Four of us laughed very hard at this movie, mother, father, 13 and 18 year old males. This is a really good, funny movie, that I think most families would enjoy. It doesn't run the more normal Disney route, in fact if you didn't know it was Disney, you'd never put it in the same league as the cartoons or the marvelous company that brought us Beverly Hills Chiuahua or College Road Trip.
Adam Sandler is just exactly the right kind of funny in this film. He used to have the Jim Carrey disease, too much over the top stupidity that was just Adam Sandler playing Adam Sandler. He's grown up a bit, he can still crack a good slapstick joke. He didn't go so far away like in Punch Drunk Love to the serious side. He's really got a heart of gold in this film. I'm not the biggest Sandler fan, but in this film he works well.
Keri Russel is simply gorgeous as Sandler's ultimate love interest. August Rush (August Rush) another fantastic family film, but this time about fitting in. Lucy Lawless (Xena) is so perfectly wound up tight at the hotel front desk. Courtney Cox, oh poor Courtney, I just wish she would get some kind of strong good role. She is Sandlers sister in this movie, and is the set up line to many of his jokes. She just seems to deserve better, or I want her to be better in the movies. Guy Pearce is so awful as the hotel nemesis, he looks like an ugly version of Brad Pitt. And Richard Griffiths (Dersley in the Harry Potter series) is perfectly fat, stupid, and mostly evil in this film - not much of a stretch from the Potter films. The supporting cast is very good - Rob Schneider shows up and is restrained.
Oh just such a good fun film. The clips make it seem almost like a Ground Hog day, where Sandler is trapped in the bedtime stories. It doesn't really play like that. The stories are there as a plot element, but it's more about heart and doing the right things than those stories. In fact that is the point of this film, be good, work hard, and good things will happen to you.
From a technical standpoint, this is standard high quality Hollywood film making. Big budget, well shot, well edited, well recorded...no nits to pick anywhere really. It's what we expect from a good current film. Even the CG effects are sufficiently well done even on a television screen. Yes the Roman Colessium looks fake and CG, but it's also a dream sequence, so it's not a horrible thing.
The film is rated PG. It seems like younger viewers will get this film. I laughed when Skeeter finally kisses Jill, the children's mother Wendy puts her hands over their eyes so they don't watch. It's so perfectly that age, I remember it so well with my boys (don't watch the smoochy moment in the film). There are a few slightly off color jokes, but they are really mild. No violence. Nothing even remotely approaching nudity (Skeeter does hold up a pair of underwear at one point to show that he brought his toothbrush, toothpaste and clean underwear....well not so clean). It seems most children would get this humor and love the funny story.
The DVD had no special features at all. A barren disc except for the movie. Well it does have that stupid Disney "fastplay". Whoopie, press the menu button to avoid that nonsense. When will Disney learn to get rid of that silly "feature."
Highly recommend this one. I think most will enjoy the humor and nice message. I know four of us did.