Blended (C- or 2/4 stars)
I enjoyed Adam Sandler & Drew Barrymore in 1998's The Wedding Singer. I loved them in 2004's 50 First Dates. And now with 'Blended' (directed by Frank Coraci) ... I don't love them as much, haha. Truth be told, they're fine together but, the movie around them ... eek. The story starts with a disastrous blind date at Hooters {of all places} btwn. divorced, stressed single mom, Lauren (Drew Barrymore), & slovenly widower dad, Jim (Adam Sandler). After conveniently bumping into each other 2 more times, they both get news that changes the course of their lives: Lauren's BFF, Jen (Wendi McLendon-Covey), has broken up with Jim's boss, Dick (owner of Dick's Sporting Goods ... of course), leaving an all-inclusive vacation to South Africa up for grabs.
Both Lauren & Jim pay for 1/2 the trip without knowing that the other will be there! SO contrived. Moving on. At the beautiful resort, Jim & his three tomboy-ish daughters and Lauren & her hormone-raging pre-teen/teen sons realize that it's actually a special week for "blended" family honeymoons, & they'll have to share the same suite and spend the entire trip together -- oh, no! Among the other vacationers in the plot are characters played by SNL's Kevin Nealon, Abdoulaye N'gom as the resort's social director, & Terry Crews as our own personal Greek Chorus. As the week ensues, both Lauren & Jim help each other with their kids & discover that they have actually more in common than they initially thought. All sorts of tame & LAME hijinks ensue.
'Blended' is predictable drivel. The only real energy jumping off the screen comes from a humorous Terry Crews as the African resort's goofy, muscular, colorfully-dressed singer. Kevin Nealon & his bouncy trophy wife played by Jessica Lowe mildly amuse as the resort's non-stop, sexed-up newlyweds. And a few of the 5 child actors managed to bring a smile to my face for various reasons. i.e., Sandler's mousy, red-haired daughter who Drew Barrymore fixes up to look more feminine; Barrymore's ADHD little boy; and her mid-puberty older son who has a thing for porn magazines & his babysitter, haha.
Barrymore & Sandler clearly love working together, but the charming chemistry that they shared in their previous collaborations isn't as palpable, here. It's a little forced, to be honest {sad face}. Now, they have some moments where their 'opposites attract' shtick is kinda cute and, there are some nice romantic touches, but most of this movie is SO forgettable, SO by-the-numbers, & SO unfunny (Sandler & crew resorting to the usual string of masturbation jokes) to bear much further thought on it. It's cartoonishly directed. The editing is off (mismatched shots, poor choice of reaction shots). The wildlife scenes in Africa have a 'been there, done that' feel to them (juvenile Africa jokes, humping rhinos, an ostrich race, etc.). Even the cinematography is ugly (has a tinny look) -- it's tough to make Africa look so-so. Simply put, while 'Blended' is innocuous enough as family entertainment, this Sandler/Barrymore reunion has NONE of the magic of their previous movies.
Both Lauren & Jim pay for 1/2 the trip without knowing that the other will be there! SO contrived. Moving on. At the beautiful resort, Jim & his three tomboy-ish daughters and Lauren & her hormone-raging pre-teen/teen sons realize that it's actually a special week for "blended" family honeymoons, & they'll have to share the same suite and spend the entire trip together -- oh, no! Among the other vacationers in the plot are characters played by SNL's Kevin Nealon, Abdoulaye N'gom as the resort's social director, & Terry Crews as our own personal Greek Chorus. As the week ensues, both Lauren & Jim help each other with their kids & discover that they have actually more in common than they initially thought. All sorts of tame & LAME hijinks ensue.
'Blended' is predictable drivel. The only real energy jumping off the screen comes from a humorous Terry Crews as the African resort's goofy, muscular, colorfully-dressed singer. Kevin Nealon & his bouncy trophy wife played by Jessica Lowe mildly amuse as the resort's non-stop, sexed-up newlyweds. And a few of the 5 child actors managed to bring a smile to my face for various reasons. i.e., Sandler's mousy, red-haired daughter who Drew Barrymore fixes up to look more feminine; Barrymore's ADHD little boy; and her mid-puberty older son who has a thing for porn magazines & his babysitter, haha.
Barrymore & Sandler clearly love working together, but the charming chemistry that they shared in their previous collaborations isn't as palpable, here. It's a little forced, to be honest {sad face}. Now, they have some moments where their 'opposites attract' shtick is kinda cute and, there are some nice romantic touches, but most of this movie is SO forgettable, SO by-the-numbers, & SO unfunny (Sandler & crew resorting to the usual string of masturbation jokes) to bear much further thought on it. It's cartoonishly directed. The editing is off (mismatched shots, poor choice of reaction shots). The wildlife scenes in Africa have a 'been there, done that' feel to them (juvenile Africa jokes, humping rhinos, an ostrich race, etc.). Even the cinematography is ugly (has a tinny look) -- it's tough to make Africa look so-so. Simply put, while 'Blended' is innocuous enough as family entertainment, this Sandler/Barrymore reunion has NONE of the magic of their previous movies.