Just Go With It (2011)

On Valentine's Day, we try to go see a movie. Our first Valentine's Day was Message in a Bottle, the others since were a mixed bag of romance, romantic comedies, and other flicks too. In recent years I've been trying to put a push on seeing the romance movie of the year, or at least a romance movie. Recently, it was He's Just Not That Into You (2009), which I didn't get a feel for at first blush, but has grown on me since. Then it was Valentine's Day (2010), which I can give or take. This year, it was a toss up between Just Go With It (2011) and No Strings Attached (2011). I read reviews in each, and both left me feeling lukewarm. In the end I figured I'd enjoy Ashton Kutcher a bit more than Adam Sandler... ultimately I made the right decision, but that's not because Just Go With It isn't a great movie.

This Devlin is great--if you pardon the movie reference. :) If you liked 50 First Dates (2004) then you'll definately like this. From the reviews and the trailers I sort of expected there to be this brother-sister sort of banter between Jennifer and Adam, but that was only in the scene from the trailer. Instead, the movie opens and you forget about the plot for a bit, feeling an instant connection to Jennifer and Adam's characters, not to mention their chemistry together. All throughout the film you feel this, and it really pays off.

Adam's love interest is supposedly the main attraction, yet the camera doesn't love her as much as it loves Jennifer here, despite the age disparity, in almost every way the filmmakers have made Jennifer Aniston the love interest of not only Adam's character, but of the viewer too. For the guys out there, there's a great bikini scene where Brooklyn dives into the water, meanders under a waterfall, etc., then 5 minutes later the Jennifer's on camera diving in the water too. The difference is that there's a lot of focus on Jennifer, and I'm pretty sure the camera is zoomed in a lot tighter to her body. Maybe they air brushed the scenes some, but she comes off looking far more attractive than Brooklyn.

I believe Jennifer Aniston recently made a public statement that she was going to start avoiding the low-budget fare her post-Friends acting character has generally followed to date, and if that's true, she's done well with this one. Here we have the Rachel we all knew and loved back in the 90s, except she's mature, filled with character and a knock out. If Jennifer can find a few more to follow suit--if you pardon the half-pun--I think she's on the right track. Wanderlust (2011) might be a nice continuation of this.

Last but not least, Orson Scott Card has written a review of Adam Sandler's more serious movies like 50 First Dates, and specifically this movie. In it he talks about the regular interjection of the comedic style Adam's known for. While I agreed with Orson's review at the time I read it, after seeing this film I think it works. If you don't like Adam's style, don't watch his movies. Granted, Adam's foray into more serious roles has not mimicked actors such as Jim Carrey or Steve Carell, but everybody has to find their own way, and I, for one, appreciate Adam's more recent acting roles.