Yup, Netflix has chucked out another piece of Adam Sandler digital litter to clutter up their catalogue. This one is the feature directorial debut of Robert Smigel, a frequent Sandler collaborator who co-wrote stuff like You Don’t Mess with the Zohan. He gives their latest work a strangely understated tone that mercifully tones down the obnoxiousness, but certainly does not increase the quality.
Instead of the horrid, unending squawking you normally get with Sandler, there’s what appears to be a dramedy vibe going on here. I think it’s supposed to be a heartfelt story of an unwealthy but proud dad trying to put on an awesome wedding for his daughter. But it’s mostly just mind-numbingly dull, with the annoyingly unfunny comedy bits at least breaking the monotony.
The more extreme Sandler elements like his shit, piss and dick jokes are toned down. But there’s still a stripper scene (albeit a PG-rated one) and a character with no legs being the butt of a few dozen jokes… because he has no legs. Credit where credit’s due, though; the legless guy getting mistaken for a WWII hero is the funniest material in the movie.
For the most part, the gags are built around various things going wrong with an upcoming wedding and Sandler having to deal with his ridiculously annoying extended family. Rich people keep trying to help him pay for stuff, but he won’t have it, and hence drama and comedy is supposed to happen. But it doesn’t.
Viewers who make it to the end will be rewarded with an assault of Sandler in drag to bring back those Jack and Jill nightmares. It’s a brief but powerfully nauseating bit, made all the more effective by him singing ‘comedically’ badly in it.
The Week Of is now streaming on Netflix
