Blended Reviews

This movie has a heart. I like the Adam Sandler/Drew Barrymore team up again. That being said, I know it's "just a romantic comedy" and "supposed to be funny" but I resent the one dimensional way Africa and Africans are portrayed. I also dislike that it endorses tourism, especially as shown here where animals are mistreated and ATVs are ridden in natural areas for the sake of American entertainment. What's more, no qualified field guide would jeopardize the safety of those he or she is responsible for by continually sleeping through their work or allowing anyone on foot so close to a rhinoceros. If this is the only image some people in the western world have of South Africa then it is doing a disservice to the country.

Of course, since I have never cared for Adam Sandler, I wasn't really expecting much from this flick but, somehow, I still ended up watching the damned thing. Well, even though it was nothing really amazing, it was still far from being his worst movie. Indeed, Sandler was working here with Drew Barrymore for the 3rd time around and while this movie never reached the level of 'The Wedding Singer' and '50 First Dates' (some very rare watchable flicks starring Sandler, by the way), at least, they had once again some good chemistry together. Furthermore, I have to admit that the whole thing was rather harmless but, unfortunately, someone thought it would be really fun to send them to some resort in Africa which was just a terrible idea. Indeed, the way they all ended up going on this trip was just so convoluted and the movie never really recovered from this mistake. On top of that, to have Sandler going to Africa was asking for some trouble and many jokes were going from being misguided to being cringe-inducing or even borderline discriminating. Anyway, to conclude, even if I have seen worse from Adam Sandler, the damned thing was still pretty weak and I don't think it is really worth a look.

The third time this pair had come together for a movie and it does not look good at all. The movie can be enjoyed for its comedy, not for anyone's performance. The location (South Africa) was good, but not exposed well, instead make fun out of it which was expected.

In earlier days I used laugh out loud for Sandler's jokes, he's not the same guy anymore, I barely smile now. And for Barrymore, she was one of my actresses (I believe still she's), but her recent movies are disappointing, or barely in entertainment business. Kind of attractive Bella Thorne in a tomboyish getup, hope to see her in many future projects.

I heard that Dale Steyn does a cameo for a Hollywood and I did not know it was this movie until I saw him. He's a rock-star on the pitch, but when Sandler made fun out of him that irked me and then let it go as it just a silly movie. Like the old days' animation shorts for the TV, this film had collective pieces of comedic scenes. Individually very entertaining, but as a movie fails to assemble. Not for everyone, but manageable.

6/10

I'm not sure how this will go seeing as the past few Adam Sandler movies have been mostly misses, but I decided to check it out anyways. The cast is decent and I doubt it will be worse than Jack & Jill. You never know though. Frank Coraci has done 3 decent movies with Adam Sandler so that is a good sign. Before they get to Africa I was pretty bored with this, but I stuck through with it and was surprised by the outcome. It was actually pretty entertaining and I laughed hard a few times. Terry Crews definitely stole the show whenever he appeared on screen. There were a few awkward moments, but that is to expected from a Happy Gilmore production. I enjoyed the characters and their quirks. I say it was a pretty interesting movie made from a simple plot.