BLENDED DVD (2014)

SYNOPSIS: After a disastrous blind date, single parents Lauren and Jim agree on only one thing: They never want to see each other again. But when they each separately sign up for a fabulous family vacation with their kids, they are all stuck sharing a suite at a luxurious African safari resort for a week.

MOVIE REVIEW:

Nowadays, it’s easier to hate an Adam Sandler movie as opposed to loving an Adam Sandler movie.  

Blended reunites Sandler with Drew Barrymore, their third outing together after the much successful The Wedding Singer and 50 First Dates and Barrymore very much saved the movie from being yet another Grown Ups.

Barrymore’s brand of girlish goofiness is evidently contagious and likeable. Her character Lauren, a recent divorcee with two sons ended up meeting a widower, Jim (Sandler) with three daughters showed that the E.T. star has matured into a woman while her co-star; Sandler is still playing the same old character in various incarnations over the decades.  

It does make a difference when Sandler don’t write his own movies though there’s no escape from his brand of lazy humour liked abundance of cheap one-liners. He is still the star remember?  

Instead of bringing the audience to a resort in Hawaii (go and watch Just Go With It), Happy Madison with the courtesy of Warner Bros is generous enough to bring the entire crew to Sun City, South Africa for half of the movie shoot in an attempt to mask the predictability of the plot.

Despite that, Blended does have some heart in it especially when Lauren starts to care for Jim’s tomboys-looking daughters while Jim takes care of Lauren’s rambunctious sons. But you must first beware that this family movie actually contains more sexual innuendos than expected especially an old man and his young trophy wife, Ginger who tends to embarrassingly kiss and fondle all over.

It’s not an entirely flawless Sandler movie nor is it as crappy as Grown Ups 2. Ultimately, it’s Barrymore and the young cast (Bella Thorneas portraying the awkward Hilary and Braxton Beckham as the babysitter-smitten boy) who stole the show with their occasional sentimentality and sweet comedic touches. Not forgetting the always-welcome Terry Crews popping in once a while as the resort’s resident singer.    

SPECIAL FEATURES:

Watch Sandler constantly making fun of Barrymore in Adam and Drew Back Together Again.

A behind-the-scenes look at Thorne’s tomboy transformation in Bella Thorne's Makeover

There’s six minutes of Deleted Scenes and another six minutes of Gag Reel

In Georgia, the key filmmakers talked about filming in the state of Georgia.

AUDIO/VISUAL:

Images and colour look fantastic on DVD except for some obvious dodgy CG background. The surround 5.1 soundtrack offers clear dialogue and occasional directional ambient effects.  

MOVIE RATING:

DVD RATING :

Review by Linus Tee