Adam Sandler and I had this thing going on in high school. He'd make the funny movies, and I'd always have a movie to put on when people came over. We all loved him, Billy and Happy. But then I came to Duke, and the WaterboyÉ well, we all know it was downhill from there.
Now, Sandler's trying to make amends this summer with Mr. Deeds, but unfortunately, none of the "You eat pieces of shit for breakfast" magic exists here.
As the film's inescapable marketing machine wants us to believe, Mr. Deeds is a small town everyman who suddenly collects a $40 billion inheritance. After moving into his palatial NYC condo, he meets tabloid journalist Pam Dawson (Winona Ryder) who stages a scene to meet him, pretending to be Mary, the virginal school nurse with a heart of gold as big as Deeds'.
Of course, since Ryder is well-practiced in the art of the con, Deeds doesn't realize Mary's faking the attraction to get stories for her tabloid show. She films him kicking the crap out of stuffy rich folk at a swanky New York eatery and tearing up the town with quintessential bad boy John McEnroe in a classic cameo.
All too quickly she falls for Deeds but can't stop her show from smearing America's newest billionaire. Deeds eventually forgives her for the deception, and blah, blah, snooze.
If this were the first time Sandler had turned to this formula--the evil money grubber who wants to control the company (Peter Gallagher, in this version), the fast food restaurant he just can't live without (Wendy's), the everyman friends who care more about him than his wealth (Conchata Ferrell and Steve Buscemi among others), the nice rich guy who ultimately gets the company (Erick Avari) and the constant ass-kicking--maybe I would have been more amused. Hmm, kind of like the 10 year olds sitting around me. But it wasn't my first time around, and I'm ready for a new idea, Mr. Sandler.
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