Seen on: December 26, 2008

The players: Director: Adam Shankman, Writers: Matt Lopez, Tim Herlihy, Cast: Adam Sandler, Courtney Cox Arquette, Keri Russell, Teresa Palmer, Guy Pearce, Lucy Lawless

Facts of interest: Adam Shankman also directed "Hairspray."

The plot: Adam Sandler pays a hotel handyman whose life changes after his bedtime stories come to life.

Our thoughts: Walt Disney’s contribution to the bunch of Christmas Day releases this year is Adam Shankman’s “Bedtime Stories,” a family comedy starring Adam Sandler as a hotel handyman whose life takes a drastic turn when the bedtime stories he tells his niece and nephew somehow start to come true.

Now, is the movie funny? Barely. Is it innovative? Not really. Will the kids at least have fun watching it? Probably. Yes, as hard as it is for me to admit, I think the young audiences may actually get a kick out of seeing Sandler telling weird stories. But no, that still does not make “Bedtime Stories” a solid movie.

Here’s how the story begins: Sandler stars as Skeeter, a man whose biggest dream it is to manage he hotel he’s currently working at. Luck, however, has never been on his side, and his future doesn’t exactly look that bright either. That’s until his sister Wendy (Courtney Cox) asks him to babysit her kids while she’s away on business for the week.

Still with me? On to the next chapter: Skeeter’s life abruptly changes for the better when the stories he tells the little ones come true the next day. Surprised at first, Skeeter quickly decides to exploit this unexplainable phenomenon and make himself the brave lead character of all his stories, hoping they’ll come true and get him everything he ever wished for.

As you may have guessed already, that’s not exactly what happens, and for the remainder of the movie, Skeeter tries everything in his power to uncover the secret behind the magical storytelling and tell the stories in a way that benefits him most. The real problem here is that none of these tales are particularly interesting to watch.

First of all, we as the audience get to see all the stories twice, because Skeeter tells them at night and then experiences them in real life the next day. Secondly, I really didn’t like the stories in the first place, particularly because it’s the same thing over and over again, with Skeeter as an underdog emerging as the hero in the end. There’s nothing wrong with telling such a story, but once in a 95-minute flick is more than enough.

There’s not much substance to be found in “Bedtime Stories,” even though it successfully shows the young cinemagoers that there are indeed happy endings in real life. I’m sure you can dig up more thematic in this flick, but I was honestly too bored to look for more. From bad dialogue to mediocre performances, I just didn’t encounter anything that really kept my eyes glued to the screen.

Sandler obviously tries hard to pull off some of the jokes the shallow script supplies him with, but most of the gags in this film never really take off. The characters are as thin as you can imagine (some are particularly annoying), the special effects only work halfway, and while plot picks up some speed during the second half of the film, the first 45 minutes are tough to sit through without going nuts.

Freaky quote: “Cannnnnn youuuuuuu dig it?" – Adam Sandler

The final word: There’s not much else to say about “Bedtime Stories,” but I would like to repeat that your kids (depending on their age) may indeed mildly enjoy the movie. Still, I recommend you rather take them to see “Marley & Me.” As much as I am annoyed by dog movies, I think watching Owen Wilson wrestle with the world’s worst dog is still funnier than watching Sandler telling stories.

Article by Franck Tabouring