← Back to Reviews
in
Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore team for a third time in the 2014 comedy Blended, which scores points for attempted originality but loses points for predictability and lack of economy in telling a story where we can see the ending coming from miles away.
Sandler plays Jim, the widowed father of three girls, who has a disastrous blind date with Barrymore's Lauren, the divorced mother of two boys, who are then reunited at a resort/seminar for blended families that takes place in Africa of all places, where they connect through c
each other's children first.
Even though we pretty much know what's going to happen once our star-crossed lovers meet again in Africa, there is a certain amount of curiosity as to how exactly it's going to happen. We watch as Jim gives Lauren's younger son baseball tips and as Lauren helps Jim's daughter Hillary to let go of her inner tomboy and discover that she really is a girl, despite the fact that Jim might have been raising her to believe the contrary. The fact that this all happens in Africa is kind of original and there is a lot of attractive location photography, but it doesn't take away from the story's predictability and the fact that the film is about 20 minutes too long.
Ivan Menchell and Clara Sera's screenplay does have a spark of originality to it, due to the fact that both our lead characters are single parents and it is refreshing to see the lead characters in a romantic love story put the needs of their children first. but when the children start pushing them together, that's where the predictability kicks in. I think this story would have been a lot more interesting and realistic if Jim and Lauren had found a way to put their kids' needs first and still work on their own relationship despite the fact that their kids hate each other, but the kids are practically shoving these two at each other from jump, which was what I was expecting, but every now and then I like something to happen in a movie that I don't expect.
Sandler and Barrymore's reputation as a screen team has to go a long way here and I'm not sure if it was enough to sustain the film since the performances from the kids are kind of annoying and the supporting cast, which includes Terry Crews, Wendie McClendon-Hovey, Kevin Nealon, and Shaquille O'Neal, is pretty much wasted in thankless roles. Recommended for hard core fans of Sandler and Barrymore only.
Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore team for a third time in the 2014 comedy Blended, which scores points for attempted originality but loses points for predictability and lack of economy in telling a story where we can see the ending coming from miles away.
Sandler plays Jim, the widowed father of three girls, who has a disastrous blind date with Barrymore's Lauren, the divorced mother of two boys, who are then reunited at a resort/seminar for blended families that takes place in Africa of all places, where they connect through c
each other's children first.
Even though we pretty much know what's going to happen once our star-crossed lovers meet again in Africa, there is a certain amount of curiosity as to how exactly it's going to happen. We watch as Jim gives Lauren's younger son baseball tips and as Lauren helps Jim's daughter Hillary to let go of her inner tomboy and discover that she really is a girl, despite the fact that Jim might have been raising her to believe the contrary. The fact that this all happens in Africa is kind of original and there is a lot of attractive location photography, but it doesn't take away from the story's predictability and the fact that the film is about 20 minutes too long.
Ivan Menchell and Clara Sera's screenplay does have a spark of originality to it, due to the fact that both our lead characters are single parents and it is refreshing to see the lead characters in a romantic love story put the needs of their children first. but when the children start pushing them together, that's where the predictability kicks in. I think this story would have been a lot more interesting and realistic if Jim and Lauren had found a way to put their kids' needs first and still work on their own relationship despite the fact that their kids hate each other, but the kids are practically shoving these two at each other from jump, which was what I was expecting, but every now and then I like something to happen in a movie that I don't expect.
Sandler and Barrymore's reputation as a screen team has to go a long way here and I'm not sure if it was enough to sustain the film since the performances from the kids are kind of annoying and the supporting cast, which includes Terry Crews, Wendie McClendon-Hovey, Kevin Nealon, and Shaquille O'Neal, is pretty much wasted in thankless roles. Recommended for hard core fans of Sandler and Barrymore only.