I’ll say this nicely. There’s a guy in my gym who’s suffering from some sort of elephantiasis. Seriously. He’s got this wee, completely normal-sized head that’s carrying no extra flab around his chin or cheeks, but his body is lumbering and massive and each of his legs are the size of my entire torso. As a result he wears ginormously outsized clothes, tent-like t-shirts and shorts the size and volume of Volvo round-the-world yacht sails. I only mention this because Adam Sandler in Just Go With It is clearly dressed by the same stylist. He looks square and sickly, like a humongous, bobble-headed, wize-cracking Rubiks Cube, and it’s off putting.
And that’s a shame because this is a film that’s very hard to like at the best of times. The premise is simple enough; a doctor falls for a younger woman who, mistakenly believing the doctor is married, insists on meeting the ex-wife to get the all-clear. Said Doc asks his assistant (Jennifer Aniston) to step up, setting in motion a whole series of ad-libby vignettes where the entire crowd is expected to “just go with it”. So, it’s cringe-worthy, mostly, and crass, with shit jokes and folks lying to each other. It is saved, and then only barely, such is the task at hand, by the not inconsiderable skill of Ms. Aniston, who, frankly, knocks everyone else off the screen with charisma and charm. I’m guessing the Doc had never noticed her because of his elephantiasis?
Locations are Beverly Hills and Hawaii, and there’s a lot made of the romantic getaway stuff AND all the great things for kids to do. The Hawaiian hotel called the Waldorf Astoria was actually shot at the Grand Wailea in Maui, owned by Waldorf Astoria Hotels and Resorts. This is the kind of film tourism stuff that money just can’t buy, and Hawaii is the only other thing I ended up liking in this film.