Sandler goes West of good quality
Director: Frank Coraci
Running Time: 119 Minutes
Starring: Adam Sandler,
Over the past few years, Netflix has made a name for themselves with their fantastic work on TV shows. It's clear they're hoping to replicate that success as they tip-toe into the waters of feature films, which makes it all the more galling one of their first releases is an Adam Sandler exclusive film. Merely the opening salvo in a draconian contract, it seems like their quality will take a bit of time to find consistent footing.
White Knife (Adam Sandler) is an outlaw, raised by Native Americans since he was a child. He discovers he has five half-brothers (Rob Schneider, Taylor Lautner, Jorge Garcia, Luke Wilson and Terry Crews), and must enlist their help to steal $50,000, in order to save their kidnapped, wayward father (Nick Nolte).
It should be no surprise how flattering the script paints Sandler's character, especially when he was one of the writers. Despite his bored performance, complete with monotonous tone and blank face, White Knife is considered "all man" by the ladies, containing abilities and skills which wouldn't be out of place in a Marvel production. Considering this, it's surprising there was room on the set to accommodate Sandler's massive ego.
Aside from directing, Frank Coraci has also been the host of a food show, named Chow Masters. One would hope he goes back to that line of work, as his directorial work here is dreadful. The moments of comedy and emotion are haphazardly handled, as though neither moments had any real effort put into them. A scene listlessly attempts a tender embrace between brothers, only to punctuate it with the horrendous sight of donkey's violent diarrhoea spraying against a wall.
In a script unlikely to win any awards, the plot certainly stands out for its problems. The repetitive nature sees the characters go to a random area where they conveniently meet somebody related to them, until all six brothers are reunited, where the random areas instead hold plot complications which have to be encountered. One of which is the Left Eye Gang, another antagonist who outlive their usefulness after the opening. Let's not even mention John Tuturro, who brings a pointless baseball scene, seemingly included to call bullshit on the game's rules. Add to that White Knife's thrist for vengeance against his mother's killer, his fiancée's prominent role as hostage, and you have another overstuffed plot from Happy Madison productions.
Rob Schneider once more dons another ethnicity, in an attempt to cover up his lack of acting ability. He portrays a stereotypical Mexican this time around, complete with a love for Tacos and a pet Donkey. So how is it he gets more substantial material to work with than Jorge Garcia, who's reduced to resembling a Caveman, as well as grunting like one?
Taylor Lautner appears as Lil' Pete, an irritating buffoon whose purpose is to be the butt of many jokes. This is probably an attempt for Lautner to try something different, but could he not have done better than somebody who engages cantaloupes sexually, and receives oral sex from a donkey?
Rounding off the brothers, Terry Crews is wasted on two mentions of believing his skin colour is a secret, while Luke Wilson regrets his past as Abraham Lincoln's failed bodyguard. Jon Lovitz appears to ensure people remember him from better career choices, mainly in voice work, and Vanilla Ice appears as the author of Tom Sawyer, Mark Twain. Wrap your head around that casting choice.
If you've wondered what it'd be like to combined A Million Ways To Die In The West with repeated hammer blows to the head, then you'd be close with The Ridiculous 6. The result is another paid vacation and vanity project for Adam Sandler, because that's deserving for the guy who casts his wife as a character named Never Wears Bra.
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