On the Big Board |
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Staff |
In Brief |
| 93/196 |
Max Braden |
Parodies of Adam Sandler's vocal largesse just make them more apparent when watching his movies. This one's for kids more than adults. |
For all of his tremendous financial successes with regards to movies, Adam Sandler’s attempts to branch out have generally proven to be unwelcome to mainstream audiences. His brave portrayal of a victim of 9/11-related collateral damage in Reign Over Me won him critical praise, but the film earned less than $19.7 million at the box office. A 2002 release with a similarly dark tone, Punch-Drunk Love, showed the comedian has legitimate chops as an actor, but the movie managed only $17.8 million in domestic receipts. His other recent attempt at dramatic acting in Spanglish was well received, but that title managed only $42.0 million, which is usually an opening weekend number for a Sandler comedy. And his last holiday release with a kids’ theme, Eight Crazy Nights, managed a dreadful $23.4 million. Summarizing, while Adam Sandler is the gold standard of consistency in terms of summer comedies, his other works are not automatically accepted by the audience that otherwise flocks to his films.
This knowledge makes the news of Sandler’s latest release, Bedtime Stories, intriguing. On the surface, this title sounds like the next Night at the Museum. Sandler portrays a hotel handyman who improvises tall tales for his niece and nephew. All of them are caught off-guard when his elaborate stories begin to come true. So, it’s like Jumanji and Zathura but without the board game aspects.
Bedtime Stories will be directed by noted choreographer Adam Shankman, whose experience behind the lens includes work on The Wedding Planner, A Walk to Remember, Bringing Down the House, The Pacifier, Cheaper by the Dozen 2 and Hairspray. Like Sandler, his resume is largely filled with hits save for the one misstep in A Walk to Remember, not coincidentally the only drama of the bunch. The combination of Shankman and Sandler on the same project screams blockbuster as does the concept. Were it not for Sandler’s failure on the animated Eight Crazy Nights, this title would be a slam dunk. As it is, BOP believes Bedtime Stories is poised to be a solid hit. (David Mumpower/BOP)
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