Movie Review: Bedtime Stories
Rated by 14 members
Rated PG for some mild rude humor and mild language.
Recommended for all ages.
Run Time: 95 minutes
Quick Take: If you love the sound of children's laughter (and want a few guffaws of your own), here's your movie.
Sandler's Stories Never Runs Out of Gas (Literally) ... or Heart
It's got wedgies, burps, gaseous emissions from points southward and, for good measure, boogers.
Merry Christmas, kids -- it's an Adam Sandler movie!
Bedtime Stories is no doubt a mighty Christmas present to young tots who might otherwise have had to wait to cross into PG-13 land to partake of the Sand-man. The SNL alum who spent much of his early career playing loveable goofballs to post-adolescent boys seems to be aiming lower (no, no, no -- lower as in age demographic): same goofball, younger audience. But you know what? There are worse things you could do. Watching his latest loveably wacky flick and listening to the giggles, chortles, snorts, and all-out breathless belly laughs from a theater full of kids dissolved in glee, it's clear that overaged kid Sandler has his finger on the funny bone of a new generation. The goofy guy has a couple of kids of his own, and though the story was penned by screenwriters Matt Lopez and Tim Herlihy (the latter a frequent Sandler collaborator), one can but imagine it was taken from the fun-filled bag of tricks Sandler might whip out to entertain his own kids. To which I say, lucky kids.
Lunkhead du jour is Uncle Skeeter, hotel handyman, pinch-hitting babysitter and -- you guessed it -- loveable goofball to sister Wendy, bestest bud Mickey, niece and nephew Bobbi and Patrick, and bug-eyed pet guinea pig, Bugsy. Skeeter does what good uncles are supposed to do, namely introduce his sibling's kids to everything their mother doesn't want them to know about, and he does his dandy best, ordering up room-service hamburgers for his formerly vegan charges ("Life changing!" extols his nephew) and replacing reading time with slapstick morning cartoons. Most importantly, at bedtime, he ditches Mom-approved tales like, "The Organic Squirrel Gets a Bike Helmet" and mines the space between his ears for tales only Uncle Skeeter could concoct -- chariot races with Skeetacus; medieval duels starring Sir Buttkiss. Skeeter's tall tales start coming to life during his day job, and the handyman starts figuring how he can maximize "happily ever after" to his best advantage. The rest of the grownups get to play kooky wingmen like characters from a Roald Dahl book, except for Keri Russell as Skeeter's unlikely love interest (no doubt a hopeful turn of events for goofy guys everywhere) and Courtney Cox who gets to dust off her Monica Gellar mode to play uptight mom, Wendy. The plot? It's about a luxury hotel and a contest to become general manager, but it's all just backdrop for Skeeter to conjure angry dwarves and booger wars in space.
Parents who grew up guffawing with Water Boy and Billy Madison, fear not. This is a kinder, gentler Sandler (read: not raunchy) who speaks to kids probably because he is one. Ah, if all grownups could be so fun. On the other hand, responsible types can happily regress for roughly an hour and half, since you don't have to look hard to find Sandler you know and love -- he's there when he eats a toothpaste sandwich for breakfast or gets sentimental by way of, "I'm like the stink on your feet. I'll always be here." What you end up with in Bedtime Stories is a little bit of everything—a little fable, a little love story, a little vintage Adam Sandler, a lot of laughs. All that, and a gassy pet guinea pig. Important? Life changing? High art? Nope.
And, that's just the way we like it.
Kids Will Like:
Bug-eyed Bugsy the guinea pig might want to get himself an agent. Kids were impressed with Adam Sandler, but it was Bugsy who stole their hearts. "It was so funny when Bugsy was on Skeeter's head," gushed 10-year-old Miah. "I liked it when Bugsy was on the treadmill," added her 6-year-old brother Griffin. Was there anything they didn't like? "No! It was the best movie."
Parents Will Like:
The movie may be goofy, but it doesn't talk down to anyone. And the acted-out bedtime stories -- Skeeter in space, Skeeter in the wild, wild west -- are as much fun for parents as for kids. It's that rare movie broods can truly enjoy together, said Jason, dad to Miah and Griffin. "I don't usually buy into movies. But this was great. Unique. Funny." The best part for me? The amount of laughter coming from the kids. There's just nothing like it. And, Skeeter has the best cell-phone ring ever.
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