Mr. Deeds

Plot synopsis:
Multibillionaire Preston Blake freezes to death while on a mountain climbing expedition. With no widow or legitimate children, it is initially unclear who would earn the right to Blake's massive fortune.
It is found that Blake has a living grandnephew named Longfellow Deeds (Adam Sandler), who runs a pizzeria in New Hampshire and also writes greeting cards in the hopes that Hallmark may be interested in one. Deeds is contacted and flown to New York City by businessman Chuck Cedar (Peter Gallagher), who is temporarily in control of Blake Media. Deeds' unorthodox helicopter trip includes a stop at a Wendy's for a Frosty as well as a singing of David Bowie's Space Oddity. Once Deeds arrives in New York, plans are made for him to sell his shares in the company to Cedar and return home $40 billion richer, but he must remain in New York for a few days while all the legal details are worked out.
The story is major news, and reporter Babe Bennett (Winona Ryder), who works for a tabloid show called Inside Access, has a co-worker pretend to steal her purse in sight of Deeds, because their research indicated that Deeds wanted to meet a girl by "rescuing" her, the same way his father had met his mother. Deeds does so, and beats up her "robber", and Babe goes out with him under the disguise of Pam Dawson, a school nurse from a made-up town called Winchestertonfieldville, Iowa (which later turns out to be a real town, which Babe is flabbergasted to find out).
Though Babe initially hopes to just get a good story on the new heir, she eventually falls for the unfailingly kind-hearted Deeds, and decides to tell him that she is not who she says she is, but Inside Access, in concert with Cedar (who was fed the truth by the fake robber and was smitten with Babe) reveals it to Deeds first. Heartbroken and upset, Deeds decides to return home to Mandrake Falls and makes plans to donate his $40 billion inheritance to the United Negro College Fund. After returning to Mandrake Falls, he learns from Crazy Eyes (Steve Buscemi) that Cedar intends to sell off the company, which will cause thousands of people to lose their jobs (Cedar had convinced Longfellow to sell his shares by lying that he will work commanding the company in honor of Preston's lifetime of work). Babe follows Deeds to Mandrake Falls to win him back, but after saving her life when she falls through the ice over a lake, he rejects her, saying he does not really know who she is.
At a shareholders meeting, Cedar has everyone convinced to sell the company, until Deeds (who has bought a single share) arrives and manages to convince everyone not to sell. But Cedar claims control of a majority of the shares and the sale is approved. Bennett arrives and reveals that Emilio Lopez, Preston Blake's longtime butler is his illegitimate son and the true heir as a result of a younger Preston having an amorous affair with his maid in 1958 (at one point he had told Deeds that Blake treated him "like a son"). Realizing Emilio is his cousin, Deeds convinces him they must stop Cedar and that he is the rightful CEO. As a result of Emilio supplanting Longfellow as the heir, Deeds' sale of shares are retracted and Cedar is fired.
Emilio immediately takes control of Blake Media. Babe then reconciles with and kisses Deeds after professing her love for him. As they leave the meeting, Emilio thanks Deeds for his support and offers him a billion dollars, some of which Deeds spends on red Corvettes for everyone in Mandrake Falls. When he returns to the pizzeria with Babe, he learns that Hallmark is interested in buying one of his greeting cards: the one he wrote for Babe when he professed his love for her. They both share a kiss as the movie ends with Crazy Eyes crashing his Corvette and coming out unharmed.

Tags: fantasy, entertaining

Review:
I keep hearing Sandler is a major Hollywood player these days with an equal footing as producer as he is actor (he has produced a considerable amount with fellow actor Rob Schneider - the similarly inane but funny - mostly in spite of yourself - Hot Chick being the most recent example, in which he has a cameo role and indeed, Schneider helps Sandler out in Mr Deeds) so it's hard to prove that Sandler is now typecast as a lovable fool, because it's fairly likely he chose the part himself, possibly aware that Hamlet might be a little out of his league.
The story - we all know it's a remake of the classic depression-era propaganda film starring Gary Cooper, designed to lift spirits and foster a sense of community - centres around a picturesque New England town and its perenially-cheerful, smalltown inhabitants, chiefly Longfellow Deeds (Sandler), who inherits a fortune from an uncle he never knew, finds himself at the helm of a media empire and heads to the Big Apple to find out more.
There are some hilarious, laugh-out-loud moments that counter the film's message perfectly - the helicopter ride to Manhattan where the crew and Deeds are singing 'A Space Oddity' complete with air-guitar springs to mind here - and there is the usual dose of slapstick you'd expect from a Sandler picture.
