in any way, save one.

Any man’s first glance at Brooklyn Decker immediately identifies the sole saving grace of “Just Go With It.” She is undoubtedly gorgeous, but even she cannot make sitting through the feeble plot bearable.

The plot of “Just Go With It” revolves around Danny (Sandler), who commonly uses a wedding band to pick up loose women. But (surprise, surprise) it comes back to bite him when he finds a beautiful woman, Palmer (Decker), that he becomes interested in further than a sexual relationship. The movie presents a deep relationship between the two based on meeting each other for one night, and of course, sleeping together that night too. So much for the antiquated idea of romantic courtship.

When Palmer finds Danny’s ring, she becomes suspicious of his marital status. So, Danny sets up an elaborate and ridiculous web of lies to continually appease her. Danny has his assistant Katherine (Jennifer Anniston) and her children help support his masochistic practice of lying to Palmer. But, if you have seen any of the 30-second TV spot for the movie, you already understand the whole plot – it really doesn’t deviate from its simplistic plot.

The movie signed on Nick Swardson and his stupid brand of slapstick humor to make sure Sandler’s newest movie had enough nut shots and awkward sexual innuendo to fulfill the quota for the remainder of the awful comedies coming up in 2011.

Also, it pained me to see one of my personal heroes, Dave Matthews, in another half-baked Happy Madison movie. His character, though exhibiting many of the traces of Matthew’s charismatic personality, would be much better suited for an intelligent comedy.

Hopefully the impact of this movie will be its nail in the coffin of Adam Sandler’s dwindling popularity. I can’t deny the comedic power of his classics like “Big Daddy” or “Happy Gilmore,” stupid though they may be. But, Sandler has not starred in a half-decent movie since “Anger Management” – and that’s still pushing it. It’s time for him to take a step back and work on his producing career and stay of the silver screen.

What truly pains me is that this sort of movie is what Hollywood expects that America wants on Valentine’s Day. The timing of the release of “Just Go With It” was no mistake, and it disgusts me that it is being passed off as romantic. After all, at no point during the movie does it suggest that lying to women to get them in your bed is a bad policy. Even after his structure of lies completely falls apart in the movie, Danny doesn’t experience any negative consequences. Dispicable.

The bottom line: Though the Milledgeville economy would certainly love for you to spend more of your money in the city, I implore you to stay away from “Just Go With It.” It’s not worth the ticket price, it’s not worth the time spent, and it certainly is not a true romantic comedy.

Grade: F