Just Go With It Blu-ray delivers stunningly beautiful video and superb audio in this fan-pleasing Blu-ray release
On a weekend trip to Hawaii, a plastic surgeon convinces his loyal assistant to pose as his soon-to-be-divorced wife in order to cover up a careless lie he told to his much-younger girlfriend.
The symbol of my humiliation had become a tool to get back on the horse.
What an apt title for this movie. Just Go With It. It stars Adam Sandler and Jennifer Aniston. Just go with it. The filmmakers could
have simply slapped their faces onto a poster, assembled a trailer showing them flopping around a tropical location for two minutes, and expanded said
two minutes worth of flopping into 90 minutes (or nearly two hours, as the case is here) of nonsensical, mind-numbing flopping "comedy" and all but
guaranteed themselves a hit. Just go with it. And that's exactly what they did. After all, it's Sandler and Aniston, so who won't go with it?
Just Go
With
It is the perfect example of dumbed-down Comedy that passes off a man's ability to pick up a coconut with his rear end as "humor," never mind
the entire plot that basically makes a mockery of marriage. But so what? It stars Adam Sandler and Jennifer Aniston. Just go with it. Because the
promise of Comedy and the presence of "comedians" means more than real laughs. Just go with it.
Jen reacts to the Blu-ray's video quality...or is it the movie's low score...or is it the screenshot below? Only her hairdresser knows for sure...
Twenty years ago, on the eve of his wedding, big-nosed groom-to-be Danny Maccabee (Adam Sandler) learns that his future bride has cheated on
him. He cancels the wedding, but when he's later approached by a barfly who takes pity on a make-believe sob story about his terrible marriage and
has
sympathy sex with him, he decides he's onto something good. He pursues a career in plastic surgery, scrapes his nose down to a normal size and
shape, keeps the wedding band on his finger, and successfully beds one woman after another, playing the part of the cheated and down-on-his-luck
husband. The only person who knows
the truth about his "extramarital" flings is his office assistant Katherine (Jennifer Aniston). When Danny sleeps with a woman named Palmer
(Brooklyn Decker)
and wins her over on his own merits and not on the same old ploy, he believes he may have found "the one." She's excited, too, until she finds his
pretend wedding
ring in his pocket. Now, Danny has no choice but return to the well one last time and lie his way towards happily ever after. Palmer believes him to
be on the verge of divorce, and she wants to meet the soon-to-be ex to validate his tall tale of "reverse" spousal abuse. Danny turns to Katherine to
play the part of his estranged wife, which she
agrees to, unknowingly opening the proverbial can of worms that seems destined to lead to disaster, but who knows, maybe true love truly knows
no bounds and can withstand any lie of any scope and magnitude.
Just Go With it is directed by the same guy who helmed Grown Ups, a recent Adam Sandler movie with great potential
that wasn't fully realized in the end product. No harm, no foul, that movie featured a great cast, a tangible camaraderie amongst them, and a few
honest laughs along the way. Just Go With It is also a failure at the end of the day, but even more so; not only is the end result seriously
lacking, but the premise wasn't even that strong to begin with. This isn't the first movie that takes the serious institution of marriage and turns it
into one big joke, and it won't be the last, but that's not even the film's greatest fault. No, the execution, in this case, is even more
mind-numbingly awful than even the idea, for the filmmakers couldn't even find a way to make something this absurd even the least bit funny. The
best gags are
wrenched into the plot and don't even contribute to the advancement of the story. Plastic surgery horror stories earn the most laughs -- a man
who's gone under the
knife a few too many times, a woman with uneven eyebrows, another with a broken artificial breast -- and they're only in the movie because
Sandler's character is a plastic surgeon, which is right up there with the most unbelievable actor/on-screen profession combinations ever forced into
a plot. And it's not like his career choice at all factors into the movie, except that he can plausibly afford the tropical vacation that seems to cost him
more than most people pay for a house. Sure, the character once had a humongous nose, but so what? It's not like the did the rhinoplasty himself.
