मिस्टर डीड्स

This, once again, has most of the earmarks of modern-day comedies: tons of sexual innuendos, lots of good laughs but many of them out of questionable lines or behavior, and a stupid, rushed ending that tries to make all the good guys win and the bad guys lose. The latter is fine - I want the good guys to prevail - but they way they go about it is stupid.

I did think this movie had a little softer edge than most other blatantly-low class "Something About Mary/American Pie"-type comedies of today however. I guess what I am saying is this isn't as in-your-face type offensive most of the rest are.

Of course, Adam Sandler is playing the low-key Gary Cooper role of Mr. Deeds from the 1940s, so he's not the high-strung Happy Gilmore type here, although he does get violent at times. Winona Ryder plays the love interest, a tabloid low-moral reporter who is reformed by the amiable Mr. Deeds. She's not believable at all and one can see one reason she isn't much of star actress anymore. It isn't just her real-life problems. She's pretty and she's okay in the role but something's missing in her acting.

The real star of the film is John Turturro, as the Spanish butler. He's funny in about every scene he's in and he's a guy everyone roots for here.

In summary, it's a pretty nice film, with a number of laugh-out-loud scenes, but it's still a long way from the Gary Cooper-Barabara Stanwyck classic film version, at least in terms of an aw-shucks wholesome hero. This film just doesn't have the heart and soul of the original, because it's more concerned with cheap laughs than a moral message. Still, it has its funny moments and I found worth watching.

This is certainly an Adam Sandler movie. Doesn't stray too far from the formula.

This was a funny movie, with many, many laughs. I must say, John Tuturro (sp) stole the movie. He was just "on" through his entire part!

This is not even close to the original (thank goodness) but still an enjoyable 90+ minutes.

Mr. Deeds is very similar to many other Adam Sandler films. The film follows a basic and predictable formula. Many of the comedian's reliable standards are in effect: abuse of old folks, crude humor, a Rob Schneider appearance, and mentally deficient sidekicks. Some of the stuff works, but there's not much room for originality. This movie even perpetuates Sandler's trend of playing guys who are unexpectedly good at dishing out beatings.

Many have considered Mr. Deeds to be one of Adam Sandler's more underrated films, and in several ways it is. However the film is typical but entertaining in some areas. It is a decent comedy, and the humor is what one would expect from a Sandler film.

I wanted to comment on the stupidity of some people. I saw this in the Goofs.

Continuity: At the press conference, when Emilio is told he is the sole heir, he is standing on a balcony. In the shot immediately after it, he suddenly appears at the podium.

This was listed as a Goof. I don't think the person that wrote this watched the whole movie. If they did, they would not have under estimate the sneakiness of Emilio. He pops-up many time throughout the movie like this. It's what makes him funny in this COMEDY! If you have seen the movie you would know that Emilio is very very sneaky. So this was not a mistake. Duh!

"Mr. Deeds" tells of a wacky, naive small town guy, Mr. Deeds (Sandler), with little respect for fame or fortune who inherits $40 billion and has to deal with the responsibilities and media attention which accompanies his inheritance. Ryder plays a tv producer after the inheritance story who happens to fall in love with the Sandler character, something which pushes this flick from romantic-comedy into the realm of fantasy or sci-fi. In spite of its hard-to-swallow romantic side plot, the film offers nonstop in-your-face silliness and nonsense which should make it a fun watch for fans into Sandler's brand of deadpan kookie comedy. Non-Sandler fans can expect a lukewarm result. (C+)