Sometimes I wish I could like an Adam Sandler movie, that I could have been one of the people to make The Ridiculous 6 one of the most viewed movies on Netflix because I genuinely was looking forward to it. But every movie post Mr. Deeds (with the exception of The Longest Yard, but that was probably because of every cast member bar Sandler) has seen me become numb to the efforts of the once funny man, even more so now that Happy Madison Productions just seems to be Sandler’s own personal travel agency, fuelled by product placement and tasteless jokes. I do stupidly find myself hoping Sandler can turn it around with each movie, harking back to the old days, but that spark of hope has been finally squashed with The Do-Over, the second of four Netflix exclusive movies for the actor, being everything people have grown to hate about the actor all rolled into one movie.
Teaming up with frequent running mate David Spade, Sandler is Max, high school friend to put upon loser Charlie (Spade), who hits upon the idea of faking their deaths and swapping lives with two recently deceased men he somehow came across to refresh their dead end existences. Living it up in Puerto Rico, the pair’s plan, which just seems to be an excuse for drinking everything and screwing everyone in sight, goes off without a hitch until their purloined identities make them the target of a group of assassins.
From the set-up, which is just an excuse for the expected gay, racist, and ageist jokes, to the main narrative, which is just an excuse for the expected gay, racist, and ageist jokes, there isn’t one redeeming element to The Do-Over. The story just lurches forward with no rhyme or reason, revolving around some guff about the cure for cancer that is handled with the subtlety of a hurricane, introducing characters and plot points that are written off in an attempt to squeeze more non-existent humour from the mess of a premise. Nothing about the narrative makes sense, twisting itself to come to anything relating a point, sacrificing continuity and common sense along the way. When the story tries to be clever (and god bless it, it does try) it falls flatter than usual, trying to inject heart into proceedings too little too late in a movie where one early scene revolves around Luis Guzman’s sweaty ball sack.
The cast help much either, as you can’t shake the feeling that everyone is just there for the pay check and free holiday (which is incredibly hard to shake). Sandler and Spade share no chemistry, which is the point of this whole affair, and...........y’know what, I’m not going to waste anymore words on this. The Do-Over is a bad movie, plain and simple.
Teaming up with frequent running mate David Spade, Sandler is Max, high school friend to put upon loser Charlie (Spade), who hits upon the idea of faking their deaths and swapping lives with two recently deceased men he somehow came across to refresh their dead end existences. Living it up in Puerto Rico, the pair’s plan, which just seems to be an excuse for drinking everything and screwing everyone in sight, goes off without a hitch until their purloined identities make them the target of a group of assassins.
From the set-up, which is just an excuse for the expected gay, racist, and ageist jokes, to the main narrative, which is just an excuse for the expected gay, racist, and ageist jokes, there isn’t one redeeming element to The Do-Over. The story just lurches forward with no rhyme or reason, revolving around some guff about the cure for cancer that is handled with the subtlety of a hurricane, introducing characters and plot points that are written off in an attempt to squeeze more non-existent humour from the mess of a premise. Nothing about the narrative makes sense, twisting itself to come to anything relating a point, sacrificing continuity and common sense along the way. When the story tries to be clever (and god bless it, it does try) it falls flatter than usual, trying to inject heart into proceedings too little too late in a movie where one early scene revolves around Luis Guzman’s sweaty ball sack.
The cast help much either, as you can’t shake the feeling that everyone is just there for the pay check and free holiday (which is incredibly hard to shake). Sandler and Spade share no chemistry, which is the point of this whole affair, and...........y’know what, I’m not going to waste anymore words on this. The Do-Over is a bad movie, plain and simple.
