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Mr. Deeds (2002)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:153
Fresh:33
Rotten:120
Average Rating:4/10
Consensus: This update of Capra doesn't hold a candle to the original, and even on its own merits, Mr. Deeds is still indifferently acted and stale.
Rated: PG-13 [See Full Rating] for language including sexual references, and some rear nudity
Runtime: 1 hr 37 mins
Genre: Comedies
Theatrical Release:Jun 28, 2002 Wide
Box Office: $126,203,320
Synopsis: Longfellow Deeds (Adam Sandler) is content to run his pizzeria in the cozy New Hampshire hamlet of Mandrake Falls. His only further desire is to someday see one of his corny rhymes printed in a... Longfellow Deeds (Adam Sandler) is content to run his pizzeria in the cozy New Hampshire hamlet of Mandrake Falls. His only further desire is to someday see one of his corny rhymes printed in a greeting card. Deeds is awarded much more when he inherits the $40 billion empire of a media tycoon, a distant relative. He is lured to New York City by unscrupulous partners of the deceased where he is preyed upon by greedy stockholders. He also makes ample fodder for tabloid journalists, notably reporter Babe Bennett (Winona Ryder) who poses as a school nurse from Iowa to win Deed's heart and expose him as an idiot to her viewership. Against her will and her own sleazy principles, Babe falls for the charming naivety of Deeds, whose fortune is in jeopardy. Adam Sandler's man-child persona stands in for Gary Cooper in this remake of the 1936 MR. DEEDS GOES TO TOWN. Sandler and longtime collaborator Tim Herlihy have molded the Frank Capra romantic comedy into a perfect vehicle for its star and a love letter to New York City. Jared Harris as a tabloid TV host and John Turturro as an omnipresent Spanish butler shine in supporting roles. [More]
Starring: Adam Sandler, Winona Ryder, John Turturro, Peter Gallagher
Starring: Adam Sandler, Winona Ryder, John Turturro, Peter Gallagher, Steve Buscemi, Jared Harris, Erick Avari, Conchata Ferrell, Gideon Jacobs
Director: Steven Brill
Director: Steven Brill
Screenwriter: Tim Herlihy
Story: Clarence Budington Kelland
Producer: Sidney Ganis, Jack Giarraputo
Studio: Columbia Pictures
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Reviews for Mr. Deeds
The star and his numbskull cronies piss on Capra's grave with acrid insincerity.
Sandler barely expends any energy trotting out the "average dude who shakes up stodgy high society" schtick, and director Steven Brill and scripter Tim Herlihy follow lazy suit.
This is a remake which will vaguely satisfy the Sandler faithful and have Capra fans gritting their teeth.
How could Adam Sandler, of all people, remake Capra? Well, shoddily, as it happens.
...Perpetuates [Sandler's] penchant for idiotic, schoolboy humor, misunderstood-nice-guy characters, and plots which insult the intelligence of anyone over 12.
The only saving grace about Mr. Deeds is its functioning as a wise and timely cliche': money can't buy everything--especially for a clunky comedy with no spirit or no spark.
The film delivers as promised on most levels; however, it does help to be an Adam Sandler fan to begin with.
A remake so bad it will make your gums bleed. Orphanage fires are funnier.
When you've already made something as execrable and universally loathed as Little Nicky, why stop there?
A very stupid film that's almost watchable but doesn't really have any reason to exist.
No amount of spastic-colon jokes, cartoon violence or good-buddy cameos (Al Sharpton, John McEnroe) can distract from the fact that Gary Cooper [Sandler] ain't.
The plot is moth-eaten, the jokes lame, the action sequences idiotic to disgusting, and the whole adds up (or subtracts down) to a complete waste of time.
There's a price to pay for the guilty pleasure Steven Brill's film affords -- a relentless process of dumbing down that tells the audience it's cool to be a doofus.
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