Movie Review: Blended (2014)
| Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore keep the laughs coming in a comedy that takes their characters to Africa, kids in tow. |
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| Two seemingly incompatible people,
Lauren (Drew Barrymore) and Jim (Adam Sandler), follow up an
awkward first date with a trip to Africa, their respective
children in tow. It’s a plotline that sounded like it had
potential. And with Sandler and Barrymore playing the main
characters, I headed the theater to see Blended
with high hopes. Sandler and Barrymore have already proven their onscreen chemistry (The Wedding Singer; 50 First Dates), and they still have it in Blended. In Blended, they also share touching paternal/maternal moments with their children. Bella Thorne, Emma Fuhrmann and Alyvia Alyn Lynd play Jim’s daughters; Kyle Red Silverstein and Braxton Beckham play Lauren’s sons. Without exception, the children were delightful to watch and felt like real kids rather than actors. The youngest child, Lind, drips with cuteness, although she doesn’t rely on it, a rarity in child actors. Although Thorne was a standout, a major plot point is that she is constantly confused for a boy. Even with a bad haircut and boyish clothes, Thorne is still too girlishly pretty to reasonably be mistaken for a boy. Joel McHale plays the thankless role of Lauren’s extremely-attractive, but equally-selfish ex-husband perfectly. Unfortunately, many of the supporting characters were more like caricatures than real people, pulling the movie away from reality over and over again. Blended predictably follows the formula of your basic romantic comedy. Director Frank Coraci and screenwriters Ivan Menchell and Clare Sera offer no real surprises. There were plenty of gags; about half were genuinely funny, and half were not (even to the pumped-up audience at Blended’s Hollywood premiere). Some of those not-funny gags were actually cringe-worthy. An example, also seen in the movie’s trailer, is a resort staff member who is leading a safari commenting that two lions overlooking a small prey animal had become a blended family. (A completely unrealistic interpretation!) A moment later, the camera cuts to the horrified reaction of the tourists as the prey animal is eaten. (Completely predictable!) The staff member comments, “I might have misread that.” Disappointingly, the African setting of a good portion of the movie was wasted as the characters rarely ventured past the walls of their luxury Las Vegas-style resort. My conclusion: Blended was okay, but it could have been a lot better. |
| Jen's grade: B Better than most. Worth a watch! |
Blended opens in theaters May 23, 2014. Blended is rated PG-13. |
Jen (California, USA)* * Jen attended the premiere of Blended at no cost. |