Max (Adam Sandler) and Charlie (David Spade) old school friends who reunite at their 25th high school reunion are tired of their mundane lives: they decide to wipe the slate clean for a do-over. After faking their deaths and assuming new identities, could their lives be better the second time around? Two down-on-their-luck guys decide to fake their own deaths and start over with new identities, only to find the people they're pretending to be are in even deeper trouble. 'The Do Over' is Adam Sandlers latest film for Netflix following the incredibly bad 'Ridiculous 6'. This time Sandler has cast himself as a cool action star constantly saving David Spade from anything and everything. Spade plays a bank manager who desperately wants to change his horribly mediocre life and start anew. Sandler grants this wish by faking their deaths and taking on new identities. At first glance this is actually not a bad idea. It far surpasses any set up that Sandler has had in a movie for quite some time. Not to mention that this is his first R rated comedy in quite some time. So, there was a tiny shred of hope for me going into this film. However that shred was dashed very quickly. As I said, the first ten to twenty minutes aren't terrible. It's the following hour and a half where Sandlers trademark laziness hits with full force. Every new film he cranks out leaves me with a terribly bitter taste in my mouth, and it's not only because they are awful but because they all are wasted opportunities. <br/><br/>'Pixels' was actually a pretty original idea and it wasted. Same goes for 'Ridiculous 6'. And as I watched this film the same is clear here. There are countless scenes where you could tell that you should care about what is happening but you don't. This mainly stems from the truly atrocious storytelling at play.<br/><br/>The film is held together but the films overall through line but it falls apart from scene to scene. Everything always works out for no reason. For some reason Spade can tell exactly what kind of bank a certain key goes too. And although Sandlers character was set up as a coward that hides it well he suddenly has access to weapons and uses them with lethal accuracy.<br/><br/>Where did these guns come from and how is he so great at using them? Your guess is as good as mine. All the while Sandler and spade could not look more bored. The only times that they truly seem to care about what is going on is when they are allowed to say crude and over the top stupid things. Other than that their performances come down to them being super sexist and bored. Seriously, every women on screen is only used as a sex symbol. An object to be used or taken advantage of. It puts on display this subtle Sandlerism in the worst way possible. Most of his films have a hint of sexism but this one shows the true depth of it.<br/><br/>When the majority of your jokes revolve around this how good can you really expect your film to be? There is just nothing funny here at all. If they leads aren't being super sexist then they are being crude for the sake of being crude. There is no real jokes here at all, they shove hot dogs in each others face and laugh or fart and laugh. <br/><br/>Each joke that is given to us is the punch line without any set up. And we all know that jokes are really only funny with a great set up. But the film can fall back on it's visual humor right? If there was any, maybe. But it doesn't even try. That is why this, like many of other Sandler movies, fails. It's so incredibly lazy in every thing that it does. Nothing makes sense, the pacing is all over the place, it's humor is terrible, and the result is yet another crapped out piece of garbage. But honestly, was anyone really surprised? I'm not a Sandler hater by any means. Up until this, I've pretty much defended all of his films. There are a few that are questionable (Jack and Jill, 8 Crazy Nights) but at least they have one scene that is just so bizarre, it borderline saves the film.<br/><br/>And now we have the aptly titled The Do Over.<br/><br/>Max is a smooth-talking guy who runs into old friend Charlie at a high school reunion. Charlie's life is a mess. His wife Nikki is sleeping with Sean Astin, his step kids hate him, and he's just generally miserable. <br/><br/>Reuniting with Max makes him feel like a teenager again, having fun and avoiding his reality. <br/><br/>When Max decides to fake their deaths so they can start over in Puerto Rico, Charlie doesn't object for long, until their new identities pasts catch up,with them…….<br/><br/>It sounded like a good idea, Adam Sandler in an identity swap crisis, only to find out that his new identity causes more trouble than ever before, but to make it as adult and as vulgar as possible, he's made something that just doesn't sit well with (I know many will chortle) his body of work.<br/><br/>It's doesn't have the brightness of a normal Happy Madison vehicle, and it appears that this has been rushed, because I'm guessing that Sandler thought he was going to hit big with Pixels, and then come back with Pixels 2 after this contract was for filled, but alas, we all know how the story went with that.<br/><br/>He's probably already been paid for his contract, The Ridiculous six was universally panned, but one of the most watched things on Netflix, so in theory, do either party really care about the quality? Because whether or not the quality is good or bad, it's win win for them.<br/><br/>I'm not saying that Sandler doesn't put in a decent performance, he's ways watchable in that favourite second cousin type of way, but he looks like he has dead eyes in some of the scenes. Spade is okay, but seeing as the majority of films he's been in haven't been very good, it's not saying much.<br/><br/>It isn't funny in the slightest, the sarcastic element to his comedy formula is sorely missed, and I'm really concerned about what is coming next, because this is such a wasted effort.<br/><br/>I'm sure if it wasn't going straight to Netflix, Sandler would have put in a lot more effort into it.<br/><br/>But to be fair, it does contain the best use of the Madonna son 'Crazy For You'.<br/><br/>But I'm not crazy for this.<br/><br/>I feel like I've been done over…. There are comedies that make you double over in laughter, and there are comedies that are eerily unfunny to the point where you start thinking about a class-action suit.
Ultquily replied
293 weeks ago