Almost Pointless Multipack Theatre Adam Sandler's "50 First Dates"/"Mr. Deeds"

As I've been exploring Pointless Multipack Theatre this month, I occasionally come across a multipack that more or less makes sense. While not being a huge fan of the works of Adam Sandler, the multipack with "50 First Dates" and "Mr. Deeds" is perhaps one of the best values for those who are. These are two of Sandler's better comedies and they hold up fairly well for a romantic comedy and straight out comedy. The reason is simple: "50 First Dates" pairs him with a costar with whom he has great chemistry and "Mr. Deeds" finds Sandler doing his schtick possibly the best he ever does it.

This is a decent multipack, which is simply the two DVDs that were previously released shrink-wrapped together and offered at a slightly lower price. There are no exclusives offered in this pack that were not previously available with the DVDs before.

For those unfamiliar with it, "50 First Dates" follows Henry Roth, a geeky marine biologist in Hawaii who meets Lucy Witmore one morning at a local restaurant. Taken with her, he arrives the next morning to discover she has no memory of him. Locals quickly reveal to Henry that Lucy had a severe accident and has spent some time reliving the day over and over again. Her father and brother continue to protect Lucy by allowing themselves to be trapped in Marlin's (Lucy's father) birthday day after day. Henry shakes up Lucy's world and he falls in love with her, trying each day to get her to fall in love with her while earning the trust and respect of Marlin.

The thing about "50 First Dates" is that it's not entirely absurd or without its charms. In fact, the only real drawback of the movie is that the plot becomes somewhat repetitive. Henry's attempts to woo Lucy begin to get old around the middle of the movie and that is where the film takes a shift from absurd comedy into something endearing and dramatic. There's also a stretch where the movie becomes less about Henry and Lucy and more about Marlin and Henry, shifting from the romance into the story of a man convincing a protective father he's an all right guy.

The other drawback is the beginning; the movie sets itself up as a ridiculous comedy that isn't quite sure what it wants to be. In establishing Henry at work, the viewer is treated to lame animal gags, stupid vomit humor and a pointless androgynous coworker character that dilutes from the movie's sensibilities and sensitivities.

Once the movie decides to be about Henry's infatuation and growing love for Lucy, it begins to hit its stride. There is genuine humor - though most of those scenes were in the previews - like Henry's use of a penguin to get Lucy's attention and him staging a mugging with his friend Ula. Lucy's psychopathic romp on Ula is hilarious and her brother's steroid-lisp scenes are enough to keep the audience smiling.

What makes this dramedy shine, other than the fact that it quickly rejects the ridiculous humor that would have made it like most any other Adam Sandler movie, is that the characters are interesting and the acting clicks. Henry is pretty much the standard quirky, repressed maniac that Sandler does in just about all of his movies. However, Henry is surrounded by characters that force his realism and make him have more depth. Lucy is more than just a pretty face and an amnesia patient; she is a realistic young woman struggling through her days with different moods and reactions. Part of the charm of "50 First Dates" is in seeing Henry adapt to the fact that what works one day will not necessarily win Lucy over the next.

A lot of credit has to go to the acting. Sean Astin plays Doug, Lucy's brother, with an incredible ridiculous quality that is a refreshing change from his role in "The Lord of the Rings." Moreover, Astin's weird lisping character forces Adam Sandler to play Henry more straightlaced. Sandler continues to extend his range beyond what we've seen of him in "Mr. Deeds" and "Punch-Drunk Love" (reviewed at: http://www.epinions.com/content_107542711940 ) to include more subtlety and less of his rehashing of his "Saturday Night Live" characters. In "50 First Dates," Sandler explores the depth of sincerity that he began to reveal in "Punch-Drunk Love." Thus, it is Sandler's acting that convinces the viewer of Henry's genuine nature and makes it believable that he could convince Lucy's dad.

Blake Clark plays Martin, Lucy's dad. He's a character actor that usually plays blue collar father-figures and here he plays pretty much the same thing. However, unlike the slacker dad he played in "Boy Meets World," his genuine, down-to-Earth nature prevails and makes for a very believable, very loving father. Clark has an aspect to him that makes his characters instantly likable and plausible and it is a pleasure to see him getting work in a decent movie.

