Day 157: The Do-Over (2016)

I was at one point a huge fan of Adam Sandler films like Billy Madison, Happy Gilmore, The Waterboy, etc. Then there was a period of time where I could care less, but today’s film, the Netflix Original Film, The Do-Over, had enough buzz that I had to watch. Charlie (David Spade) is a bank manager of a bank in a supermarket who sort of lives a crappy life with a wife who doesn’t care about him and her crappy kids. An old friend Max (Sandler) offers Charlie a do-over by faking their own deaths and assuming new identities. The only problem is that the identities they take over have problems of their own that Max and Charlie may not be able to handle on their own. What are the duo to do now that they are being targeted for death? The film also stars Paula Patton (Deja Vu) as Heather, Kathryn Hahn (We’re The Millers) as Becca, Nick Swardson (I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry) as Bob, Matt Walsh (The Hangover) as Shecky, Renée Taylor (The Nanny) as Mrs. Kessler, Luiz Guzman (Boogie Nights) as Jorge the shooter boy, Catherine Bell (Bruce Almighty) as Dawn, Torsten Voges (Funny People) as The Gymnast, and the film was directed by Steven Brill (Walk of Shame).

This honestly has to be one of the best Adam Sandler movies in a very long time even though I was a huge fan of That’s My Boy. At first, I was trying to figure out what kind of movie were they going to present to us because it could have gone any way. They could have given us an all out party fest of two guys enjoying their new identities, but I think they went the right way because it kind of kept you guessing. There were a couple of twists and turns that I thought were clever, but at the same time I should have seen them coming. Now, I am not taking anything away from the film by saying that because it was actually enjoyable to watch. David Spade acted like he never lost a step and Sandler added some machismo to his comedy in this film being the bad ass action Jackson type. This was film number two of six I believe for Adam Sandler and his Netflix deal and they get better by the film and you can only hope that it continues with the next. One of the funniest scenes in the film comes courtesy of Luiz Guzman and I won’t spoil it for you, but I couldn’t stop laughing. Seeing Luiz in this film was one of the smartest moves the casting director made because he is hilarious. There are some great shots of the island of Puerto Rico in the film as well as some other cool shots of Georgia. The film is available on Netflix of course and I think you should check it out. I am going to give the film an B+ for a final grade because it’s not the best Sandler film ever, but it’s up there.

Day 119: Hotel Transylvania 2 (2015)

For today I chose a film from Adam Sandler (Happy Gilmore) because the first film in the Hotel Transylvania series was very good despite what people may be saying about his career. When I saw that Netflix had Hotel Transylvania 2 available to watch, I took the shot and it’s todays’ film. The film starts off with Mavis (Selena Gomez) and Jonathan (Andy Samberg) getting married and that follows with them having their first child Dennis (Asher Blinkoff). Dracula (Sandler) is having a hard time with the idea that his new grandson could be a human and not a monster. It’s gotten to the point that Mavis and Johnny are thinking about moving away to give Dennis a normal upbringing. Not liking the idea of that, Dracula has Johnny take Mavis on vacation in an attempt to see if he can bring the monster out of Johnny. The film also stars Kevin James (King Of Queens) as Frank, Steve Buscemi (Reservoir Dogs) as Wayne, David Spade (Tommy Boy) as Griffin, Keegan-Michael Key (Let’s Be Cops) as Murray, Fran Drescher (The Nanny) as Eunice, Molly Shannon (Superstar) as Wanda, Nick Offerman (Parks & Recreation) as Grandpa Mike, Megan Mullally (Will & Grace) as Grandma Linda, Mel Brooks (Spaceballs) as Vlad, and the film was directed by Genndy Tartakovsky.

While I loved the first film, I have to say that I enjoyed this one, but not as much as the first. This film had it’s funny moments, but not as much as the first film did. The funniest character in this film was definitely Blobby who provided enough laughs even though he doesn’t really say much. I honesty believe that is why they had him in the film as much as he was. The first film dealt with Mavis wanting to date a human and this film had them struggling with the idea that their son could be human. That is the one thing I have to give the film credit for is that it was well written film and it may show that Sander has something left in the tank. I loved the edition of Mel Brooks as Vlad and certainly the nod to Interview With The Vampire with the costume Johnny wears at a party.  The only thing I had a problem with is that he switches his stance very quickly on how he feels about humans even though this is a guy who has hated humans for a very long time. I just feel that this is something that should have been developed over a film, but nonetheless it was a good film. I am excited to hear that there is going to be a third film in the series because it’ll be cool to see where they take it now. Alright so it’s time to give the film a final grade and with careful thought, I am going to give the film an B+ for a final grade.

Day 12: The Ridiculous 6 (2015)

For today’s film, I decided to check out a film that you wouldn’t expect from Adam Sandler and that is a western movie by the name of The Ridiculous 6. The Ridiculous 6 can be considered one of the major Netflix Original releases due to it’s attachment to Sandler who wrote the film. The film also stars Sandler as Tommy a.k.a. White Knife, a boy that was adopted by an Apache chief after his mother was killed. One day, a man shows up claiming to be Sandler’s real dad in an outlaw named Fran Stockburn (Nick Nolte). Frank tells Tommy about some buried money, but when he does that an outlaw named Cicero (Danny Trejo) shows up and kidnaps him. Tommy vows to rescue his dad by getting 50,000 dollars, but he meets five other men who end up being related to him. Together, they will go on a journey to rescue their dad as they become dubbed The Ridiculous 6. The film also stars Terry Crews (The Longest Yard) as Chico, Jorge Garcia (Lost) as Herm, Taylor Lautner (Twilight) as Little Pete, Rob Schneider (Deuce Bigelow: Male Gigolo) as Ramon, Luke Wilson (Old School) as Danny, Will Forte (The Lego Movie) as Will Patch, Steve Zahn (National Security) as Clem, Harvey Keitel (From Dusk Till Dawn) as Smiley, Jon Lovitz (Big) as Ezekiel Grant, Whitney Cummings (Whitney) as Susannah, and the film was directed by Frank Coraci (The Waterboy).

The film features so many comedy greats that it was just too much to list in the above paragraph. I was a little skeptical about the film as to whether it would be a spoof film or a comedy. Do not be afraid of the fact that it says that it’s a western because this film is absolutely hilarious. It actually brings you to a time when Adam Sandler films were actually funny. A lot of his films are hot or miss, but this is a definite hit and it has a lot to do with his supporting cast. Taylor Lautner makes you forget that he starred in all of those awful Twilight movies because the man is absolutely hilarious as the idiot savant Little Pete. There is a lot of slapstick comedy to go along with some dirty humor and everything in between. One of my other favorite moments of the film always came with Rob Schneider and his donkey who has a bit of a problem known as extreme explosive diarrhea. I think as long as Sandler can write and produce films like this one, then he’ll be alright. I see Vanilla Ice is part of his crew and it’s always nice to see David Spade working. You should definitely check this film out on Netflix for yourselves as the film broke records for Netflix. Plus this is film one of four for Sandler who signed a four picture deal with Netflix. I am giving the film an A- for a final grade.