Just Go with It

Rating: 4/10 (10 June 2011)

From director Dennis Dugan (Happy Gilmore, Big Daddy, Grown Ups), this looked like it could be a funny film starring the actress who has a habit for doing dodgy Rom-Coms, so I gave it a chance. Basically surgery doctor Danny Maccabee (Adam Sandler, also producing) has recently had disaster with a marriage which ended, but he still has the wedding ring, and to avoid commitment again he still wears it. He finds however that this ring is like a woman magnet as he pretends to be married and score with numerous sexy women who feel sympathy for him. Then Danny meets his dream girl who likes him for who he is, Palmer Dodge (Brooklyn Decker), and he really commits to their relationship, but of course the ring becomes a concern. He decides to make up a big lie and story with the help of doctor assistant and friend Katherine Palmer (Jennifer Aniston) that she is his recently separated wife and that they are getting a divorce. Everything seems alright, and Katherine enjoys taking advantage with Danny at the situation he has put himself in, and when Palmer hears the mention of children, Katherine's kids Maggie (Brothers' Bailee Madison) and Michael (Griffin Gluck) have to become part of the act too. The kids really push him to do something for them in order to keep the act going, Maggie pretending to be English as "acting training", and Michael tricking him to go on a trip to Hawaii so he can swim with dolphins. So all of the "family" and Palmer go to the tropical paradise, and as they individually have a good time, Danny is of course trying to cover up lie after lie, while Katherine is urging him to tell the girl he seems to love the truth. A few distractions pop up, such as Katherine coming up against the woman she doesn't particularly like, the fake name she is using and the woman she named her kids' poop after, Devlin Adams (Nicole Kidman), and having to put up with extra vacationer Eddie (Nick Swardson) pretending to be a German "boyfriend" named Dolph Lundgren. Danny thinks the best idea would be to propose to Palmer, make their relationship official, but of course as time has gone by Katherine has gained feelings for him, and it may be vice versa as well. In the end, the long truth does come out as Danny decides that he doesn't have the same feelings for Palmer as he does for Katherine and his family, and they return home united like a real family. Also starring Dave Matthews as Ian Maxtone Jones, Kevin Nealon as Adon and Heidi Montag as Adon's Wife. Sandler is reasonably good as the pressured guy lying through his teeth all the way, Aniston is alright as the sassy woman "going with it", Kidman stands out with her time belly dancing and being annoying, and Decker is really hot as the sexy girlfriend, the story is patchy in places, and you find yourself unable to stick to all the fake facts and stuff, but there are some things to laugh at, not a terrible romantic comedy. Okay!