MMT Quick Review of ‘Blended’

Hey MMT Family!  Who’s grilling out this weekend? Okay better question – who lives in or near Philly and is extending an invite? 🙂 I don’t plan on cooking out, but I have been catching up on films. For those also taking in movies this weekend, I wrote about my top pick (X-men Days of Future Past) yesterday, but I also screened another film earlier this week that opened on Friday. Blended, the third romantic comedy starring both Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore, honestly does not live up to the duo’s first two comedic efforts, The Wedding Singer (a fave) and 50 First Dates, but it does manage to elicit some laughs.

For those who haven’t heard much about the film, the story finds single parents Lauren (Barrymore) and Jim (Sandler) unexpectedly together at a South African resort, after a failed blind date, with their children. The two discover much about their families, each other, and themselves during their vacation.

The movie has the predictable, albeit cutesy, boy meets girl, obstacles present themselves, yet love conquers all formula.  But in my opinion, the problem is the audience that is truly the Barrymore and Sandler fan base has aged a bit past what the punchlines offered, and much of the material seemed to fall a little flat.  On top of that, I had a really hard time watching Terry Crews parade around as a South African resort lounge singer, as the role walked the fine line between campy and buffoonish.

Now I absolutely adored “The Wedding Singer” and am watching my DVD while typing this bit (checkout one of my fave scenes below with a hilarious Jon Lovitz)!  And I thought “50 First Dates” was fair.  But “Blended” is one of those films that most people will either take or leave, and unfortunately I think I fall with the latter. As stated earlier, I did manage to laugh some, and I love the fact that Alexis Arquette has a cameo, but it just wasn’t enough to save the film for me.

For more info and local showtimes, you can get to the Blended official movie website by clicking here. Stop back and leave a thought or two if you see the film and let me know your thoughts!

Until next thought family, Thomasena