You may ask, “why is Jim watching this?” You’re not alone. I asked myself the same thing. I don’t tend to enjoy Adam Sandler movies. Yes, I certainly enjoy tearing apart bad films, but as Sandler never makes an honest attempt at art, the critique often comes across as bourgeois and petty. Zillions of people will tell you, say, that Big Daddy and Billy Madison were brilliant satires when in reality both films sucked ass. On top of that, the previous Netflix Adam Sandler vehicle was The Ridiculous 6, a film whose merits are equally as microscopic as Nick Swardson’s dong in Bucky Larson: Born to Be a Star.
Now, given that I didn’t think I was going to enjoy the film, I knew I’d have a beastly time writing the review, and there wasn’t any reason to believe that it had hidden merit somewhere, The Do-Over wasn’t half bad.
Charlie (David Spade) hates his life. We get this immediately as we see his partner fondle her ex- on the reunion dance floor. Often Adam Sandler films are miscast as Adam just wants his homies in big roles – President Kevin James immediately come to mind. But here, yeah, I can easily see David Spade as the ineffectual little turd his wife openly cheats on. I can’t see Adam Sandler as the long lost friend FBI agent come to rescue him, but there is –believe it or not- more to his character than meets the eye. I know. I know. When is the last time there was a surprise in an Adam Sandler film, right? They’re all about premise, sex jokes and flatlining character development.
Showing his old/new best bud a taste of something else, Max (Sandler) entertains Charlie, roofies him and blows up their party yacht, faking their own deaths in the process. For all the good intentions, I can’t say I’m wild about the roofie and faking-my-own-death without consent. Even in humor, these things are not cool. I’m not quite sure which is the more appalling, but if your life sucks enough, well, you’ll go with it.
The two biggest differences between this and most of the other Adam Sandler films I’ve seen are as follows: 1) I didn’t hate either Spade or Sandler; that hasn’t happened in a while. 2) whenever you find yourself saying, “well, that wouldn’t happen,” you’re right, and the movie knows it – in fact, there’s a reason for it. i.e. normally when you deliberately hit a grieving woman (Paula Patton) with your car 
only to show her proof an hour later than she is, indeed, a widow, she won’t develop warm fuzzies about you. I don’t know this for a fact, luckily, but I’m pretty sure I’m not wrong. The Do-Over knows that’s stupid, but you’ll get a reason eventually.
Given the title and participants, I expected some sort of Groundhog Day rip-off. The title, honestly, couldn’t be more misleading. There’s nothing being done over here; everything is a new experience. Occasionally, the ride gets puerile; I don’t think you can see an R-rated Sandler these days without somebody’s scrotum making an appearance, can you? And the usual idiots present, although tamed. I really can’t stand Nick Swardson or Dan Patrick, but both are fine here. And there are even some laugh-out-loud moments involving a gymnast hitman. I’m not gonna tell you this was brilliant, or even recommend it, but this isn’t your usual Sandler script and the result is well above his norm.
Sandler and Spade and their usual folks
Assuming the lives of colorful blokes
Many a surprise
You’ll believe your eyes
Careers circling drains are here the best jokes
Rated R, 108 Minutes
D: Steven Brill
W: Kevin Barnett, Chris Pappas
Genre: Terrible, terrible mid-life choices
Type of person most likely to enjoy this film: People capable of being entertained by Adam Sandler
Type of person least likely to enjoy this film: How do you feel about the idea of David Spade and Luis Guzmán in a threesome?
