Some Great Sight Gags and Lots of Flat Scenes

Rating: 5/10 (16 December 2012)

I watched this on Netflix today, and then read the reviews here. Most were either very lauding, or extremely awful. For me it was in between, not awful, but not good either.
I have to date seen 10 Adam Sandler movies. I can't say I'm a fan, but I am not a Sandler hater either. For me, "Just Go With It" is not as good as "Big Daddy", "The Wedding Singer", "50 First Dates", "Click" or "Anger Management". It is better than "Happy Madison", "Billy Gilmore", "The Waterboy", "8 Crazy Nights", and "Spanglish". I still haven't seen "Punch Drunk Love", but while critics loved it, most people I know who saw it were disappointed.
The good points of "Just Go With It", were some extremely funny sight gags mostly early in the film, and lovely ladies to look at. The plot had potential, but it got bogged down with sequences that were poorly paced and didn't really connect as comedy. The two kids were quite original and good actors, adding some needed humor and a bit of pathos. The bad points were some poor acting, and, as stated before, scenes that went on too long trying to get laughs that didn't materialize, but most of all the length of the film. At nearly two hours, the movie could have used about 20 minutes removed, since the plot was fairly predictable early on. It definitely could have used tightening.
Overall, not a stinker as some have said, but not among Sandler's best efforts. I rate it right in the middle, a 5, an opportunity not fully realized. Rent it if you are a fan, but don't expect too much.