Showing posts with label Nicole Kidman. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Nicole Kidman. Show all posts

Wednesday, January 12, 2022

2021 Screen Actors Guild Award Nominations


==FILM==

Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture
“Belfast” (Focus Features)  
“CODA” (Apple Original Films) 
“Don’t Look Up” (Netflix)  
“House of Gucci” (MGM/United Artists Releasing)  
“King Richard” (Warner Bros)  

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role
Javier Bardem (“Being the Ricardos”)  
Benedict Cumberbatch (“The Power of the Dog”) 
Andrew Garfield (“Tick, Tick … Boom!”) 
Will Smith (“King Richard”)  
Denzel Washington (“The Tragedy of Macbeth”) 

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role
Jessica Chastain (“The Eyes of Tammy Faye”)  
Olivia Colman (“The Lost Daughter”)  
Lady Gaga (“House of Gucci”) 
Jennifer Hudson (“Respect”)  
Nicole Kidman (“Being the Ricardos”)  

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role
Ben Affleck (“The Tender Bar”)  
Bradley Cooper (“Licorice Pizza”)  
Troy Kotsur (“CODA”)  
Jared Leto (“House of Gucci”)  
Kodi Smit-McPhee (“The Power of the Dog”)

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role
CaitrĂ­ona Balfe (“Belfast”)  
Cate Blanchett (“Nightmare Alley”)  
Ariana DeBose (“West Side Story”)
Kirsten Dunst (“The Power of the Dog”)  
Ruth Negga (“Passing) 

Outstanding Action Performance by a Stunt Ensemble in a Motion Picture
“Black Widow”
“Dune”
“The Matrix Resurrections”
“No Time to Die”
“Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings”

==TELEVISION==

Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series
“The Handmaid’s Tale” (Hulu) 
“The Morning Show” (Apple TV Plus) 
“Squid Game” (Netflix) 
“Succession” (HBO) 
“Yellowstone” (Paramount Network) 

Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series
“The Great” (Hulu)  
“Hacks” (HBO Max)  
“The Kominsky Method” (Netflix)
“Only Murders in the Building” (Hulu)  
“Ted Lasso” (Apple TV Plus) 

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Drama Series
Brian Cox (“Succession”) 
Billy Crudup (“The Morning Show”) 
Kieran Culkin (“Succession”)  
Lee Jung-Jae (“Squid Game”)  
Jeremy Strong (“Succession”)  

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series
Jennifer Aniston (“The Morning Show”) 
Jung Ho-yeon (“Squid Game”)
Elizabeth Moss (“The Handmaid’s Tale”)  
Sarah Snook (“Succession”) 
Reese Witherspoon (“The Morning Show”) 

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Comedy Series
Michael Douglas (“The Kominsky Method”)  
Brett Goldstein (“Ted Lasso”) 
Steve Martin (“Only Murders in the Building”)  
Martin Short (“Only Murders in the Building”)  
Jason Sudeikis (“Ted Lasso”)  

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Comedy Series
Elle Fanning (“The Great”)
Sandra Oh (“The Chair”)
Jean Smart (“Hacks”
Juno Temple (“Ted Lasso”)
Hannah Waddingham (“Ted Lasso”)

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Television Movie or Limited Series
Murray Bartlett (“The White Lotus”)  
Oscar Isaac (“Scenes From a Marriage”)  
Michael Keaton (“Dopesick”) 
Ewan McGregor (“Halston”)  
Evan Peters (“Mare of Easttown”) 

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Television Movie or Limited Series
Jennifer Coolidge (“The White Lotus”)  
Cynthia Erivo (“Genius: Aretha”)  
Margaret Qualley (“Maid”)  
Jean Smart (“Mare of Easttown”)  
Kate Winslet (“Mare of Easttown”)  

Outstanding Action Performance by a Stunt Ensemble in a Television Series
“Cobra Kai”
“The Falcon and the Winter Soldier”
“Loki”
“Mare of Easttown”
“Squid Game”

