Written by: Allan Loeb & Timothy Dowling
Starring: Adam Sandler, Jennifer Aniston, Brooklyn Decker, Bailee Madison, Griffin Gluck
Rating: [2/5]
Deception as the root of a relationship does not breed success through any initial lies or false premises. That has not stopped many from trying to depict themselves as something else to initially grab the attention of someone they find attractive. However, going beyond the pale in every way imaginable, Just Go With It builds out a level of deception that involves so many moving parts that could serve as some harmless fun if not for the wholly scummy intent behind it all beyond all the other nonsense.
Los Angeles-based plastic surgeon Danny Maccabee (Adam Sandler), while unmarried, likes to go out with a wedding ring to pretend he has suffered through a horrible marriage and seeks something else as a pickup line. When he gets involved with a woman he can see a future with in Palmer (Brooklyn Decker) and she unexpectedly finds his wedding ring, he pleads with his receptionist Katherine (Jennifer Aniston) to pose as his wife to play along a divorce that would free him.
Of the various ways men have used white lies and deceit to land a one-night stand, some of the tactics used by Danny gets truly distasteful. Depending on how one views consent, lying to the degree he does pushes the boundary of it and it gets downright horrific when the stories of this fictional evil ex-wife insinuates abuse all in the name of getting in the pants of women he just wants for the night. Nothing out of the ordinary for what to expect from an Adam Sandler film but it sets up quite the circumstance where his office manager needs to step in and somehow her kids also get involved.
Having Katherine portrayed by the ever-gorgeous Jennifer Aniston and making her out to be this average-looking woman that he needs to dress up in order to look like a believable ex-wife simply because she wears her hair in a bun and dons spectacles really checked the early 2000s box. As if the woman, in all of their attempts to make her look unattractive still does not sit leagues above Adam Sandler but I think we can acknowledge this serves as one of the film’s larger meta jokes. It does not absolve the film from the eye rolls that it caused when making these jokes, that somehow immediately dissipates when she shows up in a bikini. Glasses really did a number on the looks of women somehow.
As this lie continues to spin and Palmer needs more convincing of this situation, they all end up in a resort in Hawaii as a family that involves Katherine and her kids because it now appears Danny has a whole unit. Therefore, Danny needs to pretend to be this loving father even though the guy could care less about anything other than his self-serving pleasure. This sets the ground for the best comedic elements this film has to offer, especially as Danny can see the finish line before him and a future with the beautiful Palmer on the horizon.
Everything following the revelation that Katherine is in fact beautiful serves as the best moments of the film where they actually develop feelings towards each other as Danny proves himself as more than just a pleasure-seeking liar. The scene where they needed to complete against Katherine’s frenemy from college, Devlin portrayed hilariously by Nicole Kidman, is where they genuinely build a bond. This has the best humor the film has to offer but then we have all the nonsense with what Nick Swardson does as Eddie and it hits you in the face repeatedly we have found ourselves in another dreaded Adam Sandler comedy. This film certainly has its multitudes but it shifts from decent comedy to outright unwatchable through various moments.
Nothing too surprising but also not wholly horrific like many Adam Sandler films, Just Go With It falls apart when applying any critical thought to its plot. The whole thing runs on a joke that Jennifer Aniston does not possess any natural beauty that some glasses and a bun could adequately hide away and that any woman could buy this whole facade but we must play along just like Palmer. Certainly not the worst Happy Madison production but that’s not saying much.
Films with Josh 
