Bedtime Stories

It's a bit strange that I'm so in love with horror movies yet sometimes I crave dumb comedies. A balanced diet is important, after all. I can't be depressed all the time. Which is why sometimes I lament the little number of comedies I own.

But yes, I did watch Bedtime Stories, starring Adam Sandler. Premise? Happy-go-lucky hotel maintenance dude has to baby-sit his little niece and nephew. Tells them bedtime stories, except every part that they chirp in becomes true. Raining gumballs, damsels in distress, that whole charade.

Okay, maybe I wouldn't go into the details of the plot because... there was barely a plot, and I can't say anything without spoiling everything, since there is so little of it.

Perhaps I'll say more about the acting. Adam Sandler is his usual goofy self (this time called Skeeter), good-natured, not deviating from his usual roles. Keri Russel was surprising as the romantic interest and I really thought they lacked chemistry together. They just don't seem like the kind of people who would click, and even they click, the result doesn't seem that exciting anyway. The two little kids are very adorable and lively. Guy Pearce, as the major butt-kissing nemesis, is just sad. I remember days when he was in major roles in major movies with substance, like Memento. I don't want to diss comedy. Like I said, I wish I see more of it, and there are certainly major roles in comedy that take serious skills, and I really have lots of respect for Adam Sandler and Ben Stiller and Will Farrell, but there are also roles that are just ridiculous and 2 dimensional.

The highlight of the movie would have to be Russell Brand's Mickey, Skeeter's best friend who's a server at the hotel. Silly, has no serious bone in his body, sexually ambiguous, reliable when it counts, and just an excellent sidekick all around. I was really not that into Russell Brand because I thought he just wasn't my type of comedian, with the wild long hair and flamboyant rock star looks. He's quite famous in Britain apparently and is bridging over to the American market (pretty successfully, so far). He had a role in the movie Forgetting Sarah Marshall, also a comedy. In the past he has suffered through drug, alcohol and sex addiction problems but has been clean since 2002 ('cording to wiki, anyway). Quite the ladies' man, and politically active. Again, really did not think I was going to appreciate his brand of humour, but there's a sweet and unassuming air about him, despite all that hair and make-up.