Monday, December 13, 2021

2021 Golden Globe Nominations


BEST MOTION PICTURE – DRAMA
BELFAST
CODA
DUNE
KING RICHARD
THE POWER OF THE DOG

BEST MOTION PICTURE – MUSICAL OR COMEDY
CYRANO
DON’T LOOK UP
LICORICE PIZZA
TICK, TICK…BOOM!
WEST SIDE STORY

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A MOTION PICTURE – DRAMA
JESSICA CHASTAIN, THE EYES OF TAMMY FAYE
OLIVIA COLMAN, THE LOST DAUGHTER
NICOLE KIDMAN, BEING THE RICARDOS
LADY GAGA, HOUSE OF GUCCI
KRISTEN STEWART, SPENCER

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A MOTION PICTURE – DRAMA
MAHERSHALA ALI, SWAN SONG
JAVIER BARDEM, BEING THE RICARDOS
BENEDICT CUMBERBATCH, THE POWER OF THE DOG
WILL SMITH, KING RICHARD
DENZEL WASHINGTON, THE TRAGEDY OF MACBETH

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A MOTION PICTURE – MUSICAL OR COMEDY
MARION COTILLARD, ANNETTE
ALANA HAIM, LICORICE PIZZA
JENNIFER LAWRENCE, DON’T LOOK UP
EMMA STONE, CRUELLA
RACHEL ZEGLER, WEST SIDE STORY

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A MOTION PICTURE – MUSICAL OR COMEDY
LEONARDO DICAPRIO, DON’T LOOK UP
PETER DINKLAGE, CYRANO
ANDREW GARFIELD, TICK, TICK…BOOM!
COOPER HOFFMAN, LICORICE PIZZA
ANTHONY RAMOS, IN THE HEIGHTS

BEST MOTION PICTURE – ANIMATED
ENCANTO
FLEE
LUCA
MY SUNNY MAAD
RAYA AND THE LAST DRAGON

BEST MOTION PICTURE – NON-ENGLISH LANGUAGE (FORMERLY FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
COMPARTMENT NO. 6 (FINLAND / RUSSIA / GERMANY)
DRIVE MY CAR (JAPAN)
THE HAND OF GOD (ITALY)
A HERO (FRANCE / IRAN)
PARALLEL MOTHERS (SPAIN)

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN ANY MOTION PICTURE
CAITRIONA BALFE, BELFAST
ARIANA DEBOSE, WEST SIDE STORY
KIRSTEN DUNST, THE POWER OF THE DOG
AUNJANUE ELLIS, KING RICHARD
RUTH NEGGA, PASSING

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN ANY MOTION PICTURE
BEN AFFLECK, THE TENDER BAR
JAMIE DORNAN, BELFAST
CIARÁN HINDS, BELFAST
TROY KOTSUR, CODA
KODI SMIT-MCPHEE, THE POWER OF THE DOG

BEST DIRECTOR – MOTION PICTURE
KENNETH BRANAGH, BELFAST
JANE CAMPION, THE POWER OF THE DOG
MAGGIE GYLLENHAAL, THE LOST DAUGHTER
STEVEN SPIELBERG, WEST SIDE STORY
DENIS VILLENEUVE, DUNE

BEST SCREENPLAY – MOTION PICTURE
PAUL THOMAS ANDERSON, LICORICE PIZZA
KENNETH BRANAGH, BELFAST
JANE CAMPION, THE POWER OF THE DOG
ADAM MCKAY, DON’T LOOK UP
AARON SORKIN, BEING THE RICARDOS

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE – MOTION PICTURE
ALEXANDRE DESPLAT, THE FRENCH DISPATCH
GERMAINE FRANCO, ENCANTO
JONNY GREENWOOD, THE POWER OF THE DOG
ALBERTO IGLESIAS, PARALLEL MOTHERS
HANS ZIMMER, DUNE

