Sometimes your enjoyment of a movie really depends on your expectations.
If you get really excited to see a new movie in theaters. You shell out the money. Get a babysitter. Buy popcorn and expensive snacks. And the movie isn't as good as you hoped... you're somewhat disappointed.
When you watch a movie on an airplane, flip around on HBO on a lazy Saturday afternoon or watch something mindless on Netflix by yourself, the expectations are much lower. The lower bar leads to much more enjoyment.
After a string of terrible movies, Adam Sandler's productions company Happy Madison has lowered the bar sufficiently.
The Sandler-starring theatrical offerings include some real stinkers such as "Jack and Jill," "That's My Boy," "Don't Mess With the Zohan" and "Grown Ups."
At least those movies have the charm and charisma of Sandler.
The Happy Madison movies that he merely produces but doesn't act in? If the bar were any lower you'd have to dig a hole in the floor.
Needless to say, I'm not a Happy Madison aficionado. I've steered clear of the "straight to Netflix" movies that have been lazily churned out.
But there was something that intrigued me by his latest streaming comedy starring David Spade called "The Wrong Missy." And that's the female co-lead Lauren Lapkus.
Lapkus is an underrated comic talent that started off doing improv at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theater. I first discovered her playing characters on a podcast called "Comedy Bang Bang!" Eventually I saw her pop up in small roles. She was a corrections officer on the Netflix series "Orange is the New Black" and she played a cheating wife in the HBO series "Crashing." Most people know her from her brief role in "Jurassic World" as a tech operator or from playing the girlfriend of the comic book guy on "The Big Bang Theory."
The premise of the movie is David Spade, playing the straight man, goes on an awful blind date with Lapkus. Months later, he runs into his dream girl played by model Molly Sims. They exchange numbers but she has the same name -- Melissa -- and so he mistakenly starts texting the crazy girl from the blind date instead of his dream girl. He invites her to a work retreat on a tropical island and is shocked when "The Wrong Missy" shows up. She's loud. She vulgarly talks about sex. She gets drunk. She embarrasses him and he's too meek to tell her the truth.
The humor in the movie is certainly hit or miss. There's a mean spirited -- almost misogynistic -- veil over how they treat Missy's character. When she decides to have sex with Spade's character when he's not completely willing, well, it was uncomfortable. (But as much as Isla Fisher's similar scene in "Wedding Crashers.")
"The Wrong Missy" definitely isn't for kids but it has childish humor. It's got a lot of swearing and sex jokes. Plenty of prat falls and slapstick humor. There's a three-way sex scene with some physical comedy that will make you cringe because it's so bad.
Spade is obviously mailing it in. He's the straight man so he doesn't have to do the heavy lifting but some of his line reading seems like he just wants to get out of there.
One actress was so bad in her line reading I had to look her up to see how she got into this movie. Even for a Happy Madison movie she was bad. Turns out she's Adam Sandler's wife. Makes sense.
Still a few actors throw themselves into their roles with reckless abandon. Geoff Pierson, who often plays politicians on TV, is mildly amusing as the boss. Nick Swardson and Rob Schneider might not be your thing but they give their full effort in their cameos. And Lapkus brings a zany energy to her role that reminds you of Jim Carrey in "The Cable Guy." It's a shame her co-stars and the screenwriter didn't put in the same effort that she did. My guess is her commitment stems from her improv background where you don't second guess but rather say "yes and.." while fully committing to any comic premise. Her energy is contagious.
The screenplay is as lazy as some of the acting. Predictably Spade's character starts to fall for the crazy Missy but the transformation is forced and seems to be predicated on the fact that she helps him get a promotion at work. At the end, the movie half-heartedly attempts to be a romantic comedy but there's no teary-eyed moment like "The Wedding Singer" or "50 First Dates." It limps toward the finish line.
I had really low expectations so I mildly enjoyed this one. I would never have seen it in a theater or paid to rent it even. But it was worth 90 minutes of my time. Barely.
I did not hate this movie. I laughed more than a handful of times. I liked Lapkus. But I can't in good conscience give this movie a high grade. It's a bad movie you might enjoy depending on your tastes.
The opening scene showing the blind date is particularly funny and showcases the talent of Lapkus. If you aren't interested or amused by the opening scene, just turn it off because it's pretty much more of the same. In fact, it kind of goes downhill from there.
[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Cwaneq2w-4&feature=youtu.be[/embed]