It is Drew Barrymore, however, who steals this movie. She's a likable person and the role of Lucy is perfect for her. It allows her to illustrate her cute, flirtatious persona, her fun-loving, genuine side and her angry and disturbed side. Barrymore convinces us that Lucy is more than a cheap joke of someone with memory loss. She enhances the character with unpredictable eye movements and body language, infusing the character with a realism that is seldom achieved in romantic comedies.

For those not familiar with "Mr. Deeds," Preston Blake dies and his multi-billion dollar corporation looks for any heir to his empire. They find Longfellow Deeds, a laid back pizza delivery guy who seems to enjoy his simple life in a small town in New England. Cecil, the company's chief counsel, and Chuck Cedar, the company's CEO, hunt Deeds down and bring him back to New York. There, Deeds is taken in by investigative reporter Babe Bennett, who needs a story before she gets fired. Deeds falls in love with Babe, who has been lying to him all along about who she really is. While Chuck works to swindle Deeds out of his stock, Deeds begins to figure out that being a part of this particular company is pretty decent.

What "Mr. Deeds" lacks in original plot material, it more than makes up for with humorous characters and a rather unique use of an assortment of character actors. The movie almost immediately establishes itself as something different with a quirky use of dialog between Cecil and Murph, Deeds' best friend. When Cecil arrives in Deeds' hometown, the exchange between him and Murph is quick, funny and utterly disarming. Prior to that, the movie is just a bunch of stupid jokes that are obvious and simple. But with that one exchange of dialog, the viewer is sucked in to a movie we know is going to be a bit different.

The differences do not come in the form of the plot. This is the most hackneyed, obvious, overdone Hollywood plot there is. After all, we could probably name fifteen movies and/or episodes of television shows wherein the protagonist suddenly is bequeathed lots of money and has a decision to make about it while those around him (or her) manipulate them or attempt to get their money. It's a standard plot. The originality of "Mr. Deeds" is not in that element.

What "Mr. Deeds" does is it takes the standard and plays with it, populating it with some weird characters. Deeds himself is happy-go-lucky and simple, often ending up as the butt of other people's jokes. Babe, the reporter investigating him, is a compulsive liar who pulls all of her lies out of "To Kill A Mockingbird." Cecil is an eccentric lawyer who does more than deadpans, he actually connects with Deeds and plays into his simpleton joy. Deeds new housekeeper, Emilio, seems to move at the speed of light and is a wonderful straightman. All through the movie, there are weird characters that seem to defy our expectations for what characters in this situation would do. And some of the cameos are wonderful, including John McEnroe playing a raging version of himself.

But what makes "Mr. Deeds" even funnier is the use of the actors. Adam Sandler is surprisingly good as Longfellow Deeds and he plays Deeds with more understatement than he does in most of his other movies. Gone is the mumbling sketch comedian that Sandler uses in far too many of his other, less worthwhile movies. Here, he stretches his creative wings and he rewards the audience with a different type of comedic performance than his usual portrayal which is almost completely derived from his "Saturday Night Live" routines. Still, he has not completely done away with that person and his little violent side makes its usual appearance in this piece.

John Turturro is great as the speedy butler Emilio. He gives a great comedic performance that is very different from his incomprehensible character in "O Brother, Where Art Thou?" (reviewed at: http://www.epinions.com/content_53426163332 ), his manic protagonist in "The Luzhin Defense," and his backbone driven family man from "Cradle Will Rock." Instead, here he plays a muted character who has presence only in the movie's climax and then never stealing the scenes from Sandler's Deeds.

The person who does steal the movie is Eric Avari, who plays Cecil. Avari, who might be best known to mass audiences as Elektra's father in "Daredevil," is an unlikely candidate for comedy and then he has the dignity and bearing for a sidekick, a straightman whose straightlaced nature plays off the wackiness of those around him. It is therefore, casting genius that Avari is used as a quirky, funny, emotive character. Avari's character flirts, joins in singing a David Bowie song and has a love of Wendy's frosty's. He plays the part expertly, using his facial expressions to twist a joke even further. He makes the movie even more interesting than Sandler.

I went into "Mr. Deeds" expecting to not enjoy it and instead, I found a movie I was consistently laughing at. It was funny. And it held up as funny when I watched it a second time.

This is a simple bundle pack of the DVDs for:
"50 First Dates" - http://www.epinions.com/content_141507726980
"Mr. Deeds" - http://www.epinions.com/content_107542253188