I used to love Adam Sandler’s old comedies – Billy Madison, Happy Gilmore and so on – but he has taken a dump on his career over the last several year. Grown Ups, Jack and Jill and You Don’t Mess with the Zohan are the worst. Because of that unforgettably bad taste that he’s been placing in our mouths, I no longer have any hope for his movies – which is what made Blended a pleasant surprise.
The best romantic comedies in Sandler’s past were the ones co-starring Drew Barrymore, The Wedding Singer and 50 First Dates. Blended reunites Sandler with Barrymore and, despite the ongoing trend of awful output, most of the charm and entertainment is back.
Sandler plays a widower with three daughters and Barrymore plays a divorcee with two sons. The movie opens with them being introduced on a tragic blind date. Things don’t go well, so when they run into one another again while on an African family getaway, they’re thinking that they made the wrong decision in vacationing. Of course, things aren’t as bad as they seem and both realize that they have more in common than they thought. And not only do they seem to make a decent couple together, but they match up well with one another’s kids.
While the good aspects of their previous movies are present in Blended, unfortunately, it’s also got a small amount of Sandler’s recent stupid humor. Luckily, the good outweighs the bad, making Blended Adam Sandler’s best comedy in a decade. Thank heaven for Drew Barrymore.
(Photo credit: Warner Bros.)
