Blended
Widowed and left with three daughters, Jim (Adam Sandler) is finding himself a bit out of his depth as his girls are getting older. Meanwhile, Lauren (Drew Barrymore), the single mother of two young boys finds herself struggling to keep order in her house as well. Having been on a blind date together that went horribly sideways the two would appear to have little in common; but, when the freakish coincidence to vacation in Africa together comes up, the modern day Brady bunch seems to be in the making, this can’t go wrong…Right?
Bringing little to the table as new ground in cinema, where Blended lacks in originality, the charisma and charm of Sandler and Barrymore together again seem to balance things out. Mind you, there’s still heaps of typical Sandler crude and sexist played out humor; but, there are also a handful of moments that are actually funny, refreshing. Plus plenty of screen time from funny men Kevin Nealon, Terry Crews, Joel McHale, and Shaquille O’Neal make for some forgettable but laughable moments as well. And, with production levels at a reasonable quality it’s hard to pan the film for poor crafting. All told, while not great, there’s still some entertainment value here, perhaps a matinee but really still more of a rental. Blended is rated PG-13.