[sighhhhhhhhh]

“The Do-Over” is the second of Adam Sandler’s four-movie deal with Netflix and stars him and David Spade as two men who fake their own deaths in order to start a new life, but soon realize the identities they’ve chosen are of two wanted men. Steven Brill (director of Sandler in “Little Nicky” and “Mr. Deeds”) directs.

Sandler’s first Netlfix film “The Ridiculous 6,” which came out last December, was arguably the worst film of his career but it is one of Netflix’s most popular videos ever. This here is another classic Sandler romp full of boob jokes, his friends and no real plot, but to the film’s credit it is the best Netflix movie Sandler has made.

I watched this almost as a joke. Because it is a Netflix release and not in theaters, I felt no real need to see it, however I watched “Ridiculous 6” with some wine and a friend and had a good enough time roasting that, so I figured if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it (except this time we rocked blueberry beer and some tequila).

“The Do-Over” is actually not awful by Sandler standards and it appears he is at least kind of, sort of putting some effort into his performance. I’m normally not a fan of Sander’s high pitched character voices, however he only used it in one scene in this and it got a very solid chuckle out of me. This is R-rated Sandler so he takes the liberty to drop the f-bomb every other word and have nudity, but it doesn’t really add to his comedy (much like how the raunchy “That’s My Boy” is one of his worst).

David Spade is also in this and he provides a few smiles but really isn’t given much to do besides be a human punching bag and push the plot (although the film would really have the same outcome had Sandler faked his own death and gone on the run alone).

The thing I will give the film credit for it moves along and conveys a sense of sunny warmth. Set in Miami and Puerto Rico (you know, because Sandler likes to go on paid vacations when he makes movies, although to be fair to him this was filmed in Georgia) the film looks nice and sleek and has a fun, brisk vibe about it; this is hardly a painful chore to sit through.

But please, don’t let my small compliments of Sandler and company fool you, this is not a good film. It is stupid, juvenile and lazy (even if not as much as normal Happy Madison standards) and there are way better comedies you can spend your time watching.

Still. I found enough enjoyment in watching “The Do-Over,” whether it was laughing with or at it, and I’m sure the drinks and ironic viewing played a part in that. If you are a Sandler fan then this will probably be right up your alley and if you just need a background movie then there are worse things to watch than essentially a 108 minute tropical screensaver. I still hate Adam Sandler as a filmmaker, but at least this is better than “Ridiculous 6” (not that it could have been worse).

Critics Rating: 5/10