Chaos In Hawaii

Rating: 7/10 (17 February 2011)

On the surface "Just Go With It" is just another Adam Sandler critic hate fest, however, Sandler is one of the best modern comedians and brings home the laughs once again. The film is actually based on the 1969 film "Cactus Flower" which received its roots from the French play "Fleur de cactus". However, besides the basic plot outline, Adam Sandler's version is vastly different including his trademark crazy, rude, over the top humor. Needless to say Sandler has not lost his way. Sandler's character Danny Maccabee has his heart broken by his fiancé on his wedding day. This leads him to a bar where he is found sulking while still wearing his wedding ring. He discovers that while every other guy in the bar strikes out attempting to hit on Joanna Damon (Minka Kelly, "The Roommate", "Gossip Girl"), his wedding ring attracts her to him. This combined with a made up story about how his wife beats him makes her feel bad for him and ultimately sleeping with him. His success leads him to continue his scheme even after becoming a wealthy plastic surgeon, until he meets a woman named Palmer (Brooklyn Decker). She gets extremely upset after finding his wedding ring in his pocket the morning after sleeping with him demanding an explanation. He tells her that he is in the process of getting a divorce and asks his best lady friend and assistant Katherine Murphy (Jennifer Anistan) to act as if she was his wife (soon to be ex). His lie grows more and more that Danny convinces Katherine's kids, Maggie (Bailee Madison, "Brothers") and Michael (Griffin Gluck) to play the role of his kids. Everything culminates in a "family" trip to Chaos Hawaii with Danny, Palmer, Katherine, Maggie, Michael and Danny's cousin Eddie (Nick Swardson), where (throughout the chaos) Danny finds out that his heart is actually taking him towards the woman that knows him best.
Adam Sandler has been creating very unique romantic comedies for years that are able to reach out to a wider audience. "Just Go With It" is most definitely a romantic comedy, however, it does not stick it in your face. Instead the film slowly lets the viewer know that the rom-com is there allowing it to have a lot of fun. This is also achieved by creating characters that are all very likable and not stereotypical. Even Katherine's nemesis, Devlin, played by Nicole Kidman turns out to be a very likable character. Lastly, what does every Adam Sandler film need? Well Adam Sandler' mastery of creating good entertainment.
The film starts off on a really weak note with very little relevance to the rest of the film. After the opening segment relevance grows, however, the film doesn't really get going until the whole "family" goes to Hawaii. This creates a very stereotypical cliché experience. Everything in the film has been done before leaving no surprises except some random undeveloped comical interjections which have become a pattern in the past couple years.
The film's ending is very predictable, however, Director Dennis Dugan does not throw it in your face allowing the viewer to enjoy the humor of Adam Sandler. This is one of the most entertaining comedies that has come out in a while so "Just Go To It" now.