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Also, the movie’s not funny. I think in every Adam Sandler film I’ve seen, there’s been at least one thing that’s made me laugh. Of course, it’s hard to me to think of what they are now, because who remembers anything about Click, but there’s always one or two inspired lines in completely uninspired movies. Jack and Jill is no different. And I guess for a movie that doesn’t really make “jokes” (it just makes “product placements”), that could be worse. When he tries, Adam Sandler can be funny. But when’s the last time he actually tried?

Oh, let’s talk about that product placement again. I understand its importance in films nowadays, and Sandler is no stranger to it, but it’s been used as a joke and a plot device effectively (Subway in Happy Gilmore). In Jack and Jill, it’s as shameless as Wayne’s World’s, if that one also wasn’t a joke. When the family goes on a Royal Caribbean cruise (and Sandler’s character is rich enough that “yeah, why not, let’s bring Jill too!” If I had a dollar for every time I bought a cruise ticket on a whim…), it doesn’t cut to the family’s activities. It’s not even an establishing shot or two. It’s a full-fledged promotional video for Royal Caribbean. The movie thinks Jill is disgusting, while really that’s the disgusting part of the movie. And let’s not forget the end, which is the filming of a Dunkin’ Donuts commercial.

To the film’s credit, though, I think there’s some really interesting subtext in it. Being an Adam Sandler fan as a kid (the worst thing I ever did as a child was force my mother to watch Little Nicky), I’ve been very upset with his films of the past several years. While it’s good that Sandler’s moved on from the man-child character (considering he’s in the upper half of his 40s…), it would have been nice if he moved onto still-funny material. But when he’s in the “loving father” role, his movies are terrible, sappy, and unfunny. And maybe that’s what Jack and Jill is – a fight between the arrested developmental character of old (Jill) and the lame father character of Sandler’s current output (Jack). Sandler obviously wants Jack to win out, because Jill’s antics aren’t funny or inspired, and in the end, he does. So there you have it, people. In case you were wondering, Adam Sandler will never make another funny movie again, and it’s all because of Jack and Jill.

Verdict: Jack and Jill is not good. It’s not the worst Adam Sandler movie ever, because I haven’t seen Grown Ups 2 yet, but it’s sad. We all knew this day was coming, and now we know that Sandler is never, ever going to be funny again.

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