Review: 'The Week Of'

Adam Sandler is sort of the Nickelback of comedy movie actors. He's a reasonably successful star who has a solid core of fans who'll watch just about anything he makes. He might not be a lot of people's first choice when they're asked to name their favorite actor. But he's likable and predictable enough that audiences will watch his films. That's part of the reason why Netflix signed a production deal with him and continues to release his movies. He's known around the globe and when viewers see his name attached to a film they say "you know, let's take a look."

One of Sandler's strengths is that while he's good at comedy, where he really shines is at playing lovable schlubs. He's best at roles where he plays a middle-class guy struggling to find his way in the world. He isn't afraid to be tender or emotional and those are the scenes that are often the most memorable moments of any of his movies. There aren't a lot of actors doing movies with this particular feel and I suspect that's part of the reason for his popularity with audiences despite often appearing in movies that aren't quite as good as he deserves.

"The Week Of" is the fourth movie Sandler and his Happy Madison Productions have made for Netflix and like many of Sandler's movies, it is a frustrating mix of a predictable plot elevated by Sandler and the rest of the cast. If you're a Sandler fan, you'll probably love this movie. If not, you'll find yourself wishing the entire movie was as wonderful as the film's last 20 minutes.

The movie recounts the week leading up to the marriage of a young couple, with Sander playing Kenny, the father of the bride and Chris Rock playing Kirby, the father of the groom. Sandler's character is working class and he insists on paying for the entire wedding even though he really can't afford it. His pride prevents him from accepting any help from Kirby, who is a wildly successful surgeon.

You can guess what comes next. Lots of mishaps, lots of opportunities for things to go wrong in the days leading up to the marriage ceremony. Kirby sees the closeness of the bride's family and realizes that he missed out on a lot as he worked to become a success. The script (co-written by Sandler and director/comedian Robert Smigel) often takes the easy way out with sight gags and it's fair to say the movie is wildly uneven early on.

Still, the movie finds its stride during the last half hour as the wedding arrives and the sometimes overwhelming wackiness gives way to some gentle, heartwarming laughs. Along with a couple of scenes of touching scenes between Kenny and his daughter Sarah (played by Allison Strong). They have a believable father-daughter chemistry between them and the moments are guaranteed to be your favorite scenes in the film.

And indeed, what makes the movie worth watching is the chemistry between the characters. Sandler's Kenny has a great "we've been married" forever vibe with his wife Debbie (played by Rachel Dratch). Strong and Roland Buck III (who plays her fiancee Tyler) are a believable couple and in fact just about everyone in the movie does a nice job with the material. If anyone seems a bit lost, it's Chris Rock. For whatever reason, he sees to be just smirking his way through the early parts of the movie. But as the wedding approaches and it's less about his career and more about his personal life, he finally seems to be finding the center of the character. The final scene of the movie is Rock and Sandler sitting together talking and watching it made me wish Rock had been as successful in the early scenes of the film.

"The Week Of" isn't a great movie. But it's entertaining and worth watching even if you're not a Sandler fan. There are a lot of reasons why an actor would elect to make direct-to-streaming movies, but one reason is that Hollywood isn't making these types of films anymore. There aren't any superheroes and the cast isn't filled with painfully good-looking twentysomethings. If there is a "this is what real life looks like" film genre, "The Week Of" would be the best recent example of the category.

"The Week Of" isn't always successful. But then, real life doesn't always work like we wished it would either.