Rated PG-13 - Running Time: 1:36 - Released 6/28/02
MR. DEEDS
Rated PG-13 - Running Time: 1:36 - Released 6/28/02
Adam Sandler continues his astonishing downward spiral with Mr.
Deeds, a comedy whose funniest scenes are shown in the TV
trailer, which perpetuates his penchant for idiotic, schoolboy
humor, misunderstood-nice-guy characters, and plots which insult
the intelligence of anyone over 12. Okay, I know the screenplay
is credited to Sandler's old pal and ex-roommate Tim Herlihy,
and the directing to Steven Brill, but we all know Sandler is
the main creative force behind his movies; besides, I would think
those guys would be ashamed to have their names associated with
this kind of dreck. As for the supporting cast, like Wynona Ryder,
John Turturro, and Conchata Ferrell, all of whom are clearly above
this project, I can only assume that they are all either desperate
for cash or desperate to remain in the public eye, and feel that
that appearing in a bad movie is better than appearing in no movie
at all. I disagree.
The story of this film is in fact loosely based on the 1936
Gary Cooper film Mr. Deeds Goes to Town, written by Robert
Riskin, which was itself based on the short story Opera Hat
by Clarence Budington Kelland. The fact that Cooper, Riskin, and
Kelland were all dead before Sandler was born may be the only
thing stopping them from filing suit, but I'm sure it doesn't
prevent them from spinning in their respective graves. It centers
around a supposedly charming small town guy named Longfellow Deeds,
who, despite the fact that he's perfectly happy running a pizza
shop and trying to break into the world of greeting card writing
in Mandrake Falls, New Hampshire, discovers that he's the sole
heir of recently deceased multi-billionaire Preston Blake, the
C.E.O. of Blake Media, which seems to be something like Turner
Broadcasting or Time/Warner. He is called away from his beloved
home to New York City by the company's power-hungry interim manager
(Peter Gallagher), who wants Deeds to sign away the company to
him for $40 bil, and descended on by tabloid journalists like
Babe Bennett (Ryder), who for some reason wants to run his name
through the mud. But Deeds remains blissfully unaware of these
peoples' evil designs, falling in love with Babe (who has adopted
the persona of homespun school nurse "Pam Dawson" for
the purpose of secretly videotaping him) and making friends with
the servants in his uncle's palatial New York apartment, especially
Emilio, the valet (Turturro), who prides himself on being "sneaky."
In the same way that Sandler's character in Big
Daddy displayed good fathering techniques by teaching
a young boy how to urinate on public buildings, his Deeds
character shows the strong moral fiber of a small-town humanitarian
by savagely beating up people who use profanity in the presence
of women. His obvious affinity for New York drastically contradicts
the countrified sensibilities of his character, especially when
he shouts things from the rooftops like "I'm honored to be
in the greatest city in the world!" Six months ago (about
the time this movie was probably being filmed) it may have seemed
poignant and sentimental, but at this point, for this premise,
it's simply out of character. I'm not saying someone from rural
America couldn't be excited about being in New York, but try as
he may, Sandler will never be able to come off as a country bumpkin.
Despite the low calibre of its script, the poverty of actual humor, and the obvious sense of "slumming it" emanating from the performances of Ryder et al, I overheard a kid coming out of this film saying, "That was the best movie I've seen in a long time." There you have it, folks: Sandler's struck again. *½