Bedtime Stories - 2 1/2 smiles

Bedtime Stories – 2 ½ smiles

If you’ve grown up with Adam Sandler on Saturday Night Live, or enjoy his raunchy humor in movies like “You Don’t Mess with the Zohan” or “I Now Pronounce you Chuck and Larry,” then you’ll probably find “Bedtime Stories” pretty dull fare. However, if you can accept a sweet Adam Sandler in a movie full of sentimentality and family values, you’ll enjoy it. Skeeter Bronson (Sandler), a hotel handyman, agrees to baby-sit his niece Bobbi (Laura Ann Kessling) and nephew Patrick (Jonathan Morgan Heit) while his sister, Wendy (Courteney Cox) is out of town. He will share this task with Wendy’s friend, Jill (Keri Russell), who has them during the day. Because they have no television, Skeeter has to entertain the children by telling them bedtime stories. Much to Skeeter’s surprise, the adventures he weaves at night come to pass (more or less) the next day. When he realizes what’s happening, he begins to modify the stories to benefit him in various ways, like getting to compete against his arch-nemesis Kendall (Guy Pearce) to run a new hotel. “Bedtime Stories” has four tales within the movie – a medieval adventure, a Western, an action/romance, and a space opera.

For the most part, Sandler is restrained, leaving the over-the-top humor to Russell Brand, who plays Skeeter’s best friend. However, a curious thing about “Bedtime Stories” is the presence of a CGI guinea pig with bulging eyes. He’s endearing when you see him the first time, but he’s overused. It’s as if a Disney movie has to have a cute animal in it (especially since the hamster in “Bolt” steals that movie). On some level, this movie seems to be saying something about the importance of imagination, but the message gets lost along the way. Older children will enjoy “Bedtime Stories” and you might also if you have nothing better to see. 12/25/08