'Bedtime Stories' review

Adam Sandler (Credit: Tracy Bennett/Disney)

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Much like Billy Madison, obnoxious handyman Skeeter (Adam Sandler) thought he'd be in charge of a hotel someday until the boss promises a new property to his daughter's brown-nosing boyfriend (Guy Pearce). But wait! The tall tales Skeeter tells his niece and nephew start coming true, sorta—gumballs falling from the sky actually come from a truck that split open—so maybe if the kids can help him construct the perfect story then Skeeter will be a hotel manager after all. With Russell Brand ("Forgetting Sarah Marshall") as Skeeter's best friend, Courteney Cox as Skeeter's sister Wendy and Keri Russell as Wendy's pal/the latest beautiful woman to unconvincingly fall for Sandler onscreen.

The buzz: These fantasy storylines are starting to feel a little stale. (Throw a dart a few inches to the left on the Kids' Movie Idea Board and you hit "Enchanted.") But Sandler, Brand and Pearce are some of the last people you'd expect in a Disney movie, so maybe director Adam Shankman ("Hairspray") at least has the assets for family fun that hasn't been seen a billion times before.

The verdict: Young kids may be tickled by Sandler's phoned-in shtick and about 300 jokes involving Bugsy, a CGI guinea pig with giant eyes and some flagellation issues. But most of "Bedtime Stories" has its pigtails pulled in opposite directions. One minute Sandler's subtly referencing his libido and forcing the pointless appearance of usual sidekicks like Rob Schneider and Allen Covert; the next Skeeter's nephew is calling girls "bisgusting." If the kids had more control over the fables they might have been magical—there's something charmingly innocent about a kid demanding adults do some spontaneous hokey pokey. Instead nothing leaps off the page or screen, except the guaranteed laughs that come from Brand experiencing terrifying episodes of "sleep panic."

Did you know? Skeeter and Wendy learn that gluten-free wheat-grass cake is not a hit at youngsters' parties, and a hanger and a towel is not seen as an acceptable birthday gift. Kids these days are so spoiled.

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