None of it really makes sense, none of it really matters, and that's what's wrong with the movie. It's so contrived, so forced, so certain that just
plopping a few fan-favorite actors onto the screen and having them act out an implausibly absurd plot will make it funny that it forgets what it really
means to be funny. But what the hey, just go with it, right?
Not even the "all star cast" can save this one. Two undeniable cinematic truths state that even the best actors -- and these aren't the best, but
they're
admittedly far from the worst -- just can't save a poor script, and no amount of gusto can make an unfunny gag funny. The movie manages a few
laughs and a handful of cute scenes, both primarily thanks to the young child actors who play Danny Maccabee's (and where and how do they come
up with these absurd character
names?) pretend children. Otherwise, the characters are stale and unconvincing, their arcs and the plot developments playing as terribly unnatural
and only serving as a backdrop to both advance the story and frame the unfunny jokes. The movie is also too long and unbalanced, stretching out
all of the irrelevant scenes and quickly gliding past those few moments that actually matter to the development of the characters and the story.
Even the score is RomCom generic, breezy cheesy bubbly and sounding like it's been lifted from every other movie from the last couple of decades in
the same mold as this. If there's a plus, it's the gorgeous natural locations that light up the screen. The studio probably could have just taken
planeloads of people to Hawaii and charged them the price of a movie ticket to walk around on the beach for two hours, completely foregoing the
cost of making the movie. At least that would have made more people happy than will this clunker of a Comedy. Don't go with it.
Just Go With It might fizzle as a movie, but as a Blu-ray, it sizzles. Sony's drop-dead gorgeous 1080p, 1.85:1-framed transfer dazzles with
every passing moment, delivering an image that's impeccably detailed, wonderfully colored, and incredibly clear. Indeed, fine detail is mesmerizingly
strong, whether the texture of a leather couch or the fine lines in a polished wooden bar, or the more general and always-evident facial, human hair, and
clothing textures. Detail even holds up at a distance; the image remains sharply defined in the longest of shots, whether clumps of dense foliage or
overhead views of manmade objects. Where the transfer really shines, however, is in the combination of color and clarity. No color goes unseen in
Just Go With It; sparkling blue waters, lush green tropical vistas, and any number of bright-colored clothes are displayed with unmatched
precision. Colors never go dull or excessively hot, and the incredible cleanliness and clarity the image provides only serves to enhance the never-ending
palette. Black levels are perfectly balanced, and flesh tones remain natural throughout. The transfer is free of banding, blocking, and other debilitating
no-no's. Sony's always on the cutting edge of Blu-ray perfection, and this is just the latest jewel in the studio's 1080p crown.
Just Go With It features a satisfying and pretty much flawless DTS-HD MA 5.1 lossless soundtrack. True, this one's not as aggressive or exciting
as some action extravaganza, but that doesn't mean it can't deliver a precision audio experience within the confines of its own limitations. Music is
delightfully reproduced, enjoying a rich and full texture that captures every little sonic nuance throughout the entire range, particularly in the array of
tropical beats that permeate the film. Clarity is impeccable throughout, whether in music or various background ambient effects that bring several
environments to splendid life. Crashing waves, chatty seagulls, and the din of various tropical locales effortlessly open up the film's tropical worlds and
transport listeners into the destination locations. The surround channels carry both music and effects, but the bulk of the material is seamlessly and
spaciously delivered by the front three. Rounded out by faultless dialogue reproduction, Just Go With It sounds fantastic from top to bottom.
Just Go With It goes way overboard in the supplemental department, delivering a pair of commentaries -- one of which amounts to little more
than people laughing -- and the motherlode of junk
featurettes, all of which altogether create a big pile of nothing in support of perhaps the worst movie in Adam Sandler's career.
