Walking into the theater with the title Just Go With It outside the doors, I wasn’t expecting much. From the trailers, I thought the movie was going to be one of Adam Sandler’s worst movies. But within the first 15 minutes, I knew otherwise.
In the movie, a previously hideous plastic surgeon named Danny (Sandler) uses a wedding ring and a sob story about his imaginary and abusive wife in order to pick up women. This plan works until he meets a beautiful girl (Brooklyn Decker) that he makes a connection with. When she finds the wedding ring in his pocket, Danny sees no other option than to make up a story about his pending divorce. He is then forced to ask his assistant (Jennifer Aniston) to pose as his soon-to-be ex-wife, as well as pass her kids off as his on a Hawaiian vacation.
With its star-packed cast, including Nicole Kidman and, my personal favorite, Nick Swardson, I assumed the filmmakers used the well-known names to make up for a lack of good dialog. But every cast member pulled off their character perfectly and left me with my sides aching.
Another surprise came from the children cast in the movie. Maggie (Bailee Madison) is aspiring to become an actor and is famous for her repertoire of accents (mostly, just British). Michael (Griffin Gluck) hilariously uses his cuteness and fake tears to get his way with his faux father’s girlfriend. The kids are so professional about their roles that I was pleasantly shocked.
Failed plastic surgery also plays a big part in the movie. Former SNL castmember Rachel Dratch makes a guest appearance with her butchered face lift that results in a wandering right eyebrow. Kevin Nealon (also an SNL veteran and Sandler film regular) makes an appearance sporting a botox-frozen face, and, ironically, Heidi Montag play a plastic surgery-driven power couple. Nealon’s inability to swallow any drinks handed to him had the whole theater laughing.
The ridiculous web of lies Sandler creates for himself and the consequences of those lies make for another laugh-out-loud comedy from the Happy Madison Productions founder. I may have been skeptical about Just Go With It, but it was definitely worth the time and money.
