We all know what Adam Sandler movies are like.
He plays someone whose life is so outlandish it's almost impossible to believe. But he usually beats some people up and it ends up generally amusing.
The problem with his newest film, Mr. Deeds, is that there is nothing original, and Sandler isn't as funny as he usually is. In the one scene he beats someone up in this film, it isn't even that funny. It just seems old and pathetic. Like a guy who tells the same bad joke every time he's at a party.
Beyond a weak performance by Sandler and a weaker script, Winona Ryder is so annoying she borders on painful to watch. Someone needs to tell her to go back to drama roles, because she tries way to hard to act funny.
She ends up crying and whining a lot; it's not exactly fun to watch. It's like she knows she's in a comedy, and she's trying to make the audience make sure they know it too.
The premise of the film is that Longfellow Deeds (Sandler) is the long lost relative of a media mogul who dies and leaves him all his money. Ryder is the sleazy tabloid "journalist" Pam Dawson who poses as an innocent farm girl to get close to Sandler and get his story.
Of course, she falls in love with him, but she also betrays him. It's up to Sandler to save the company from greedy investors as Ryder tries to win him back. You could probably figure out for yourself how it ends up – remember it's an Adam Sandler movie.
The one bright spot in this film is the performance of John Tuturro as Emilio, the servant of the elder Mr. Deeds and then Sandler.
Tuturro provides the best laughs in the film as the tuxedo-clad assistant with an unexplainable foot fetish. The accent is hilarious and the lines he comes up with are even funnier.
But unfortunately Tuturro is the only reason to see this film, and he's not a lead character. While I suppose it's possible for Sandler to make more mildly funny summer films in the future, he really struck out with this one.
Reach the reporter at jtreered@aol.com.