BEST ORIGINAL SONG – MOTION PICTURE
“BE ALIVE” — KING RICHARD
Music by: Dixson, Beyoncé Knowles-Carter; Lyrics by: Dixson, Beyoncé Knowles-Carter
“DOS ORUGUITAS” — ENCANTO
Music by Lin-Manuel Miranda; Lyrics by Lin-Manuel Miranda
“DOWN TO JOY” — BELFAST
Music by Van Morrison; Lyrics by Van Morrison
“HERE I AM (SINGING MY WAY HOME)” — RESPECT
Music by Carole King, Jennifer Hudson, Jamie Hartman; Lyrics by Carole King, Jennifer Hudson, Jamie Hartman
“NO TIME TO DIE” — NO TIME TO DIE
Music by Billie Eilish, Finneas O’Connell; Lyrics by Billie Eilish, Finneas O’Connell


BEST TELEVISION SERIES – DRAMA
LUPIN
THE MORNING SHOW
POSE
SQUID GAME
SUCCESSION

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A TELEVISION SERIES – DRAMA
UZO ADUBA, IN TREATMENT
JENNIFER ANISTON, THE MORNING SHOW
CHRISTINE BARANSKI, THE GOOD FIGHT
ELISABETH MOSS, THE HANDMAID’S TALE
MICHAELA JAÉ RODRIGUEZ, POSE

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A TELEVISION SERIES – DRAMA
BRIAN COX, SUCCESSION
LEE JUNG-JAE, SQUID GAME
BILLY PORTER, POSE
JEREMY STRONG, SUCCESSION
OMAR SY, LUPIN

BEST TELEVISION SERIES – MUSICAL OR COMEDY
THE GREAT
HACKS
ONLY MURDERS IN THE BUILDING
RESERVATION DOGS
TED LASSO

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A TELEVISION SERIES – MUSICAL OR COMEDY
HANNAH EINBINDER, HACKS
ELLE FANNING, THE GREAT
ISSA RAE, INSECURE
TRACEE ELLIS ROSS, BLACK-ISH
JEAN SMART, HACKS

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A TELEVISION SERIES – MUSICAL OR COMEDY
ANTHONY ANDERSON, BLACK-ISH
NICHOLAS HOULT, THE GREAT
STEVE MARTIN, ONLY MURDERS IN THE BUILDING
MARTIN SHORT, ONLY MURDERS IN THE BUILDING
JASON SUDEIKIS, TED LASSO

BEST TELEVISION LIMITED SERIES, ANTHOLOGY SERIES OR MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION
DOPESICK
IMPEACHMENT: AMERICAN CRIME STORY
MAID
MARE OF EASTTOWN
THE UNDERGROUND RAILROAD

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A LIMITED SERIES, ANTHOLOGY SERIES, OR A MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION
JESSICA CHASTAIN, SCENES FROM A MARRIAGE
CYNTHIA ERIVO, GENIUS: ARETHA
ELIZABETH OLSEN, WANDAVISION
MARGARET QUALLEY, MAID
KATE WINSLET, MARE OF EASTTOWN

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A LIMITED SERIES, ANTHOLOGY SERIES, OR A MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION
PAUL BETTANY, WANDAVISION
OSCAR ISAAC, SCENES FROM A MARRIAGE
MICHAEL KEATON, DOPESICK
EWAN MCGREGOR, HALSTON
TAHAR RAHIM, THE SERPENT

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE ON TELEVISION
JENNIFER COOLIDGE, THE WHITE LOTUS
KAITLYN DEVER, DOPESICK
ANDIE MACDOWELL, MAID
SARAH SNOOK, SUCCESSION
HANNAH WADDINGHAM, TED LASSO

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE ON TELEVISION
BILLY CRUDUP, THE MORNING SHOW
KIERAN CULKIN, SUCCESSION
MARK DUPLASS, THE MORNING SHOW
BRETT GOLDSTEIN, TED LASSO
O YEONG-SU, SQUID GAME

Sunday, August 13, 2017

The Beguiled - Movie Review

Starring Colin Farrell, Nicole Kidman, Kirsten Dunst, Elle Fanning, Oona Laurence, Angourie Rice, Addison Riecke and Emma Howard.
Written & Directed by Sofia Coppola.

★★½

I never did see the Clint Eastwood original, but I can't help but believe there was more to it than what we get here.

