Blended (2014)

Director: Frank Coraci
Starring: Adam Sandler, Drew Barrymore, Wendi McLendon-Covey

Synopsis:
A seemingly incompatible couple follow a bad blind date with an unexpected family trip to Africa.

Impressions:
Charitably speaking, Adam Sandler's oeuvre is a mixed bag at best. You've got reasonably funny movies like Happy Gilmore and The Water Boy offset by horrific dreck like Jack and Jill and That's My Boy. This falls somewhere in the middle. It feels a lot like Just Go with It, so if you've seen that one, you've got some idea of what to expect. Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore have established chemistry in The Wedding Singer and 50 First Dates and they work well as a couple with a lot of belligerent sexual tension that warm up to each other over the course of the film. It's a decent romcom with a good dynamic with the quirky crew of kids. What really sells this film is Terry Crews and his African chorus line. Them alone nearly make me want to kick this up a rating. A lot of the verbal sniping from the background characters isn't bad either. However, I know that Sandler's brand of humor is fairly divisive, so I won't give it a full recommendation, but if you like Sandler, you should like this.

Rating:
50/50