The Week Of

Dir: Robert Smigel

2018

***

While I always like to give everyone a fair chance, I can totally understand why people flat-out refuse to watch Adam Sandler films. I admit that I was one of those people, I will watch his films now but they are never – ever – going to be my first choice. However, there was something about the trailer to The Week Of that appealed to me and after watching it I can’t say I was disappointed. There were a few annoying Adam Sandler-isms that the film could have done without, such as the weird boob-false leg dream Chris Rock’s character has and Sandler – still not realising everyone hated Jack & Jill – in drag. Apart from those scenes though, he is fairly restrained and on good form. Sandler can be funny and rather charming, it’s wonderful when he is, and he just about manages to be both here. It’s the strong supporting cast and the sweet story that I liked. Filmed in a sort of fly-on-the-wall style (a subtle mockumentary if you will) that most modern-day sitcoms have adopted, it suited the structure of the scenario rather well. The ideas were original, even though the setting was well-trodden. The story was never forced and neither were the characters, which meant that even though the whole ‘wedding gone wrong’ scenario is nothing new, there was nothing cliché about it. I thought it was actually really well observed. Sandler actually keeps it together nicely, and even though Chris Rock seemed a bit too distant at times, there was a balance between the two and the fact they weren’t at each others’ throats throughout the film was rather refreshing. It is the lack of conflict that I liked most about the film – two very different families coming together for a wedding – both fathers being chalk and cheese, the father of the bride struggling financially and the father of the groom clearly loaded. It’s low concept but it isn’t low on laughs, in fact I found myself giggling the whole way through. It’s all about the performances and the physical comedy, the detail and those little finishing touches. There are outlandish moments that add very little, for example, there is a scene whereby Sandler and his wife (played by the excellent Rachel Dratch) and brother (the always quality Steve Buscemi) release bats into the mayors office. It’s mildly amusing in its silliness but its nothing compared to the scene where Sandler’s son is followed to his Little League match by the whole wedding party who cheer him on so much that he cries (it’s much funnier than it sounds). Even the scene whereby a man with no legs gets lost in a pool of sponge bricks made me laugh but on paper it reads as a typically dreadfully tasteless Sandler joke. It’s an anomaly. It’s no masterpiece but it almost seems as much due to Sandler’s usual good film/bad film ratio. Hardcore fans might be bored by it, I’m not sure, but I thought there was something innocent and delightful about it. The sentiment is pure. After that, it’s all about the funny half-thought observations – like how ridiculous strippers look without loud music for instance. I think Sandler is at his best when he’s his most generous and here he lets everyone else have the big laughs to great effect. Robert Smigel’s direction is strong, and overall it’s a rather pleasant surprise and a very happy watch. I think it might have been dismissed a bit too early by some folk.