I’ve never really fancied Adam Sandler films. Infact, when I see an Adam Sandler film, I skip mainly because I feel it’s going to contain a lot of risque material but I’ve been watching a lot of his films lately and while I’ve seen a lot of risque material, I have also seen more to him than that. He actually stars in wholesome films like this one I’m reviewing which is nice.
The plot is in the name. It is about a blended family that’s yet to be. Jim(Adam Sandler) and Lauren(Drew Barrymore) once went on what turned out to be a horrible blind date for both of them. They were both single parents with kids of their own. Jim with boys of his own and Adam with girls to make things interesting.Lauren’s friend who recently developed cold feet because her boyfriend, a guy called Dick who loved her a lot had five kids of his own whom he wished to introduce her to, canceled her trip to Africa with the guy;a trip which consisted of an elaborate vacation package specially tailored to help blended families adjust to each other and come out of the experience totally in love as a family. Lauren seizes this opportunity and takes Lauren’s half of the package so the trip doesn’t go to waste, but she’s totally unaware that Jim does the same with Dick’s package. So of course the two haters end up in the same vacation /hotel space and that’s where the fun commences.
They are forced to spend this time together whilst enjoying the romantic offers already paid for. Jim naturally gravitates towards her sons and fills in the gap as a father figure for them by engaging them in all those manly fun sport stuff while Lauren also naturally takes an interest in his girls who’ve been dressed as Tomboys since their mother passed away. They realize slowly that they each benefit from the effect of having each other in their lives and of course that means falling in love.
Anyone can guess what the end of this film would be like a centimeter away but that doesn’t do anything to hamper the pleasure of watching things unfold. There are many funny moments in this film.There are risque moments because like I said, Adam Sandlers is in it, but it was not overly over the top to make it distasteful. I see it now as a side effect. It’s definitely something to watch to get a warm feeling inside and laugh. It also brings into light the real life problem of single parents who struggle with raising kids while struggling with the guilt of wondering when is a good time to get back into the dating world.
I think the cast worked well with each other. I’m generally not a harsh critic since I don’t watch films to actually find faults in them because that’s a joyless activity. I watch for the entertainment value and even if this film has been called tacky and garbage by some, I will say that for me it did entertain me enough for the moments I spent immersed in it, so I’m going to rate it a 7/10.
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