Mia moglie per finta

Adam Sandler is getting pretty solid at producing and acting in quasi-poignant tales that get him somewhat further away - and, ultimately, closer to (doesn't make sense, I know) - from his proto-Sandler-style of filmmaking that has his vaguely proto-typical cast of characters - hapless, hopeless geeks, improbable ladies' man, a "nice guy" that all the ladies want, but still seem to settle on the douches. Sandler brings his "crew" together - former/current SNLers, Allen Covert (who is pretty much in every Sandler movie that I can think of), and some heavy-hitters occasionally. "The Wedding Singer," "Grown-Ups," and, now, "Just Go With It" all pander to this amiable style of film-making that is at times borderline gross-out - but just pulls away before you realize this probably isn't an Apatow-slacker movie, nor is attempting to be.

Sandler is a plastic surgeon who long ago accidentally discovered he could play the "my wife is a terrible person who abuses me" card to score with hot chicks at the bar. Fact is he's not actually married - he and/or his wife left him at the altar many years before when he discovered she really didn't like him - but he's become so comfortable with lying to score with the chicks he just doesn't care - or seem to. Jennifer Aniston is his office assistant, a sweet, single gal with 2 kids. She doesn't much care for how he deals with the ladies, but she still likes him because she sees what a sweet guy he really is under the surface of his rather devious womanizing that all starts with a lie.

Sandler meets the bounteous and beautiful - and, very young - Brooklyn Decker at a party. They sleep together on the beach and in the morning Decker discovers he's "married." Sandler immediately throws a lie out there - he IS in fact, married (wait, no he's not, but it's all a lie anyway) but he's in the process of getting a divorce because his relationship with his wife - again, playing the same card - is very bad. Decker somehow believes him and off we go with the rest of the movie where Aniston agrees to be his fake wife and ultimately go off on a vacation with Decker, Sandler, Aniston's kids, and Nick Swanson as the court jester/boob (basically a version of Rob Schneider from Sandler's other "Happy Madison" movies) who pretends to be Aniston's boyfriend.

There are a lot of funny setups and jokes - enough to enjoy the movie, for sure, even if they do clearly seem to be Sandler-ish in their obviousness. Hey, he's a plastic surgeon, let's see where we might milk that. Decker is half his and Aniston's age - let's see where we might milk that. Swanson is an often over-the-top boob - let's see where we can grab some silly jokes there. Aniston's kids - the daughter, especially - are good for quite a few laughs as well.

I half expected Decker to be pretty bad, but she does just fine. She is playing against top comedic talent here - though honestly Sandler nearly seems on auto-pilot in most of his movies - and nowhere is Jessica Simpson-like delivery in evidence. It hardly needs to be said she is being used for her looks more than her supposed talent, but her ability to transcend the "Hey, I'm just here to be a C-cup blond bimbo in a bikini" obviousness of her role is commendable. Sandler is notorious - or very successful, depending on your perspective - in bringing in at least one or two pieces of eye candy to most of his films, but in a manner that is less blatant or purely perverse. Yes, Sandler likes hiring hot chicks, but he also likes the good/nice guy to have a shot with her, which makes most of us nerds feel at least a little bit more hopeful. Decker and Aniston both of course fill this role, quite well.

While clearly not an intentional Oscar-winner, Sandler proves he is again capable of making a funny, somewhat poignant, generally enjoyable PG-13-bordering-on-R-rated film.

Just saw at this an advanced screening in Huntington Beach.

It was pretty damn good. I do have to admit that I am an Adam Sandler fan. Being 21, I grew up seeing his films in theaters and for the most part liked them all. I think with Big Daddy, Dennis Dugan and Adam Sandler's Happy Madison crew really started a formula of movie. Central conflicted and imperfect character Adam (who has a good heart of course), falls in love with the girl of his dreams, who is younger and way better looking than him, all formulated around a specific central premise (i.e. with this film it's Adam's lies piling on top of lies) supported by extremely strong, quirky side character performances. This might be the epitome of this established formula, really passing 50 First Dates in my opinion. The typical Sandler ridiculous humor and smart-ass remarks are extremely well balanced with perfectly timed and executed emotional moments. The set-up for the story is pretty basic and at first almost appears predictable. It is to some extent, but the crazy directions the movie takes based on Sandler's lies is well done and only stretches a few times. But what do you expect from the Happy Madison crew?

The 2 kids in the film did a good job and had some funny lines. I am not a Jennifer Aniston fan at all but really actually liked her in this. I sort of understand her popularity and charm after this movie. She seemed more genuine and I felt an emotional attachment to her that I have always lacked with her. Plus, she is showcased in a particular waterfall scene and looks absolutely fantastic in a bikini. Brooklyn Decker is unbelievably gorgeous, as we all know from the SI Swimsuit Edition, but I was very surprised at how natural of an actress she was. She seemed very comfortable and didn't overact much. She is extremely cute and lovable. Nicole Kidman and Dave Mathews were great as an uber cool couple. Nicole was a bit over the top as she has been of late (like since Moulin Rouge), but thats what her character called for so I understand. Dave was surprisingly good as an almost drugged up yuppie, cool boyfriend of Nicole's. Nick Swardson was absolutely hilarious and by far steals every scene he is in. He really comes into the movie about 1/3 of the way in and from there on out its his movie. Nick Swardson deserves fame for this.

I can't say for sure how the critics will receive it. I can handle suspension of disbelief as long as it leads to a funny payoff. For the most part these moments are delivered. It's a great date movie and a great movie for Sandler fans. He has an unbelievable recent track record for success, but this will top all of them at the box office.

I am not a fan of Adam Sandler, though I have liked some of his performances and films, but when Jennifer Aniston has good material she is good. I was expecting Just Go with It to be crap, but while it was unexceptional on the whole I found it decent. Both Sandler and Anniston have done better, both have also done worse. Sandler is not amazing, but he is not as irritating as he can be. Anniston's role is one-dimensional, but she is beguiling and the chemistry they have is likable. Nicky Swardson, who I can't stand usually, is also good. The film looks appealing, is directed assuredly and the soundtrack is fitting and not too generic. The script however while having some funny and tender moments has a number of weak moments coming across as stilted and cloying. The story is rather thin and predictable especially the ending, and the characters while appealingly performed are generally under-developed and stereotyped. All in all, a decent and better than expected film but not great. 6/10 Bethany Cox

Sandler is very hit and miss with his films, this however is one of the hits.

The wife and I were laughing constantly and even use some of the jokes between each other today. Highly recommended as the film is full of gags and quips that'll keep you laughing for 90 minutes.

I've seen almost all of Jennifer Aniston's movies and most of them I really did not like. So my expectations of "Just go with it" were very low. But I was pleasantly surprised to find that I was laughing with tears in my eyes the first 20min of watching this movie and I didn't stop laughing till the screen showed black.

Al though the movie almost is 2 hours long, I wasn't bored at any time. The story was well written, the acting was amazing and hilarious and it was original in it's jokes. It did have a typical ending, but for once it didn't bother me because of the good build up in the story and the development of the characters.

If you do have a weakness for typical comedy movies, but can't seem to find a good one these days, definitely check out this one: laughter guaranteed!