Mr. Deeds
This movie can't really be critiqued normally since no Adam Sandler movies are works of art by any stretch of the imagination. Instead, it needs to compared to the films he has done in his "storied" career. This one has Sandler playing Longfellow Deeds, a well-liked pizza guy from the small town of Mandrake Falls in New Hampshire. He just happens to be related to a wealthy man who just died. Since no heir could be found, he is the sole beneficiary of 49% of the media company he owned, worth $40 billion. He travels to a place very unfamiliar to him, New York City, to claim this new-found fortune. There, he meets Babe Bennett, a lady in distress who's really undercover for her TV show to get the scoop on him. She's played by Winona Ryder. (Sorry, no references to shoplifting in the movie but there is a part where she says she is broke.) But as cliches go, in the process of getting gossip about him, she falls for him. But before she can confess, Deeds finds out through the TV show, basically running him out of town and in the process handing over the company to the CEO who's hellbent on selling the company not just for the money, but for a shitload of money.

So as far as Sandler movies go, this one's middle of the road. It's not as hilarious as Billy Madison or Happy Gilmore, but it seems on par with The Waterboy and The Wedding Singer and it is certainly better than Little Nicky. The editing is terrible. Scenes end in awkward places, often staying with the action seconds after the joke has ended. There were many good and funny scenes but not enough to make me choke on my popcorn. And as always, things turn out happy for Sandler in this Happy Madison production. 2.5 stars