Winona Ryder in Mr. Deeds (2002)

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Adam Sandler consistently plays the same character, over and over again in his movies, a goofy but sweet outsider with an occasional mean streak who likes to punch the hell out of people. Sandler is no stranger to his lack of cinematic range, and that’s not a slam because he freely admits he’s in it for the fans and that’s what they like to see. If you like that character in question, then you are liable to thoroughly enjoy Mr. Deeds, a sweet-natured comedy that only Sandler’s repertoire could accommodate.

If the title sounds familiar to you, then chances are you’re either familiar with Frank Capra’s 1936 fable, Mr. Deeds Goes To Town with Gary Cooper in the title role or one of the several articles or internet postings ripping a supposedly unqualified goof like Sandler for having the gall to remake such a classic. As modern remakes go, the only thing loose about this one is its 66-years later setting in 2002, a time when the unbridled sentimentality and simplistic moral storytelling of films during the Capra age would barely pass with modern critics. In a time when filmmakers ignore the golden rule to never remake a good movie, Mr. Deeds is actually rather faithful to its source material, albeit with a few more people getting punched.

Sandler adopts the character of Longfellow Deeds this time around from the small town of Mandrake Falls, where instead of passing the time with his tuba, he delivers pizza from his own restaurant and churns out greeting cards in hope that Hallmark will someday come-a-calling. A much bigger corporation arrives in town though to inform Deeds that he’s just inherited his uncle’s multimedia conglomerate and only needs to sell his shares for a hefty forty billion dollars.

So it’s off to New York for Deeds, set up in his Uncle’s killer pad and be waited on hand and foot (especially foot) by the “sneaky sneaky” butler, Emilio (John Turturro) as he waits for the paperwork to go through. The editor of the local tabloid news program “Inside Access” (Jared Harris) wants an expose of the man behind the money and assigns the driven but bored Babe Bennett (Winona Ryder) to get the scoop. Posing as a damsel in distress (just as in the original), Babe under the guise of small-town school nurse Mary Dawson, quickly wins the heart of the do-gooder while corporate executive Chuck Cedar (Peter Gallagher) has nefarious plans for the company.

The laughs in Mr. Deeds are plentiful, never in a clever, witty banter kinda way but also never stooping to just another piece of line-crossing gross-out expose. Sandler is Sandler and he’s always made funnier by his supporting players and in Deeds it begins and ends with two words: John Turturro. If ever an actor tried to take a fluff piece and steal it from everyone, then Turturro is Public Enemy #1. There is not a laugh he fails to get, a line reading he doesn’t nail and a scene where he isn’t welcome. Everyone’s familiar with Turturro’s work in the Coen Bros.’ films but go check out the drastically overlooked Marx Bros. tribute, Brain Donors, if Deeds leaves you yearning for more laughs from Turturro.

Winona Ryder couldn’t be more charming, again displaying the kind of proficient ability for breezy light comedy that her range has frequently come up lacking in her dramatic roles. It’s only a shame that Peter Gallagher wasn’t written to be much more of a villain, considering his ability to run with quirky comedic parts like that in While You Were Sleeping and American Beauty. While its virtually impossible to knock Christopher McDonald off the perch of the great Sandler villains as Shooter McGavin in Happy Gilmore, its disappointing to see that Gallagher wasn’t even given a fighting chance.

Sandler’s characters always have the heart of gold but occasionally do the kind of jackass things that all of us only wish we could get away with such as yelling uncontrollably at strangers and kicking the crap out of people who make cracks about us. In Mr. Deeds, Sandler plays his sweetest character to date and is only set-up to look like a jackass by the media telling the public what to think of him. Perhaps this is Sandler’s way of taking the Eddie Murphy/Nutty Professor route by taking shots at the loudmouth persona who made him famous. Or maybe that’s just way too introspective for an Adam Sandler movie.

Sandler’s fans are pretty much already set in stone. His two most notable missteps were The Waterboy and Little Nicky, two films were Sandler chose to take his speech pattern to unimaginable levels of irritation and managed to even annoy his biggest fans. (The fact that The Waterboy is Sandler’s most successful film to date doesn’t change that it’s a one-joke movie.) The detractors who simplify it even further by saying they just “don’t get him” can’t be converted to the knowledge that Sandler’s movies are far more simplified than even that. There’s nothing to “get” and no hidden joke that you may be missing. It’s either funny “ha-ha” or stone faced watch-checking time. At this point, he’s not going to cull some over from the negative side, although it will be interesting to see how he acquits himself with director Paul Thomas Anderson (Boogie Nights, Magnolia) later this year with Punch-Drunk Love. But while the noble quest for new compatriots continues, his old fans can rejoice that Mr. Deeds is a close third behind Happy Gilmore and The Wedding Singer on Sandler’s list of quality credits. And by quality, I mean the kind which makes you laugh. Period.

Nudity Report: No nudity from Miss Ryder, but her cleavage is on ample display, especially early in the film before she becomes the sweet-natured “school nurse” who can give me a check-up any time.

IMDB Summary: IMDb voters rate this 5.8/10.

Box Office: $125,000,000

DVD Info: This DVD is available through Columbia is separate widescreen and full frame editions. It includes a director and writer’s commentary, numerous featurettes on the making of the film, an outtake reel, deleted scenes, the Dave Matthews “Where Are You Going” music video and Deeds’ Greeting Cards (which Sandler reads to you in voiceover.)


Written by: Erik Childress