Just Go with It

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"Pretend Wife" redirects here. Not to be confused with The Make-Believe Wife.
Just Go with It
Just Go with It Poster.jpg
Theatrical release poster
Directed byDennis Dugan
Screenplay by
Based onCactus Flower
by I. A. L. Diamond
Cactus Flower
by Abe Burrows
Pierre Barillet
Jean-Pierre Gredy
Produced by
Starring
CinematographyTheo van de Sande
Edited byTom Costain
Music byRupert Gregson-Williams
Production
companies
Distributed bySony Pictures Releasing
Release dates
  • February 8, 2011 (2011-02-08) (New York City)
  • February 11, 2011 (2011-02-11) (United States)
Running time
117 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$80 million[1]
Box office$215 million[2]

Just Go with It is a 2011 American romantic comedy film directed by Dennis Dugan, written by Allan Loeb and Timothy Dowling, and produced by Adam Sandler, Jack Giarraputo, and Heather Parry. It is a remake of the 1969 film Cactus Flower,[3] and stars Sandler and Jennifer Aniston, with Nicole Kidman, Nick Swardson, Brooklyn Decker, Bailee Madison, Griffin Gluck, and Heidi Montag in supporting roles. It tells the story of a plastic surgeon who enlists his assistant into helping him woo a sixth-grade math teacher.

Production of the film began on March 2, 2010. Originally titled "Holiday in Hawaii", and then "Pretend Wife",[4] it was produced by Sandler's Happy Madison Productions and released in North America on February 11, 2011, by Columbia Pictures. The film grossed over $214 million, making it a box office success. However, it received negative reviews, with criticism for its plot and editing but praise for its writing and acting. It won two Golden Raspberry Awards for Worst Actor and Worst Director.

Plot[edit]

Danny Maccabee is a successful plastic surgeon in Los Angeles who feigns being in an unhappy marriage to get women, as well as avoid romantic commitment. The only woman aware of his schemes is his office manager/assistant and friend, Katherine Murphy, a divorced mother of two. At a party, Danny tends to a kid's knee scrape, removing his ring to treat the wound. Shortly after, he meets Palmer, a young sixth-grade math teacher. The next morning, after spending the night on the beach together, she finds Danny’s wedding ring in his pocket. She leaves, upset that he cheated on his wife with her.

Instead of telling her the truth, Danny tells her that he is getting divorced from a woman named Devlin because she cheated on him with a man named "Dolph Lundgren". When Palmer insists on meeting Devlin, Danny convinces Katherine to pose as "Devlin" and give them her blessing. However, after hearing Katherine talking on the phone with her kids, Palmer assumes that her kids are Danny's as well. Danny then meets with Katherine's kids, Michael and Maggie, to get them to play along.

The kids blackmail Danny to take them all to Hawaii. At the airport, they are all surprised by Danny's cousin Eddie, traveling in disguise as "Dolph Lundgren" because he is running from his ex-girlfriend's new boyfriend. To maintain the lies, Danny and Katherine are forced to bring him along.

At the resort in Hawaii, Katherine and Danny run into the real-life Devlin Adams and her husband Ian Maxtone-Jones. Over time, Katherine is impressed by Danny and his way with her kids.

Devlin invites Katherine and Danny out to dinner. Palmer suggests that she and Danny get married now since a drunken Eddie told her about Danny's plans of engagement. Danny and Katherine are both surprised by her proposition, but Danny agrees.

Palmer confronts Katherine about Danny's feelings for her, which Katherine dismisses. Katherine runs into Devlin at a bar and admits that she pretended to be married to Danny to avoid embarrassment. Devlin confesses that she is divorcing Ian. Katherine confides in Devlin about being in love with Danny, but then Danny shows up behind her, saying that he is not marrying Palmer and that he is deeply in love with Katherine. Palmer meets a professional tennis player who shares her interests. Danny and Katherine get married.

