Mr. Deeds
Starring Adam Sandler, Winona Ryder

Directed by Steven Brill
PG-13

**1/2 out of 4 Stars

Released June 28, 2002

Running time: 96 minutes

**1/2

by Kevin Lang

I laughed, but... There were moments in "Mr. Deeds" that were more ridiculous than humorous, and I found myself shaking my head at these scenes. There was a scene from the preview where Longfellow Deeds, played by Adam Sandler, shows his butler Emilio (John Turturro) his frostbitten foot. He encouraged Emilio to beat and then jab a fireplace poker through the foot. It, as well as other scenes, took the humor to a different level, one that felt more out of place than funny. These scenes detached the viewer from reality. They forced us to accept the movie on an unrealistic level, thus making the romance and other dramatic elements of the movie seem less powerful.

"Mr. Deeds" was directed by Steven Brill who also directed and wrote Sandler's more ridiculous comedy "Little Nicky" (2000). He had also previously appeared with Sandler as an actor in "Big Daddy" (1999) and "The Wedding Singer" (1998). This time he seemed to have a better grasp as both a writer and a director in having understood what type of movie would appeal most to the audience. Yet, where he at times created successful humor in "Mr. Deeds," the dramatic elements of the film seemed flat and unconvincing.

This may have been partially due to the actors as well as several purely ridiculous scenes. Adam Sandler has proven to be more effective in other films in his ability to draw the sympathy of the audience. He was excellent in 1998's "The Wedding Singer," playing a sincere likeable character with an appealing down-to-earth way about him. We were able to get to know this character much better than we were able to get to know Longfellow Deeds. Sandler was likeable as Deeds, but he failed to capture the simple innocence of the character. In the original version of the film, the character of Deeds, played by Gary Cooper, much more effectively conveyed to the audience a small town guy realizing the cruel ways of the world outside what he had known. John Turturro was the only character who stood out above the rest, and his unique performance as Deed's spanish butler helped to give the film a nice added boost of humor.

The film paled in comparison to this original 1936 Frank Capra cinematic gem "Mr. Deeds Goes to Town," which much more effectively blended drama, comedy, and romance into a plot that offered a memorable critique on greed, humanity, and society as a whole. I recommend this version over the remake, and I don't understand why Steven Brill chose to omit certain scenes that had worked so effectively in the original. Most important was the omission of the courtroom scene, which occurred at the end of Capra's version. It was a great scene because it brought the film to a much higher dramatic climax than Steven Brill's ending did for "Mr. Deeds." As a result, the original felt much more rewarding in its resolution.

Another great scene in which Gary Cooper, who played Deeds in the original, gave his money away to poor struggling farmers had also been omitted. I can understand leaving this out since this scene reflected the effects of the Great Depression on society during that time. Yet, without having this scene and the depression to work with as a backdrop, the film lost some of its humanity; and it failed to teach us the lessons of kindness that the original did.

There were quite a few other scenes and aspects of the film that didn't quite compare to the original, but it would be unfair to mention them all since this review is on the remake and not on the original version. I had been hoping to see Adam Sandler back in comedic form again. With "Mr. Deeds" he was almost there, but he didn't embody his character the way that he had in previous roles (and I'm not referring to "Little Nicky"). He needed to let loose and rebuild the character of Deeds as his own. Instead he seemed trapped in a role that with only several minor adjustments would have been perfect for him.