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.jpg) I’m luke-warm on Adam Sander, most times. When Sandler goes way over-the-top in his roles, I have a tendency to tune out. I don’t care for the immaturity that comes with Sandler’s goofy shtick, but I prefer the Sandler characters that are more laid back. When Sandler plays the loveable goofball who is one step away from being a decent human being, I tend to like those movies. Luckily, “Bedtime Stories” is Sandler at his lovable goofball best.
Sandler plays Skeeter Bronson, the son of a failed hotel owner. At a young age, his father sold his family-run hotel to Barry Nottingham with the understanding that Skeeter would run the property some day. Nottingham, played by Richard Griffiths, agrees that Skeeter can run the business, but now it’s years later and Skeeter is doing nothing more than being a simple handyman around the property, which has grown into a beautiful luxury hotel.
Skeeter is a disastrous human. He’s simple-minded and has no drive to achieve anything more than successfully changing a light bulb. He hopes that someday Mr. Nottingham will follow through with his promise, but Skeeter’s persona doesn’t instill a sense of security.
Skeeter reluctantly agrees to help watch his sister’s children while she’s out of town. Skeeter doesn’t have much of a relationship with the kids after his sister, Wendy played by Courteney Cox, made sure Skeeter wasn’t around too much. Skeeter has no idea how to entertain children, so when he’s asked to read the kids a bedtime story, he decides to use his imagination and come up with stories that resemble his real life. When the stories begin coming true, Skeeter decides to use the kids as a way to achieve his dreams.
Sandler turns down the over-the-top enthusiasm and plays Skeeter as a hard-working, but down-and-out person. Sandler is more endearing than in some of his films, so I found his work in this format to be appealing. Jonathan Morgan Heit and Laura Ann Kesling play the kids and their relationship with Skeeter rings authentic. The kids and Sandler have great chemistry together and make the film a charming exercise.
The rest of the cast is excellently rendered. Cox plays the uptight Wendy with perfection. Skeeter’s best friend is played by Russell Brand, who is, as always, hysterical. Guy Pearce plays the stereotypical bad guy, but he seems to be having fun in his role. Keri Russell plays Wendy’s best friend and Skeeter’s love interest and she does so with flair and charm.
I did like the film quite a bit, which surprised me, but there were a few elements that kept it from it being truly memorable in a good way. The kids have a guinea pig named Bugsy whose eyes bulge from his head. The computer animation of Bugsy is pretty terrible and his addition seemed completely unnecessary. The film would be altogether better without Bugsy. I have a feeling when I look back at “Bedtime Stories,” I’ll remember my hatred of Bugsy over what I liked about the film, which was more or less everything else. It’s not a film that begs to be remembered down the road.
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