Audio Commentary: Adam Sandler, Nick Swarsdon, and "the filmmakers" man track one. Unfortunately, the track is difficult to follow
as the
additional participants are not immediately identified. Nevertheless, it's a standard light multi-participant commentary. They laugh at the film and at
one another and at the
various stories they recall from the set and their lives. There's plenty of laughing at jokes many viewers probably won't get, intercut with some basic
analysis of the film and general recollections of the shoot.
Audio Commentary: Director Dennis Dugan delivers a more straightforward commentary that offers a traditional point-by-point look at
the movie,
his comments recored two weeks after the film's release. There are several silent stretches, but he shares plenty of pertinent information as it
relates to the
making of the film, its home video release, and more.
Laughter is Contagious (1080p, 4:39): A fancy name for "gag reel."
Deleted Scenes (1080p, 16:57): Eddie Fights Bridesmaids, Extended Office Scene, Extended Eddie Scene, Eddie Leaves Number,
Adon at Rio Spa, Shutters, Beginning, First Class, Hotel Arrival, Bamboo, Jungle Talk, Diaper, Spa Belgian Earthquake, Join Contest, and
Airplane.
Adon: Living Plastic (1080p, 2:30): Actor Kevin Nealon discusses taking his Just Go With It makeup on the town.
Along Came a Prop Guy (1080p, 2:53): Plastic spiders take over the set.
Decker's Got Gas (1080p, 2:19): Actress Brooklyn Decker plays a prank with an iPhone app that makes fart noises.
Dolph -- Not the One From Rocky IV (1080p, 6:11): Cast and crew talk up Actor Nick Swardson, and the man himself discusses his
character and playing in the film.
Kevin Nealon: The Plastic Man (1080p, 5:31): The extras once again join Kevin Nealon, this time for a look at the three-hour application
of his plastic-surgery-gone-wrong makeup and his thoughts on the making of the film.
What's a Dugan? (1080p, 5:27): A look at the man who directed Just Go With It.
Look Who Else is in the Movie (1080p, 1080p, 2:40): Several of the tertiary performers get a few more minutes of fame.
Sneaky Kiki & Bart the Water Fart (1080p, 1:31): A short piece that focuses on young actors Bailee Madison and Griffin Gluck, two of
the only bright spots in the movie.
The Perfect Couple: Jen and Adam (1080p, 5:51): The two mega-stars discuss playing in the movie while cast and crew sing the
couple's
praises.
The Not So Perfect Couple (1080p, 3:52): A look at the work of Nicole Kidman and Dave Matthews.
Decker's First Role (1080p, 4:20): Cast and crew discuss working with newcomer and swimsuit model Brooklyn Decker.
Shooting Hawaii (1080p, 5:35): Surprise! This piece looks at shooting in Hawaii.
Grand Wailea Promo (1080p, 7:08): An extended commercial for the popular Hawaii destination getaway.
Unfunny, unnecessary, and made pretty much only because people still trust the likes of Sandler, Aniston, and to a lesser extent Director Dennis Dugan
to make them laugh enough to lay down a few dollars on a movie ticket, Just Go With It is a movie that lives up to its title. It's a movie that's
on cruise control from the outset but
that quickly veers off the side of the road and crashes because nobody cares what's going on, so long as Sandler and Anniston can appear in the
advertisements. It's bad enough that the movie plays so fast and loose with marriage, but honestly, that's the least of its problems. Running far too
long and lacking in humor, the film just never comes together and barely manages to elicit a chuckle or two, and even those come from scenes
that really aren't even pertinent to the storyline. Hopefully, the next Sandler/Dugan film, Jack and Jill, will fare better than this. Sony's Blu-ray
release of Just Go With It features a sparkling video transfer, a strong lossless soundtrack, and plenty of extras, so fans can buy with confidence,
but newcomers should definitely rent before purchasing.
Sony Pictures Home Entertainment has announced its release of Just Go with It Blu-ray and Just Go with It Combo Pack on June 7. The romantic comedy tells the story of a plastic surgeon who fakes being married in order to avoid actually getting married.
