Plot Details: This opinion reveals minor details about the movie's plot.

It has its cute moments.  It has its cringe-worthy moments.  It’s predictable.  Let’s face it – it’s an Adam Sandler rom-com.

I’m talking about Just Go With It, one of those rom-com movies that relies on attractive adults, cute kids, and characters with IQ’s in the double-digits.

In this case, Sandler plays Adam, a single man who relies on wearing a fake wedding ring to protect his heart.  He gets dates by lamenting how horribly his “wife” treats him, and doesn’t have to worry about committing to anyone.  The lie serves his purpose quite well until he meets Palmer (Brooklyn Decker).  She just might be “the one”, but how to explain the wedding ring?

The truth makes for a dull movie so only an extravagant lie will do.  Pretend you are, indeed, married, but on the verge of a divorce.  When sweet Palmer wants to meet the soon-to-be-ex, twist your assistant’s arm to go along with the ruse.  Thus we have Katherine (Jennifer Aniston) pretending to be Adam’s wife.  And before we know it, Katherine’s kids are brought into the mix as well.

Now they’re all heading to Hawaii where the hijinks only get wackier when Katherine’s “frenemy” (Nicole Kidman) just happens to be at the same resort.  Not wanting to admit her single-mother status, Katherine lies to her as well, claiming Adam to be her adoring husband.

So – as you can see – the entire movie is based upon lie after lie after lie.   Everyone’s lying in multiple directions.  Naturally this brings up some funny scenes, some awkward scenes, and a few real clunkers.  But, mostly, I enjoyed the humor in this movie.  And, for the most part, it was “clean” humor.  No curse words that I remember and no on-screen sex.  There was one potty-humor scene (literally, it involved a kid on the potty) but it was quick, and not overly graphic. 

This is not to say this movie is perfect; it’s not.  I hate how stupid the entire premise is, and how easily lies were told, when truths (or at least smarter lies) would have done.  For instance, while I can understand why Adam wouldn’t want to admit the truth to Palmer about wearing a fake ring to score dates, he could have come up with twelve different reasons for the ring that didn’t involve dragging others into his lie.  (It’s not mine, I’m getting it re-sized for my friend, I found it and was hoping to find its owner, I do engraving on the side, etc, etc, etc)  Similarly, couldn’t the kids have belonged to Katherine from a previous marriage, instead of making the lie ever more complicated by pretending the kids are his?  Of course, without all the lies, there wouldn’t be a movie, but a lot of it just seemed forced on us.

Of course, so much energy was spent developing lies, that no time was spent figuring out any long-term solutions or consequences.  Was Adam really going to marry Palmer without ever mentioning that the kids weren’t really his?  That seems like a really cruel thing to do to her.

There were also a few scenes that didn’t fit with the mostly feel-good nature of the movie.  A few gags involving some plastic surgery “accidents” that I just didn’t find funny.  An awkward hula competition that was cringe-worthy.  And there was a scene involving a sheep that I, personally, would have left on the cutting-room floor.

On the other hand, there was a cameo appearance in the last few moments of the film (blink and you’ll miss it) that was very cute.

Overall, I did enjoy this movie.  It’s not the smartest premise I’ve ever seen, but it’s nice just to sit back and laugh a few times.


Recommended: Yes