Coppola sets up a dreamy plantation-style school in the middle of Civil War-torn Virginia. The fighting is never seen, just the occasional gunfire in the distance, beyond the trees. One day a wounded Union soldier names McBurney winds up at their doorstep. The school is run by two teachers (Nicole Kidman, Kirsten Dunst), and they only have five students. There's a one-sentence reference to the slaves having left.

Colin Farrell is McBurney, and there's some instant amusement from the ladies' swirling hormones when a wounded gentleman is now in their care.

There's a gentle dreaminess to Coppola's movies, and also a delecate portrayal of sheltered women that tends to keep some of them from breaking out. I see a lot of similarities here to Somewhere, a movie where Elle Fanning bounced from hotel to hotel with her dad without much happening. Here the women and girls don't really leave the house, and they don't really know how to cope whne a man shows up.

The movie takes a darker turn in the third act, when McBurney's true nature is revealed. Once it was all over, it felt like another movie with little consequence or lasting impression. At least it wasn't long enough to get boring. What do I still think about? Those trees.

Monday, January 16, 2017

Lion - Movie Review

Starring Dev Patel, Nicole Kidman, Rooney Mara, David Wenham, Sunny Pawar, Abhishek Bharate and Priyanka Bose.
Written by Luke Davies.
Directed by Garth Davis.

★★★★

There was a really good Australian mini-series from 2013 called Top of the Lake (which is getting a season 2 later this year). Garth Davis, who directed half of its episodes (the others by Jane Campion), is now making his big-screen directorial debut, and it's an impressive one.

This is the true story of Saroo, a 4-year-old boy (Sunny Pawar) who gets lost in India and can't communicate well enough with adults to get back home. Eventually he's put in an orphanage and later adopted by a Tasmanian couple (Nicole Kidman, David Wenham).

As an adult (Dev Patel), Saroo has vague memories of his childhood home but has accepted his life. Then one day he's triggered by a memory, and he then feels the undeniable pull to find his mother and let them know he's still alive.

The first 40 minutes or so are carried by Pawar, and it's a terrific natural performance. Davis holds the camera at Pawar's level, and we see the great variety of India through his eyes. As the story shifts, Patel picks up the baton seemlessly. And maybe it's because we're adoptive parents but my wife cried for the last half-hour of this movie. Powerful stuff.

Monday, September 16, 2013

Stoker - DVD Review

Starring Mia Wasikowska, Nicole Kidman, Matthew Goode, Jacki Weaver, Dermot Mulroney, Phyllis Somerville, Alden Ehrenreich and Lucas Till.
Directed by Chan-wook Park.

★★★

Stylish thriller that keeps the viewer off-kilter until it ramps up to its inevitable end. It's the first English-language film from accalimed director Chan-wook Park, but it still has a very Korean flavor to it, particularly Mia Wasikowska as the drab protagonist India, a blank-staring girl trying to compute why the adults around her are all so weird.

After her father (Dermot Mulroney) dies, her long-lost uncle Charles (Watchmen's Matthew Goode) shows up to comfort her mother Evelyn (Nicole Kidman).  There's something off about Charles, but he's very compelling. He's been travelling for years and yet his own brother wouldn't allow him to visit.  Now why would that be?  Hint: people start dying.

Friday, February 8, 2013

The Paperboy - DVD Review


Starring Matthew McConaughey, Zac Efron, Nicole Kidman, John Cusack, David Oyelowo, Macy Gray, Scott Glenn and Ned Bellamy.  
Directed by Lee Daniels.

★½

Lee Daniels directed Precious, which won Mo'Nique an Academy Award.  He also directed Shadowboxer, which had Cuba Gooding Jr. and Helen Mirren as a stepson/stepmother assassin team that isn't anywhere near as fun as it sounds.

This Southern gothic tale is more Shadowboxer Daniels than Precious Daniels.

In the mid-1960's, two reporters (McConaughey, Oyelowo) investigate the closed-case of a convicted killer (Cusack) at the behest of a death-row groupie woman (Kidman) who has fallen in love with him via writing letters.  Efron plays younger brother to McConaughey, and he wants to help on the case.  He's developed a crush on Kidman.

