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    Not the Brady Bunch

    Drew Barrymore makes Adam Sandler slightly more tolerable in Blended

    Alex Bentley
    May 23, 2014 | 8:56 am
    Drew Barrymore makes Adam Sandler slightly more tolerable in Blended
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    Adam Sandler is not in the business of surprising people. The vast majority of films released under his Happy Madison Productions banner are comedies that aim for cheap, easy laughs with little character development or logical storytelling.

     

    So it’s hardly a shocker that his latest, Blended, falls right in line with those that have preceded it. This time around Sandler plays Jim, a widower who is set up on a disastrous blind date with Lauren (Drew Barrymore), a recent divorcee.

     
     

      Blended is not as bad as most of Sandler’s films, but it is the weakest of his outings with Barrymore.

     

     

    Through a far-fetched series of events, the two separately manage to score a trip to Africa for themselves and their respective children. Once there, however, they discover that the trip is designed to bring blended families together for some bonding time. Thus, two people who can’t stand each other are forced to spend nearly every waking minute together for a solid week.

     

    Sandler and Barrymore previously co-starred in two of Sandler’s better movies, The Wedding Singer and 50 First Dates, so it’s reasonable to hope she’ll bring out the best in him. And there are definitely moments of real emotion, along with more than a few scenes that strike the right chord of hilarity.

     

    But because this is Sandler — who once again teams up with director Frank Coraci — anything that resembles normalcy is overshadowed by all manner of ridiculousness. A lot of it is funny the first time around, but Sandler and Coraci beat many funny bits into the ground long after the laughs have expired.

     

    The plot is straightforward and so transparent it might as well be cellophane. Instead of giving us scenes where characters can actually breathe and grow, we’re treated to random ones in Africa that serve no purpose other than to trick the audience into thinking there’s actually something meaningful going on.

     

    Sandler and Barrymore still play well off of each other, but early in the film both are so wooden that it seems like they’re reading cue cards. They get better as the film goes along, making the proceedings at least somewhat watchable. Supporting turns by Disney star Bella Thorne, who plays Jim’s tomboy daughter Hilary, and Terry Crews, playing an over-the-top entertainer at the African resort, are the best of the bunch.

     

     Blended is not as bad as most of Sandler’s films, but it is the weakest of his outings with Barrymore. Sandler has the potential to make a movie that’s both funny and emotionally honest; he just doesn’t seem to want to do it.

    Drew Barrymore and Adam Sandler in Blended.

    Drew Barrymore and Adam Sandler in Blended
      
    Photo courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures
    Drew Barrymore and Adam Sandler in Blended.
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    news/entertainment

    Movie review

    Early days of pandemic become a powder keg in tense movie Eddington

    Alex Bentley
    Jul 18, 2025 | 12:47 pm
    Joaquin Phoenix and Pedro Pascal in Eddington
    Photo courtesy of A24
    Joaquin Phoenix and Pedro Pascal in Eddington.

    The coronavirus pandemic had a profound impact on the entire world, one that has been shown in various ways by movies and TV shows. However, even though a number of productions have attempted to show what life was like during the early days of the pandemic, few have tried to truly reckon with the way lockdowns and restrictions changed people.

    Filmmaker provocateur Ari Aster does just that in Eddington, set in a fictional small town in New Mexico in early 2020 that proves to be a microcosm of the debates taking place worldwide at that time. Sheriff Joe Cross (Joaquin Phoenix) is not a fan of mask mandates or other restrictions imposed by the government, while mayor Ted Garcia (Pedro Pascal) tries to lead by example in an effort to keep his community safe.

    The men butt heads not just on how to deal with the pandemic, but also over a personal history involving Joe’s wife, Louise (Emma Stone). When news of the murder of George Floyd in Minnesota makes its way to town, it starts a slow simmer among the town’s youth population, putting even more stress on Joe and his small department. Conspiracy theories, white guilt, partisan politics, cults, and more combine to make the community into a powder keg that threatens to explode at the slightest provocation.

    Aster (Midsommar, Beau is Afraid) takes aim at all sides in a film that’s part satire and part thriller. No matter how each viewer reacted to the pandemic, the film offers at least a character or two that will come close to representing their viewpoint. Although opinions may differ, it seems clear that Aster is not portraying one side as “right” or more righteous than the other. What he is doing is demonstrating just how much was happening in a short period of time, and how those things could negatively affect anyone.

    On the flip side, the film also challenges viewers with viewpoints that may not match their own, which can make for an uncomfortable experience at times. The reactions various characters have to certain events range from rational to wholly unexpected, and Aster seems to delight in keeping the audience on their toes the entire time. This is especially true when violence rears its ugly head, resulting in some intense and upsetting scenes.

    Not everything in the film lands, though. A subplot involving Louise and Vernon (Austin Butler), a cult leader who preys on her fears, feels tacked on, with no relation to the film as a whole. In fact, the character of Louise is a misfire in general, one whose purpose makes little sense. Aster also lets (asks?) some actors speak in almost inaudible tones at various points in the film, a frustrating experience in a film as dialogue-heavy as this one.

    Phoenix loves to dig into off-kilter characters, and this one ranks high on that scale. Even if you don’t enjoy what his character does, it’s hard to fault the performance that brings him to life. Most of Pascal’s scenes are with Phoenix, and while he matches Phoenix’s energy, the lower key nature of his character leaves him overshadowed. The nature of the film means few others make an impact, although Deidre O’Connell as Joe’s passive-aggressive mother-in-law and William Belleau as Officer Jiminiz Butterfly stand out in their scenes.

    Few of us would volunteer to go back to the baffling days of early 2020, but Eddington does a great job of examining what was happening at the time and how events united some and divided others. It’s not a feel-good film, but it is one that will make viewers re-examine their reactions at the time and how those influenced the current reality.

    ---

    Eddington is now playing in theaters.

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