Bedtime Stories (2008)

It was at the behest of my nieces and the prodding of my brother who knows of my fascination with Russell Brand that I sat down to watch Bedtime Stories starring Adam Sandler. Dear readers, you know of my distaste for the man. His best days were on SNL.

As Uncle Skeeter, Sandler is remarkably sane. His penchant for odd voices remains, but this time, as the down on his luck everyman who is caring for his niece and nephew, the voices work. Adept at story-telling, Skeeter begins to notice uncanny parallels between the bedtime stories he’s been telling Bobbi and Patrick and his real life. Before long, he’s trying to manipulate the bedtime stories to realize his own reality.

The characters herein aren’t particularly deep in Bedtime Stories. The casting is solid with Brand, Courtney Cox, Keri Russell, Guy Pierce and Richard Griffiths. Cox is funny with her obsessive mom disorder. Her poor kids haven’t experienced the true joys of childhood thanks to mom’s fascination with wheat germ. Sandler, however, is the real star of the show. And as much as it pains me to say it, some of the dialogue is funny and completely relatable.

Sandler, I’m impressed. You’ve forgone the raunchy uninspired brand of humor I have cursed you for and made something enjoyable for the whole family. Interesting enough for the adults; captivating for the children. Even computer generated Bugsy didn’t annoy me. Well done.