Now every actor does a great job (Kidman was nominated for a SAG award for her work here), and some of them plumb some debasing depths for their director.  There's one scene where Efron gets stung by a jellyfish and Kidman pees on him. But why is that scene in there at all?  This movie is full of scenes like that, scenes where I don't get what that has to do with the rest of the story.  Ah, but you see, this is the story. The investigation doesn't really matter.

The movie's shot with browns and oranges that make it look like 1960's home movies. I just wish Daniels had decided on a completely different script for this cast. Oh, Daniels co-wrote it too? Never mind.

Thursday, December 13, 2012

2012 Golden Globe Nominations


Best Motion Picture — Drama
Argo
Django Unchained
Life of Pi
Lincoln
Zero Dark Thirty

Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture — Drama
Daniel Day-Lewis, Lincoln
Richard Gere, Arbitrage
John Hawkes, The Sessions
Joaquin Phoenix, The Master
Denzel Washington, Flight

Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture — Drama
Jessica Chastain, Zero Dark Thirty
Marion Cotillard, Rust & Bone
Helen Mirren, Hitchcock
Naomi Watts, The Impossible
Rachel Weisz, The Deep Blue Sea

Best Motion Picture — Comedy Or Musical
The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel
Les Miserables
Moonrise Kingdom
Salmon Fishing in the Yemen
Silver Linings Playbook

Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture — Comedy Or Musical
Emily Blunt, Salmon Fishing in the Yemen
Judi Dench, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel
Jennifer Lawrence, Silver Linings Playbook
Maggie Smith, Quartet
Meryl Streep, Hope Springs

Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture — Comedy Or Musical
Jack Black, Bernie
Bradley Cooper, Silver Linings Playbook
Hugh Jackman, Les Miserables
Bill Murray, Hyde Park on Hudson
Ewan McGregor, Salmon Fishing in the Yemen

Best Performance by an Actress In A Supporting Role in a Motion Picture
Amy Adams, The Master
Sally Field, Lincoln
Anne Hathaway, Les Miserables
Helen Hunt, The Sessions
Nicole Kidman, The Paperboy

Best Performance by an Actor In A Supporting Role in a Motion Picture
Alan Arkin, Argo
Leonardo DiCaprio, Django Unchained
Philip Seymour Hoffman, The Master
Tommy Lee Jones, Lincoln
Christoph Waltz, Django Unchained

Best Director — Motion Picture
Ben Affleck, Argo
Kathryn Bigelow, Zero Dark Thirty
Ang Lee, Life of Pi
Steven Spielberg, Lincoln
Quentin Tarantino, Django Unchained

Best Screenplay — Motion Picture
Argo, Chris Terrio
Django Unchained, Quentin Tarantino
Lincoln, Tony Kushner
Silver Linings Playbook, David O. Russell
Zero Dark Thirty, Mark Boal

Best Original Score — Motion Picture
Anna Karenina, Dario Marianelli
Argo, Alexandre Desplat
Cloud Atlas, Tom Tykwer, Johnny Klimet & Reinhold Heil
Life of Pi, Michael Danna
Lincoln, John Williams

Best Animated Film
Brave
Frankenweenie
Hotel Transylvania
Rise of the Guardians
Wreck-It Ralph

Best Foreign Language Film
Amour
The Intouchables
Kon-Tiki
A Royal Affair
Rust & Bone

Best Television Series — Comedy Or Musical
The Big Bang Theory
Episodes
Girls
Modern Family
Smash

Best Performance by an Actor In A Television Series – Drama
Steve Buscemi, Boardwalk Empire
Bryan Cranston, Breaking Bad
Jeff Daniels, The Newsroom
Jon Hamm, Mad Men
Damian Lewis, Homeland

Best Performance by an Actress In A Television Series – Drama
Connie Britton, Nashville
Glenn Close, Damages
Claire Danes, Homeland
Michelle Dockery, Downton Abbey
Julianna Margulies, The Good Wife

