A Diamond in the Rough

Rating: 8/10 (24 June 2006)

This movie's message will stay with you when you leave the theater. I'm more of an American Beauty girl than a mainstream comedy; however, this movie had me in tears and hysterics. The only reason I saw this movie is because of my faith in Adam Sandler to come out with an amazing film. I went in expecting big laughs on a Saturday night, but I was slightly disappointed. Everyone else in the movie theater seemed to be laughing hard enough, but something was missing for me. It wasn't the typical Adam Sandler humor of recent movies- the laughs were more found in slapstick, anything more subtle was usually awkwardly delivered and seemed to fall lamely upon the crowd, and me. At one point in the VERY beginning I was thinking about walking out.
BAD IDEA.
Anything that the film was lacking in the beginning was made up for by the slightly predictable, but nevertheless entertaining and fresh, plot. The humor gets better, and Sandler's ability to present a character that captures his audiences' hearts pulls the viewers along an emotional roller coaster of a film. Covering huge, complex ideas and nuances of human relationships in a way that is so simple and so genuine and so heartbreaking and so funny all at once, it's quite incredible. Even the ever-so-slightly predictable ending works and even adds to the charm of the movie.
This movie is an excellent example of Sandler's obvious ambition to bring out a movie with a real message behind it and mass appeal. Go see it, it's definitely worth the entrance and the five dollar packet of Raisinettes:)