Review of The Do-Over (2016) by D H — 24 Jul 2016

The Do-Over is Adam Sandler's second film made for Netflix and while it features a gleefully R-rated story, the stupidity of Adam Sandler's humour is still present and by the halfway point, I lost interest in everything I was seeing.

Gone is his usual ensemble of SNL alums polluting the screen with one-note characters; instead we get him paired up with David Spade, who delivers the only solid comedic performance due to his dead-pan delivery and facial expressions.

The story gets convoluted in a hurry, but the basic set-up is that Sandler and Spade's characters used to be buddies in high school and after a "chance" meeting at their reunion, decide to fake their own deaths and live a new life; accidentally entangling themselves in a crime ring due to the new identities they've taken on.

As mentioned, this is an R-rated film and Sandler wastes no time getting to the f-bombs, nudity, and occasional violence, which was refreshing, at first, seeing Sandler able to cut loose, but then it begins to push it all too far, and it stops becoming funny fast.

The supporting cast features the beautiful, Paula Patton, and it makes you wonder what type of contract she had to even appear in this film as she's not given much to do until the end, and the resolution of her character felt pretty forced.

It's not a terrible film, and I did manage to get a few chuckles, but the irritating Sandler-isms rear their ugly head early (dumb pop culture references, shooting the movie in a tropical locale just to go on vacation, and physics-defying slapstick) and it's now apparent that no matter what the subject matter is, Sandler will always find a way to aim the material at pre-teen boys.