Mr. Deeds is the tale of an always-do-well from the boondocks of New England, Longfellow Deeds, who inherits his New Yorkan Uncle's $40 billion media empire. While in New York, Deeds is hounded by opportunists looking for a piece of his pie, one in particular being Babe, a television tabloid reporter posing as a sweet girl with a similar background to Deeds. The last thing that she expects to happen does: she falls in love with Deeds, and she sets out to undo all the wrong that has been caused at her hands. I'm sure it will spoil nothing when I tell you that, ultimately, the good guy wins.
I've never seen the original version of this film (1936's Mr. Deeds Goes to Town), but I'd hope that a comedy worthy of a remake would be half as funny as this hit-and-miss comedy. This is an amalgam of standard Sandler-type comedy and comedy of a completely different sort: it's different because a lot of the comedy is not of the "Hey you! That was funny! LAUGH!" kind, which causes the movie's hit-and-miss qualities. But when you are aware that you are supposed to be laughing, you know you're watching classic(?) Sandler antics. The character that steals the show, however, isn't Deeds but Deeds' butler Emilio (John Turturro). Do not underestimate his sneakiness...he'll make you laugh (after fondling your feet of course). As a fan of all of Sandler's films (except Going Overboard, but probably because I haven't seen it yet), I really enjoyed this one. But I'd be able to understand fully why someone else wouldn't--Happy Gilmore this is not.
Now, I believe it's high time to see a truly different Sandler film: Punch-Drunk Love... |
