Some time ago, one would have found it hard to imagine Adam Sandler deliver family-friendly laughs in the kind of Disney flick that usually guarantees a happy ending. However, things change and so do people. And performances as well.
Thus, Adam Sandler manages to surprise us with his witty and sharp role in “Bedtime Stories,” a film that should appeal both to kids and to their parents, as the primary tale holds the key to several other stories that barge in just to color the blank canvas.
Mind-boggling dreams and eerie characters come to life as Adam Sandler’s eccentric persona makes up various narratives in order to entertain his niece and nephew and this storm of outlandish fairytales certainly carries the warmth of holiday spirit.
Working from a script by Matt Lopez and Tim Herlihy, director Adam Shankman pictures a world in which harsh happenings and gentle touches co-exist. While some lose their jobs, others learn how to love. Viewers just have to forget about incredulity and skepticism and unleash their imagination, because one has to be open to fantasy so as to enter its fanciful land.
A short opening scene unveils a part of Skeeter Bronson’s (Adam Sandler) history: as a kid, he witnessed the downfall of the family motel business, since his father, Marty (Jonathan Pryce), had not been able to keep things under control. Therefore, Marty was forced to sell the motel to Barry Nottingham (Richard Griffiths and Tim Herlihy in flashback) and saw his dreams fall apart.
Three decades later, Skeeter serves as a handyman at his dad’s former place, which has become a luxurious hotel in the meantime, and watches how manager Kendall (a scheming Guy Pearce) is chosen as Nottingham’s successor.
When Skeeter falls in love with Barry Nottingham’s outgoing daughter, Violet (Teresa Palmer), he finds support in the wacky person of Mickey, played by a hilarious Russell Brand.
Nevertheless, the unpredictable crosses Skeeter’s path when his sister (Courteney Cox) leaves town and asks him to babysit her children, Bobbi (Laura Ann Kesling) and Patrick (Jonathan Morgan Heit). He is accompanied on the kid-watching mission by his sister’s friend, Jill (Keri Russell), and wants to win her heart by inventing wild bedtime stories.
By some miracle, the tales come true and, thus, Skeeter wants to use them in his favor. When the kids get involved in the storytelling, however, everything takes the wrong turn and Skeeter finds himself in the medieval times fighting Sir Buttkiss (Guy Pearce).
Although “Bedtime Stories” brings into play creative and innovative elements that offer the movie the perfect thrilling Christmas touch, subplots often seem senseless and absurd. But we have to accept all of them in order to live the magic of the whole at utmost intensity.