Best Performance by an Actor in a Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television
Kevin Costner, Hatfields and McCoys
Benedict Cumberbatch, Sherlock
Woody Harrelson, Game Change
Toby Jones, The Girl
Clive Owen, Hemingway and Gellhorn

Best Performance by an Actress In A Mini-series or Motion Picture Made for Television
Nicole Kidman, Hemingway and Gellhorn
Jessica Lange, American Horror Story: Asylum
Sienna Miller, The Girl
Julianne Moore, Game Change
Sigourney Weaver, Political Animals

Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Series, Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television
Max Greenfield, New Girl
Ed Harris, Game Change
Danny Huston, Magic City
Mandy Patinkin, Homeland
Eric Stonestreet, Modern Family

Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Series, Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television
Hayden Panettiere, Nashville
Archie Panjabi, The Good Wife
Sarah Paulson, Game Change
Maggie Smith, Downton Abbey
Sofia Vergara, Modern Family

Best Performance by an Actress In A Television Series — Comedy Or Musical
Zooey Deschanel, New Girl
Lena Dunham, Girls
Tina Fey, 30 Rock
Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Veep
Amy Poehler, Parks And Recreation

Best Performance by an Actor In A Television Series — Comedy Or Musical
Alec Baldwin, 30 Rock
Don Cheadle, House of Lies
Louis C.K., Louis
Matt LeBlanc, Episodes
Jim Parsons, The Big Bang Theory

Best Television Series — Drama
Boardwalk Empire
Breaking Bad
Downton Abbey
Homeland
The Newsroom

Best Mini-Series Or Motion Picture Made for Television
Game Change
The Girl
Hatfield & McCoys
The Hour
Political Animals

Cecil B. DeMille Award
Jodie Foster

Sunday, July 17, 2011

Just Go With It - DVD Review


l 1/2

Starring Adam Sandler, Jennifer Aniston, Nicole Kidman, Brooklyn Decker, Nick Swardson, Dave Matthews, Bailee Madison, Griffin Gluck, Dan Patrick and Kevin Nealon.
Directed by Dennis Dugan.

I used to be a Sandler fan. And I still hold out hope each time that his next movie will be genuinely funny. Although I would usually wait until The Waterboy or The Wedding Singer to hit the $1 theater, I still had a good time seeing them. But he's been more miss than hit lately, and truly lately, it's been getting bad. And if I see Dennis Dugan's directing, I just have no faith.

But even if the quality's going down, his movies keep making over $100 million. When he stretches himself with other writers/directors (Funny People, Reign Over Me, Spanglish, Punch-Drunk Love) it never makes as much. So as a cold-hard capitalist, Sandler knows what's he's doing, even if it means the movies' quality will be questionable.

So this time around, Sandler plays Danny, a single plastic surgeon who gets a lot of one-night stands out of pretending to be an unhappily married man. Then one day he meets Palmer, a model - I mean, schoolteacher - who really does it for him. She can tell when he's lying. The problem with that is after that first night, she's incredibly gullible and can't tell when he's lying. So it kills the initial hook of her character.

When Palmer finds his prop wedding ring, he reverts to his usual lie about a horrible wife he's about to divorce. Well, his girlfriend wants to meet her. So Danny asks his friend/co-worker Kate (Jennifer Aniston) to pretend to be this wife. The lie, naturally, snowballs when Palmer learns Kate, and therefore Danny, has kids. Now Kate's kids are brought in to pretend Danny's their father.

So the lies grow and become more and more unbelievable, but Palmer swallows them all. Somehow they all go to Hawaii (even though the magic of green-screen shows they weren't really in Hawaii), and at the 55 minute mark, Kate meets her old high-school nemesis (Nicole Kidman). And the lies continue.

It never really elevates. The easiest joke is always used. For example, at least twice, Danny gets hit in the crotch. It has the other usual Sandler trappings (product placement, former SNL buddies, an Allen Covert appearance), and it's all to lazy minimal effect. At least when Sandler's been in rom-com mode, especially with Drew Barrymore, the romantic part's been sweet. Here, I believed Danny and Kate were buddies, but the part where they fell in love seemingly got skipped. I guess it was when Danny first saw Kate in a bikini. What a message.