“Mr. Deeds” may have scored big at the box office, taking the number one spot over the weekend — but is it worthy of such success?
“Mr. Deeds” is a funny, if not completely brainless, remake of the 1936 Frank Capra film, “Mr. Deeds Goes to Town.” In this reincarnation, “Mr. Deeds” somehow manages to be sweet, dumb and very funny while at the same time having a story that’s almost as compelling as a fishing show.
Adam Sandler plays Longfellow Deeds, owner of a pizzeria in the small town of Mandrake Falls, N.H. The pizzeria is that wonderfully clichÇd business, appearing in about every comedy involving a small town. It’s the place where every person in town gathers everyday with the sole purpose of providing an audience for the hero.
He also happens to be the closest living relative of one of the richest men in the world, who has just died in a freak mountain climbing accident.
Now, the kind and unassuming Deeds is in line to earn a “wicked cool” $40 billion. All he has to do is come to New York and sell his shares of Blake Enterprises to Chuck Cedar, played by Peter Gallagher, the devious rat who wants to break up the company and sell it off bit by bit.
Deeds is unimpressed with the big city until he meets Babe Bennett, a.k.a. Pam Dawson, played by Winona Ryder, a reporter posing as a damsel in distress who is hoping to get the scoop on the nation’s newest eligible bachelor for her tabloid TV show.
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However, as is often the case in situations like this, Pam genuinely falls for Deeds, only to have everything come apart when he learns the truth. Rounding out the cast of villains is Mac McGrath (Jared Harris), the sleazy king of tabloid journalist who would sell his own mother for a prime-time gig.
Now, how is our lovable — and slightly brain-dead — hero going to overcome all this opposition? Simple: he gets the girl, delivers a few inspiring lines and befriends everyone with a hug (shaking hands is for strangers), wrapping the movie up with a tidy little bow.
If you want a movie with depth, this one won’t even get your knees wet, but if you want a cheap laugh, this may be for you.
As funny as this movie is, we’ve seen it before. “Mr. Deeds” is another version of Sandler as the goofy, good-hearted fish-out-of-water. It’s full of recycled jokes and recurring characters.
I marveled as Happy Gilmore, I mean Deeds, beat up a few rich people, went on a drinking frenzy with tennis legend John McEnroe and fell in love with a beautiful girl. I was even more amazed when Billy Madison — oops, again I mean Deeds — gave a rousing speech in defense of his goofiness, and fought against a giant corporate greed head with good-natured violence and dopey charm.
There were several new gags, including a gut-busting toss-the-cat-out-of-a-burning-building bit; a nice round of whack-the-disgusting-frost-bitten foot; and Emilio, the sneaky butler, played by John Turturro, whose creepy stealth is rivaled only by his ability to steal a scene right out from under Sandler’s nose.
It’s nice to watch a movie where no one dies and the dopey comic relief gets the girl. Besides the laughs, this movie is horrid. During those annoying plot advances, I wondered: Is Sandler so big a star that he can pitch a movie with no script, and get someone to make it? Apparently the answer is a resounding “yes.”
There was absolutely no chemistry between Sandler and Ryder. It was like watching two people who smell really bad trying to be nice to each other. Gallagher made as convincing a villain as I would a nuclear physicist. Finally, Sandler himself seemed as if he went through all his old movies, pulled out every joke that worked and simply re-shot them in New York.
All in all, this is not Sandler’s best work.
