I Thought This Would Never Happen

Stop the presses.   And the world on its axis.  The impossible has happened.

I liked an Adam Sandler movie.   Lord, my fingers hurt just typing that.

Let's face it.   For most of us, Adam Sandler is an extremely acquired taste.   He is the Jerry Lewis of the new millennium.  Making movies that are completely stupid and embarrassing to watch.   Funny only if you are an eight-year-old.

So, when I heard about "The Week Of" on Netflix, I immediately looked for a way that my television would never possibly or even accidentally run across this film.  But, with Dodger baseball being so downright unwatchable these days, I found myself resorting to virtually anything for pure amusement.  Dust forming on a cabinet.   The minutes changing on my cable box.   "The Week Of."

And, truth be told, I almost tuned out after the first scene.   Chris Rock is a LA heart surgeon (???!!!) and he's in the middle of an operation with the patient's chest open in front of him.   He takes a cell phone call from Adam Sandler out on Long Island to discuss the upcoming wedding of Rock's son to Sandler's daughter.  This is such an utterly ridiculous premise that I was fumbling to find where my remote was.

But, for some reason that perhaps will be explained to me by God when I am in Heaven, I stayed with it.  And was astonishingly rewarded.

Okay, let's get the obvious out of the way from the get-go.   Adam Sandler doesn't change his usual act one iota in this movie.   He's a blue collar, Glen Cove, Long Island jerk with the most annoying voice you will ever want to hear.  But, somehow, it blends in and you eventually don't notice it.   Because you are laughing out loud so much.   About midway through, I was pleasantly surprised and a little baffled that I was enjoying it all.

"The Week Of" is one of those films filled with stupid and inappropriate humor that does click for some reason.   It's a movie to watch with that special friend who will laugh with you at anything.   We all have somebody like that.   With this film, I got the same kind of inexplicable high that I received when I went to see "Office Christmas Party."   It's dumb, but fun.  That's even more amazing when you realize that Sandler is one of the writers and a SNL scribe, Robert Smigel, is the director.

Sandler and Smigel pepper the screen with a lot of little set pieces that do merit your attention.   The plot, of course, is rife with possibilities.   The fact that it's about a bi-racial wedding is actually immaterial.   They do not play up the race card.   It's just two wacky families gathering for an event and, of course, everything goes wrong.   

The always welcome Steve Buscemi is one of the relatives and he brings his dad who is in a wheelchair with no legs.   Trust me, you will laugh at what they do to that old man.   You might feel guilty about it, but not for long.   There are many more laughter pay offs than there are not.

With this exhausting pace, "The Week of" does run out of gas in the last fifteen minutes.   But the time before was incredibly well spent.

Kudos to Adam Sandler.   Oh, jeez, did I really write that???

LEN'S RATING:  Three stars.

Dinner last night: A big salad.