Blended

Distributor:    Warner Bros.

Year:               2014

MPAA:             PG-13

Content:          AC, AL, V

Genres:           COM / ROM

Technical:       1.85:1 (HD)

Runtime:         117 mins.

Country:          USA

Language:       English

Budget:            $40M

 

 

CAST

Adam Sandler, Drew Barrymore, Kevin Nealon, Terry Crews, Wendi McLendon-Covey, Bella Thorne, Joel McHale, Abdoulaye N’Gom, Jessica Lowe, Braxton Beckham, Emma Fuhrman, Alyvia Alyn Lind, Kyle Red Silverstein, Shaquille O’Neal & Dan Patrick

 

CREDITS

Director: Frank Coraci; Screenwriters: Ivan Menchell & Clare Sera; Producers: Mike Karz, Adam Sandler & Jack Giarraputo; Director Of Photography: Julio Macat; Production Designer: Perry Andelin Blake; Editor: Tom Costain; Costume Designer: Christine Wada; Music Composer: Rupert Gregson-Williams

 

BRIEF SYNOPSIS

After a terrible blind date, widower/father Jim Friedman (Sandler) and widow/mother Lauren Reynolds (Barrymore) vow to never speak again—until a chance opportunity to travel to South Africa for a family vacation throws the pair—along with his three daughters and her two sons—into a delightful and blending vacation that lions, tigers, ex-husbands (McHale), a horny American couple (Nealon & Lowe), a sage resort host (N’Gom), an overhyped resort singer (Crews) and Fate itself cannot get in the way of blossoming love.  Ah, the Circle of Life…

 

THE (mini) REVIEW

BLENDED may not be the greatest comedy—or even Adam Sandler comedy—but it sure tickles the funny bone. Maligned (a tad unfairly) by both the critics and movie-going public, the movie (comedic, goofy, heartfelt, well-produced) is nonetheless a pleasant surprise.

The uneven-but-amusing screenplay was written by former performance artists-turned-screenwriters Ivan Menchell & Clare Sera—and probably reworked by Sandler’s Happy Madison gang for public consumption. Directed with an eye for physical humor shtick (if not highbrow comedy) by fellow NYU-alum/Sandler chum Frank Coraci (The Wedding Singer, The Waterboy, Click), BLENDED rolls along with a large cast of mostly familiar faces and plenty of on-camera mugging—yes, I’m looking at you Terry Crews!

Sandler & Barrymore reteam for yet a third movie (very much in the Tracy-Hepburn vein) though I do find it interesting that—in the intertwining years between The Wedding Singer 1998), 50 First Dates (2004) and now BLENDED (2014)—both actors have matured and produced children of their own, thus giving their performances as parents a naturalistic sheen. Supporting cast members do what they’re paid to do.

Production values for this relatively inexpensive $40 million (boxofficemojo.com) movie are solid across the board. Stateside, BLENDED was shot in Georgia while the remaining majority of principal photography was lensed at the famed Sun City resort in South Africa (some may even still label it the “infamous” resort of Apartheid South Africa of yore—do your research on the internet for those answers or ask an old-timer like me who was around during those years).

However, under the guidance of veteran Happy Madison production designer Perry Andelin Blake (The Wedding Singer, The Waterboy, Click, Grown Ups), the Sun City mise-en-scène is lavish, inviting and pleasing to the eye. So is the HD photography (via the Arri Alexa XT camera system) of veteran Argentine cinematographer Julio Macat (Home Alone 1-3, Wedding Crashers, Pitch Perfect). I love the lensing dichotomy of Stateside (clean imagery; verdant color palette) vs. South Africa (still clean imagery; warm aurum & earth tone palettes).

Still not a fan of HD cinematography in narrative filmmaking—but I cannot complain about the hard work and results put into the movie by Macat and his crew. Finally, crisp editing by recent Sandler cutter Tom Costain and pleasant African-based score by recent Sandler composer Rupert Gregson-Williams (both of whom worked on Grown Ups, Just Go With It, Grown Ups 2) round out the technical facets.

All told, while BLENDED is no masterpiece of Preston Sturges comedy proportions, it is not the evil misfire that other critics have been labeling it (I’ll reserve that for the painful review of Sandler’s 2011 bomb Jack & Jill…ughhh). Still, it’s nice to see Sandler & Barrymore back together on the big screen, even if the wildlife gets in the way!

 

IMDB:                   http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1086772/

Wikipedia:            http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blended_(film)

Official Site:          http://www.blendedmovie.com