Bedtime Stories (2008) Reviews

• Once upon a time, Adam Sandler was in an entertaining family movie. True story...

  SophomoreSlump2009-03-19

  The thing about Bedtime Stories is that it is light, funny, easy to digest and all around great for the whole family. It's just like any other Sandler's movies except this one doesn't contain any only-for-adults jokes. It might not be the movie I'd recommend to someone who is in for something serious or something that is seriously funny, but this movie has got it all. There's comedy, slight drama and a lot of action; from cowboys to the outer space. Great writing and great acting. Really, there's nothing to complain. It's just a very entertaining family movie, which we don't get a lot these days. I recommend Bedtime Stories to any Disney fans and also to anyone who'd enjoy Adam Sandler's movies, minus the sexual and dirty jokes.

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• Good family fun...

  cnet2008-12-27

  We went to this movie with my two kids (ages 7 and 10, both girls), my Brother-in-law and his wife and their two kids (ages six and nine, both boys.) We were a bit apprehensive about this due to the poor critics ratings on Rotten Tomatoes. (Frankly, the critics gave it abysmal ratings and I almost avoided this entirely because of those ratings.) And perhaps they were right. But I know that despite the critics we all enjoyed it greatly. Maybe it was just the mood we were all in or the good meal we just had before the movie but we laughed throughout. Obviously there is no high-brow humor here or social commentary to be made. It's just a movie who's sole purpose is simply to have fun. Cookie cutter? Perhaps. In fact, in retrospect I'm sure it was. But it was still enjoyable. So if your looking for something more than what you see in the previews, forget it. It isn't happening. This movie makes no pretenses about what it is exactly about: good fun. If your looking for anything other than that, you're going to be disappointed. On the down side, some of the best moments were captured in the previews. While this certainly isn't the first movie to this (not the last I'm sure), it always seems to take something away from the experience of watching the movie. But there were plenty of other twists and turns in this movie that helped minimize the effect this had on the overall viewing experience. Overall this movie was a delight for kids both big and small in our group. You'll enjoy it if you watch it with a child's eye...and not those big ones Bugsy has!!!

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• It woke me up.

  jdesando2008-12-25

  "What if the stories you told came to life?" Bedtime Stories Promo Having suffered through Adam Sandler's You Don't Mess with the Zohan (2008), I was prepared to suffer through Bedtime Stories, his offering in the 2008 Christmas glut of fine movies that have few for kids. Sandler rules: This is one of the best children/adult stories this year, an ironic twist on romantic and heroic tales told from children's point of view through the masterful child/adult lens of an underplaying, child-friendly master. Sandler's Skeeter Bronson takes care of his niece and nephew for a week. Of course he hasn't a clue because he hasn't seen them in four years and his job as super-maintenance man at the Sunny Vista Hotel in Las Vegas consumes most of his time and energy. He's the usual Sandler sweet-hearted semi-loser with reserves of child-like sympathies ready to be released. The conceit is that after telling the humorous tales with the kids' ample and creative input at bedtime, the story elements become real in real life, altered to fit the modern context (e.g., a rain of gumballs actually happens the next day, explainable by a candy truck spilling its contents over a bridge onto Sandler). In this ingenious way, the film recalls the Wizard-of-Oz trick of making real in Kansas what Dorothy had experienced in the Emerald City. There is nothing deep about this delight, just a small satire of a society that may be losing its sense of wonder and fun in order to bow at the altars of nutrition and commercialism. Not bad for a film I thought would be another Sander nodder. It woke me up to the joys of imagination and love. Happy holidays.

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• a cute fest

  jemps9182009-01-19

  Despite being a much milder and family-friendly flick, Bedtime Stories will not disappoint Adam Sandler fans provided they accept that they have to share him with a much younger audience as well. Bedtime Stories is a PG-rated comedy about hotel maintenance guy Skeeter Bronson (Adam Sandler), who babysits his impossibly cute niece Bobbi (Laura Ann Kesling) and nephew Patrick (Jonathan Morgan Heit) for his uptight sister Wendy (Courteney Cox). He shares his duties with Wendy's co-teacher/friend Jill (Keri Russell), taking on the night shift, which is when he discovers that the stories he tells them come true the next day. Skeeter uses his new discovery to his advantage when he decides to create a happier ending for his own life, which is made miserable daily by his hotel nemeses Kendall (Guy Pearce) and Aspen (Lucy Lawless). Sure, the scenarios are pretty ridiculous sometimes, but indulging in children's fantasies is a longlost pleasure that this famcom creates for his adult audience, while wisely introducing Sandler to his future audiences by appearing in a diluted version of himself. If you're not into warm-and-fuzzies (why fight it?!?), you might find this too saccharine for your moldy taste buds.

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• Best family movie in a long time

  farkasdeb2008-12-31

  I have never been an Adam Sandler fan as he seemed to be an actor for humor geared towards teens...but I really enjoyed this movie. I took my 4 year old to see it and didn't expect to like it as much as I did. This is THE perfect family movie that is funny and magical and a bit silly. It actually can be enjoyed by all ages in the family...even the teenagers. Sometimes we all need to relax and laugh and imagine. Bedtime Stories does that. I left the theater feeling like I had spent my money well on this movie. I recommended the movie to my teens and other families. Unless you are the over-serious type, you won't be disappointed.

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