Just Go with It (2011) PG-13

After a couple laugh-less and bewildering films (Grown Ups, You Don't Mess with the Zohan), director Dennis Dugan and Adam Sandler seem to finally remember what constitutes as funny. I wasn't exactly sure what to expect from Just Go with It, but I'm glad I took the time to see it. I grew up watching Sandler (Big Daddy, Happy Gilmore) and Dugan (I Now Pronounce you Chuck & Larry, The Benchwarmers) films. Their films certainly aren't art, but they always manage to put a much needed smile on my face. Grown Ups was trying to hard to reach a younger audience and You Don't Mess with the Zohan was just way over-the-top. But this one is more of your 50 First Dates type of Sandler film, although not nearly as good. Yes, this film is awfully funny at times, but it also has heart.

Sandler plays Danny, a ladies-man who tricks women into believing he's married but in a troubled relationship. He uses his old wedding ring as a prop. Women take pity on him because of the horrible made-up stories he tells them. Whether it's that his wife beats him or she cheats on him constantly. Danny came upon this sleazy method after being dumped on his wedding day. He forgot to take his wedding ring off while crawling into the bottle at the local watering hole. He tells his sad story, with a few lies sprinkled in, to a young beautiful woman. She buys it and he hasn't looked back since.

Danny is now a plastic surgeon and does very well for himself. His beautiful assistant Katherine (Jennifer Aniston) is a single mother of two. She hides her beauty behind glasses and a ponytail. She's a beautiful person and she and Danny get along extremely well.

One day, while at a huge celebrity party in Beverly Hills, Danny meets Palmer (Brooklyn Decker). She's gorgeous, young and smart. It takes about 30 seconds before they're soul mates. Danny instantly thinks that she's the one. This part of the film is ludicrous and unbelievable, but most Sandler films are. However, she finds Danny's fake ring in his pocket and splits. He later explains that he IS married but in the middle of a divorce. He tells her that his wife cheats on him and pushes him around. The only way Palmer will continue to see Danny is if she meets Danny's wife.

So, Danny asks Katherine (his assistant) if she will play his wife. After some serious begging, she agrees. They go on a shopping spree to make her look presentable. Danny, Palmer and Katherine go out for drinks just a few days later. Katherine acts like an ass throughout the dinner to make Danny look better. Everything worked like a charm. That is until Katherine answers her phone and mentions her kids in front of Palmer. So now Palmer wants to meet "their" kids. Katherine reluctantly goes along with the plan to introduce her kids to Palmer. Katherine really goes out of her way to please Danny.

So, Katherine and Danny introduce Palmer to young Maggie (Bailee Madison) and Michael (Griffin Gluck). Maggie is a young aspiring actress, who for some reason uses a British accent which throws off Palmer at first. Despite an almost disastrous meet and greet Danny thinks he's made it out alive and well. Until Danny is forced into booking a trip for the five of them to Hawai'i. That's when things get messy and rather hilarious.

Danny's friend Eddie (Nick Swardson) tags along, posing as Katherine's new boyfriend "Dolph." Swardson (The Benchwarmers, Click) is refreshing as usual. The majority of the film takes place in Hawai'i, but I'm not going to give too much more information. I will say that Katherine runs into her old college roommate Devlin, played by Nicole Kidman (Eyes Wide Shut, The Others), who has never been more annoying (in a good way, that's her character). Her husband is played by rock star Dave Matthews, who was absolutely hilarious in I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry. It's not long before Danny starts to question his relationship with Palmer and begins to see how amazing Katherine is.

A boat-load of Sandler regulars and celebrities make small appearances along the way. Most notably Kevin Nealon, Allen Covert and Dan Patrick. You will probably recognize these names as well: Rachel Dratch (Saturday Night Live), Jonathan Loughran, Peter Dante, Minka Kelly, Andy Roddick (U.S. Tennis Champion) and Heidi Montag.

Aniston (Office Space, The Break-Up) is tremendous and deserves a lot of credit here. Young Bailee Madison (Brothers, Bridge to Terabithia) is so adorable. She has quite a career ahead of her. Supermodel Brooklyn Decker is better than you'd expect but she's no actress. Her character gets mistreated throughout the film, but you don't seem to mind one bit because she's put herself in this situation. All in all, I enjoyed this sloppy little flick. It's doing very well at the box office, which shows what people think of Sandler. Critics hate his films, but I'm not your average critic. If you enjoyed films like 50 First Dates, I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry, Click, The Longest Yard and Anger Management than you'll enjoy this one too. Just don't take it too seriously and go with it.
C+

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