Adam Sandler Deserves Better Than Netflix’s ‘The Week Of’

It’s been some four years since Adam Sandler inked his multi-million dollar deal with Netflix, and so far, there hasn’t really been a title that’s stuck. The Do-Over, The Ridiculous 6, and Sandy Wexler haven’t really lived up to our expectations of the Sandman, but when The Week Of was announced, it seemed like the curse might have a shot at being broken. With Robert Smigel directing and Sandler joined by Chris Rock, Rachel Dratch, Steve Buscemi, and more in the cast, laughs are almost guaranteed – and some do come. But at almost two hours long, The Week Of unfortunately fails to find a consistent pace and tone, despite the cast’s best efforts.

The premise is simple enough; two families come together in the week leading up to their children’s wedding, and shenanigans ensue. Sandler is Kenny, a dopey middle-class father that will ring familiar for fans of Sandler’s other work, while Rock plays Kirby, a toolish, womanizing, wealthy surgeon who can’t quite wrap his head around the family his son is marrying into. Kenny, father of the bride, is intent on giving his daughter the best wedding possible, despite the fact that he doesn’t quite have the money to pull it off, and he refuses to accept any help from Kirby. Every time he catches a break, something seems to go wrong, but he’s way too prideful to ask for any assistance – and thus things begin to fall apart. His house gets fuller and fuller as the hotel accommodations prove unsuitable, and with warring dogs, tacky relatives, and weird neighbors, there’s so much going on that it comes close to being overwhelming.

There’s really no reason The Week Of shouldn’t be wonderful, lighthearted fun (it’s Adam Sandler and Chris Rock together! Come on!), but the film tries so hard to combine classic wedding movie fare with Happy Madison shtick that it never quite finds its own groove. Perhaps if it had gone in the direction of more all-out goofy weirdness à la Sandy Wexler, it might work better, but its identity crisis doesn’t allow it to get there. There’s the physical comedy we’ve come to love from these goofballs, Buscemi’s sleazeball role is certainly an amusing turn, and Kenny’s young son, who stays largely silent and teary for the film with the exception of a few unexpected outbursts, is hilarious. Many of the punchlines come at the expense of a double amputee, a teenager with mental illness, and unfunny sex gags, however, and it’s disappointing if only because Sandler and Smigel are definitely smarter than this kind of cheap humor.

Despite all the film’s issues, Sandler is, as usual, ridiculously likable. A few tender moments shared with his daughter (played by endearing newcomer Allison Strong) provide some of the film’s only truly affecting bits. There’s certainly chemistry and charm to be had between Sandler and Rock, but the two seem so bored with the material that their electricity is never able to take off. The few solid sequences (including Sandler, Buscemi, and Dratch wrangling bats and setting them loose in City Hall, and Sandler appearing in drag towards the end singing “When I Fall In Love”) in The Week Of make its tired quality more frustrating, especially given that this cast should be able to pull off just about anything. Sandler, Rock, and the rest of the group have real chops, and they’ve all done great work in the past. If you aren’t bothered by unreached potential, The Week Of will be just as enjoyable for you as the rest of his recent films. The rest of us, however, will be here, wondering when Sandler will put out a comedy worthy of his talents again.

Stream The Week Of on Netflix