So many films today are nothing but a bore by the time they make it to the theater because the entire story line and every exciting point has already been shown in the previews, but “Just Go With It” was able to keep its audience on their toes with its combination of humor, love and moral lessons.
Adam Sandler plays Danny, a successful plastic surgeon who wears a fake wedding band out to bars on a regular basis as a ploy to pick up women. He tends to make up tragic stories about the abuse his “wife” inflicts upon him and the travesty of his “marriage,” arousing sympathy from women which leads to… well you can use your imagination.
Danny meets fashion model Brooklyn Decker’s character, Palmer, at a party one evening without using his ring, but is caught in a growing mess of lies when she finds his ring, questions him and he tells her he is getting divorced.
Because of this lie, Jennifer Aniston’s character (Katherine) and her children become his hired soon-to-be ex-wife and children, laying the foundation for hilarious improvisation as Danny digs himself and everyone around him deeper and deeper into a fake life.
Any success of the film should be majorly attributed to the cast.
I’ll admit, when I first saw the trailer for the film, I laughed a little throughout, but I was wary of the Aniston-Sandler duo. I would never put those two together in a cast, but I am glad Roger Mussenden and Jeremy Rich did. The two personalities meddled so well together as Katherine and Danny discovered the importance of their relationship, in and outside the office.
11-year-old Bailee Madison starred in the film as Katherine’s daughter Maggie. Madison did an outstanding job of not only portraying her character, but morphing into other characters throughout the film as she becomes a part of Danny’s web of lies, giving her the opportunity to recreate her identity.
Not only was the cast exquisitely put together, the raw humor kept the film at a steady pace, never dragging, creating mystery as the audience never knew what was coming next.
“Just Go With It” was true comedy at work. The film was not ignorant or juvenile, but mature and relatable. A film that has the ability to keep an entire theater laughing for almost two hours is hard to come by, but this one did the trick.
4.5 out of 5 stars