The latter is fine - I want the good guys to prevail - but they way they go about it is stupid.I did think this movie had a little softer edge than most other blatantly-low class "Something About Mary/American Pie"-type comedies of today however.
I guess what I am saying is this isn't as in-your-face type offensive most of the rest are.Of course, Adam Sandler is playing the low-key Gary Cooper role of Mr. Deeds from the 1940s, so he's not the high-strung Happy Gilmore type here, although he does get violent at times.
He's funny in about every scene he's in and he's a guy everyone roots for here.In summary, it's a pretty nice film, with a number of laugh-out-loud scenes, but it's still a long way from the Gary Cooper-Barabara Stanwyck classic film version, at least in terms of an aw-shucks wholesome hero.
This movie is about a guy named LongFellow Deeds(Adam Sandler) who inherits 40 billion dollars from his late uncle.
This movie was at times painful to watch--as I do like Winona Ryder and most all the actors involved in this.
But it almost seemed like stunt casting (let's get some great actors from independent movies [inexpensive] and give them nothing to do but act out poorly devised stereotypical roles that are supposed to hark back to Capra films)--none of the actors seemed comfortable, especially Winona...
Longfellow Deeds (Adam Sandler) is a small town guy who is taken to the big city when he learns he has an inheritance of $40 billion from a long lost uncle.
He has to adjust to life in a Palatial Mansion with a personal butler, and he meets a beautiful school nurse (Winona Ryder); but its not long before the money begins to change everything, and he learns things are not what they seem.This remake is not without plenty of laughs, but it never quite manages to do anything thats truly hilarious or new.
This movie is a dud.Winona Ryder and John Turturro talents are surely wasted in this movie.As for Adam Sandler acting it is more like non acting.He also seems to be in need of an anger management course.
This Adam Sandler vehicle is a re-make of a classic Frank Capra movie which originally starred Gary Cooper and Jean Arthur.
As in many of Capra's films, Cooper's character, guided by a genuine moral center and sense of compassion for those struggling through difficult economic times (the Great Depression), fights against the shallow, the insincere, and the corrupt.This 2002 version of Mr. Deeds, directed by Steven Brill, possesses none of the charm or drama of the original.
Herlihy, who received his professional break as a staff writer on "Saturday Night Live." The Oscar-winning Riskin also authored such acclaimed screenplays as "Lost Horizon," "It Happened One Night," "You Can't Take It With You," and "The Strange Love of Martha Ivers." In contrast, Herlihy has no non-Adam Sandler big-screen credits, having penned or co-authored the screenplays for "Billy Madison," "Happy Gilmour," "The Wedding Singer," "The Waterboy," "Little Nicky," and "Big Daddy." Herlihy's unfunny adaptation of the original script is therefore not surprising.
So far I have seen Happy Gilmore, Mr. Deeds, The Wedding Singer, The Waterboy and Big Daddy and found them all funny but my favourites are ranked:1.
Ryder plays a tv producer after the inheritance story who happens to fall in love with the Sandler character, something which  pushes this flick from romantic-comedy into the realm of fantasy or sci-fi.
In spite of its hard-to-swallow romantic side plot, the film offers nonstop in-your-face silliness and nonsense which should make it a fun watch for fans into Sandler's brand of deadpan kookie comedy.
DEEDS: when your remake of a film from the 1930s is not as fresh or funny as the original still is today, it might not be a good project.
It's not that the man hasn't made me laugh in the past (I enjoyed BILLY MADISON and HAPPY GILMORE), but this movie is more reminiscent of THE WATERBOY; it tries too hard and fails miserably.
Not only was the plot crappy and predictable, as is expected from an Adam Sandler movie, but there was no real comedy in it at all.
I have enjoyed most of Sandler's movies and therefore expected to like this one, too, especially since the word of mouth was good.However, I found it so bad that I stopped watching in the middle.Although every movie takes liberties with reality, some of them go too far.
(Like three stories high in the case of the apartment fire.)And it defies credibility that Sandler's character doesn't figure out after the first incident that Winona Ryder's character did the taping defies credibility.This movie is a real stinker.
This is the movie that Adam Sandler did the worst(the ones that I seen) and I still liked this film enough to write a positive review.
Deeds is perhaps a bit out of his depth but determined to keep his small town roots and morals even as company execs and media vultures try to take advantage of him.If you are making a feel good film and have a script that relies on you feeling for the little guy then it is probably a bit of a risk to cast Adam Sadler in the lead role considering how he tends to, well, polarise opinion in his audience.
In this completely unnecessary and pathetic remake of the classic "Mr. Deeds goes to Town", Adam Sandler stars as Longfellow Deeds a small time business owner who after inheriting a huge sum of money heads for the big city, where Winona Ryder, kleptomaniac that she is, steals his heart as a two-faced reporter..