Cast[edit]

Reception[edit]

Box office[edit]

Just Go with It grossed $103 million in the U.S. and Canada and $111.9 million in other territories for a worldwide gross of $214.9 million.[5]

The film topped its opening weekend box office with $30.5 million.[6] The biggest market in other territories being Russia, where it grossed $13,174,937.[7]

Critical response[edit]

Just Go with It received generally negative reviews. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 19%, based on 138 reviews, with an average rating of 3.9/10. The site's consensus reads: "Just Go with It may be slightly better than some entries in the recently dire rom-com genre, but that's far from a recommendation."[8] On Metacritic, the film has a score of 33 out of 100, based on 31 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews".[9] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B" on an A+ to F scale.[10]

The Telegraph named Just Go with It in its "ten worst films of 2011" list, saying it is "a crass and overpopulated remake of Cactus Flower, served up as a mangy romcom of serial deceptions."[11] Christopher Orr of The Atlantic noted that "the title itself seems a plea for audiences' forbearance" and is part of a disappointing trend involving "the reimagining of good, if perhaps not quite classic, films associated with the latter 1960s and early 1970s."[3] Entertainment Weekly's Lisa Schwarzbaum wrote that Just Go With It "is saved from utter disaster, though, by Jennifer Aniston" who has "expert comic timing" and "plays like a grown-up."[12]

Nicole Kidman was praised by critics as the sole bright spot.[13]

Accolades[edit]

List of awards and nominations
Award Date of ceremony Category Recipients Result Ref.
Golden Raspberry Awards April 1, 2012 Worst Actor Adam Sandler (also for Jack and Jill) Won [citation needed]
Worst Supporting Actor Nick Swardson (also for Jack and Jill) Nominated
Worst Supporting Actress Nicole Kidman Nominated
Worst Screen Couple Adam Sandler and either Jennifer Aniston or Brooklyn Decker Nominated
Worst Director Dennis Dugan (also for Jack and Jill) Won
Teen Choice Awards August 7, 2011 Choice Movie: Romantic Comedy Just Go with It Nominated [14]
Choice Movie Actor: Romantic Comedy Adam Sandler Nominated
Choice Movie Actress: Romantic Comedy Jennifer Aniston Nominated
Choice Movie Breakout: Female Brooklyn Decker Won
Choice Movie: Chemistry Adam Sandler and Jennifer Aniston Won

Home media[edit]

Sony Pictures Home Entertainment released Just Go with It on DVD and Blu-ray disc on June 7, 2011. As of 2019, it has grossed $25,014,665 in North America DVD sales.[15]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Horn, John (February 10, 2011). "Word of Mouth: 'Just Go With It' plays the demographics". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved February 12, 2011.
  2. ^ "Just Go With It (2011)". The Numbers. Retrieved 2011-06-19.
  3. ^ a b Orr, Christopher (11 February 2011). "'Just Go With It': A Sad Union of the Saccharine and Scatological". The Atlantic. Retrieved 15 April 2012.
  4. ^ Borys Kit (2009-12-08). "Sandler, Aniston playing 'Pretend'". The Hollywood Reporter. Nielsen Business Media. Retrieved 2010-02-07.
  5. ^ "Just Go with It". boxofficemojo.com. IMDB. Retrieved July 30, 2011.
  6. ^ "Just Go with It Weekend Grosses". boxofficemojo.com. IMDB. Retrieved July 30, 2011.
  7. ^ "Just Go with It Foreign Totals". boxofficemojo.com. IMDB. Retrieved July 30, 2011.
  8. ^ "Just Go with It". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 19 April 2018.
  9. ^ Just Go with It Reviews. Metacritic. Retrieved 2011-02-16.
  10. ^ John Young (February 13, 2011). "Box office report: 'Just Go With It' barely beats 'Justin Bieber: Never Say Never' in photo finish". Entertainment Weekly. the PG-13 film scored a strong "A-" rating
  11. ^ "Ten worst films of 2011". The Telegraph. London. December 15, 2011. Archived from the original on 2022-01-12. Retrieved December 17, 2011.
  12. ^ Schwarzbaum, Lisa (11 February 2011). "Movie Review: Just Go With It". Entertainment Weekly.
  13. ^ Solis, Jose (13 June 2011). "Not Even Nicole Kidman Completists Should Suffer Through 'Just Go With It'". Popmatters.
  14. ^ "Blake Lively Wins Choice TV Drama Actress The Teen Choice Awards! Here Are More Winners!". Hollywood Life. August 7, 2011. Retrieved June 19, 2014.
  15. ^ "Just Go With It". The Numbers. Retrieved 2020-05-24.

External links[edit]

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