My verdict on this film is it's the worst adam sandler movie I've seen so far.
Sandler's performance sucks big time (is he trying to be some sort of not-funny Forrest Gump?) and I'm really sorry for Winona that she agreed to play in this movie, she can do a lot better (just give her a LOT better script).
A great premise for a simple movie with lots of laughs, this film had so many weak moments, I actually cringed at one point thinking about how the production team must have been scratching their heads, wondering why their names would have to be associated with this film.When he's not making stupid voices, Sandler is talented and there were probably 2 times in this movie that I laughed out loud.
Adam Sandler stars as Longfellow Deeds, a tenderhearted hick who unexpectedly inherits his late uncle's $40 billion media empire, while Winona Ryder is a reporter for a tabloid TV show bent on destroying his name.
Adam Sandler can't act (or at least can't change characters between films) and Winona Ryder is simply horrendous as his love interest.
I am normally an Adam Sandler fan, and I like most of his movies, but this fell far short of the comedy I was expecting and as I saw in his other movies.
Bad acting, cheesy comics, and childish antics make this movie completely rotten and was a waste of a good hour and a half.Completely predictable storyline that tries to play on the pathos of the viewer to get them to sympathize with Sandler, combined with futile attempts to raise the movie's value with big names and cameos, makes this movie a complete loser.Not having seen it in theaters, I am sure the only audience members that did laugh were the 10-year-olds that accompanied their poor unsuspecting parents..
I have yet to see a comedy(the weakest of all genres)so painfully obvious in every way as Mr. Deeds.Every "punchline" clunked so totally,I was compelled to watch it all the way through.Perverse thing to do,I'll grant you,but this was so consistently un-funny that I hung tough just to make sure NOTHING WHATSOEVER was worth laughing at,so that I could confidently state that this film sucked real bad.I recall everyone railing on Billy Madison and Little Nicky-they're masterpieces compared to Mr. Deeds.Also,I had the misfortune of watching Anger Management the same night,and it was also quite bad.Nicholson is not a comic-actor.Dark humour-he's a master.Over-the-top comedy:he sucks..
Every last gag or (punch)line,or "wacky" character fell flat on its ass in this movie.I wonder at how a top-notch cast like this would be involved in a piece of vacuous shyte like Mr. Deeds?This is,by a sad margin,Sandler's worst work ever.I predict that whoever directed this will not work for awhile.Oh,right-I HAVE to write ten lines.Why?I do not know.How 'bout a chant?"Mr. Deeds,weak indeed!" Oh,I neglected to mention how adolescently stunted the script was!Maybe it was one of the new,untalented,staff writers from SNL.God,it's weak just like Deeds.Right-and Winona ryder is not funny.She's a fantastic-looking woman,but she's best advised to stick to straight drama.Hey-you think my ten lines are done?!.
There is not a single funny part in the entire so-called "comedy."  Adam Sandler is suppose to play Jesus in this movie, I think.
How many times can one person laugh at Adam Sandler doing stupid things?
His last three films, Big Daddy, Little Nicky, and Mr. Deeds, are just terrible movies.
The only good thing in this movie is the delightfully goofy performance by John Turturro, for most of the film, although in the final, supposedly tear-jerking scenes, he's pretty bad too.
Adam Sandler is his usual unbearable self, and all the other fine character actors in the movie are thankfully forgettable (for their sakes.)  And even John McEnroe is bad!!!.
I am quite a big fan of Adam Sandler and was let down by his lack of Everything (besides good actors) in this movie.
Longfellow Deeds (Adam Sandler) lives in the small town of Mandrake Falls, New Hampshire, where he runs the local pizza parlor.
Mr Deeds is another Adam Sandler movie that is meant to be watched but taken too literally.
Overall you should watch this film as it is good and please people do not think too hard about Adam Sandler films from now on.
But what it strikes the most is why the big studios in Hollywood are producing films with Adam Sandler as the main character.
But the loss of a few words is the least of this film's problems, since `Mr. Deeds' has also jettisoned the subtlety, wit and depth of the earlier film and replaced them with broad slapstick, endless pratfalls and wheezy plot mechanics that better jibe with the undemanding tastes of modern movie audiences.The earlier film featured Gary Cooper as the naïve country bumpkin who, upon inheriting the fortune of an uncle he never knew he had, journeys to the Big Bad City and shows the people there a thing or two about old fashioned, small town values.
Sandler conveys a certain tone of befuddled charm at times and Winona Ryder does a nice turn as the somewhat ditzy reporter who first deceives, then eventually falls in love with this strange man from an alien world, but one only needs to see Cooper and Jean Arthur in the original roles to see how ADULTS would behave in the same circumstances.
When approaching an Adam Sandler movie, I know what to expect:  a load of cheap, silly gags, some of which make hardly a shred of sense.
I'm used to Sandler's low-brow humor, and I'm in no way judging this movie on parallel with "Citizen Kane," but I laughed half as many times as I expected and yes, I was quite disappointed.
While Most Adam Sandler films have annoyed me, he is once again trying to portray an actual character as opposed to himself.
Mr. Deeds is only even remotely funny because of Adam Sandler.
Without him, this movie would have been worthless.Adam plays Longfellow Deeds, yet another character with the IQ of a kid who's been held back a few grades.
Since the movies are structurally very similar (despite several sources stating it was only "loosely based" on "Mr. Deeds Goes to Town"), but it's clear that Steven Brill is more interested in making his "Deeds" a broad comedy, while Capra's version also boasts a good love story, a family-friendly lesson about sharing, and, well, heart.
Mr. Deeds is very similar to many other Adam Sandler films.
Many have considered Mr. Deeds to be one of Adam Sandler's more underrated films, and in several ways it is.
This is a movie you definitely want to catch on TV for FREE, and not pay for.It was funny at times, but there was something that was missing, i think the story wasn't that bad it just kinda needed to be funnier If you want cheap laughs and a bit of Romance this is your movie If your and Adam Sander fan i worth seeing.
He is funny at times and kind of liked his nice attitude, but he still had his edge, never understand him and beating up people in movies.
The frequent "appearing/disappearing act" of the butler character at first is spooky, but works well with the surprise at the end.The final scene (I won't give it away) is a cute way of showing how much Deeds wants to help out the little people.
Longfellow Deeds, as played by The Wedding Singer star Adam Sandler, comes to find that money truly has the power to change things, but it doesn't necessarily need to change him.
As far as Adam Sandler he is still mega funny, i first watched this actor in two movies (Happy Gilmore and Bulletproof ) on video and they where funny !Now lets return to Deeds, the story has been consumed in cinema once to many, the story of the nice guy who comes from the country to the city and clashes with greed.I found John Turturro role very funny, sneaking on people !My concern is with Winona Ryder, she is one of the loveliest actresses i have seen in my life, ever since Heather and Beatle Juice.
The movie is funny but its not Adam Sandler best work yet..
An Adam Sandler film as we've come to know them.
The biggest flaw with Adam Sandler's latest film 'Mr. Deeds' is the romance factor.
Though this movie did have typical Adam Sandler humor, it wasn't as funny as his previous works.
To see a real good Sandler movie though, I recommend watching 'Billy Madison' or 'Happy Gilmore'..
Adam Sandler's movies are supposed to be hilarious.
Sandler plays a naïve country boy in the film, instead of the bad boy advertisers have made his character out to be, and was, if this movie had to be made at all, miscast.However, I award this film with a "7" and suggest you see it (perhaps on video) for one reason; it is, unfortunately, one of John Turturro's funniest performances.
Sometimes I wonder what Sandler was thinking during many of the bits in "Mr. Deeds."  Yet despite the misfires and half-assed zings, the movie as a whole still left me happy.John Turturro was actually a better scene-stealer than I expected, especially when conveying the zeal his charater had in being sneaky (of course, his ability to appear instantly next to others was classic).
Because what they give is what the core of most Adam Sandler movies give: good-heartedness.
If you have seen Adam Sandler in the past then you know what to expect in Mr. Deeds.
it wasn't as funny as some other adam sandler movies...which is kind of what i want to talk about.
many people said this was a typical adam sandler movie, and i have to disagree.
Adam Sandler sticks to his recipe of creating happy, and funny movies.
Every character in the movie is original and funny, and the love story mixes with the plot and comedy very well.
This is, by far, Adam Sandler's best film.
I am Adam Sandler's biggest fan, so I may be a bit biased, but I just loved this movie.
It's funny, and romantic, and just an overall good time.Adam Sandler is one of the greats in comedy, we know that.
But the main story is like this: LongFellow Deeds (Adam Sandler) inherits $40 billion dollars from his great uncle he never knew he had.
Adam Sandler had better chemistry with Drew Barrymore in The Wedding Singer, then he did with Winona Ryder in this movie.
There are several laugh out loud parts in the movie, and although Sandler is the main character in the movie, John Turturro actually holds the movie togeather with his "Sneakiness".It might be two sappy for some of the Happy Gilmore/Billy Madison fans, but if you enjoyed Big Daddy or if you were the one person to like The Wedding Singer than Mr. Deeds could be right up your alley.