Mr. Deeds (2002)
Review by HTQ4
Film:
DVD:

Features:

• Running audio commentary with director Brill and screenwriter Riskin
  
• Deleted Scenes
  
• "Clothes Make the Man" Featurette
  
• "From Mandrake Falls to Manhattan" Featurette
  
• Outtakes Reel
  
• Deeds Greeting Cards
  
• Music Video: "Where Are You Going" by Dave Matthews Band
  
• DVD-ROM:
  
  • Screen to Script
    
  • Weblinks
    

Longfellow Deeds (Sandler) has just inherited a mega-fortune from a long lost relative. However, when he shows up to New York with his small-town ideals, he opens himself up to a lot of people trying to take advantage of him. The hardened New Yorkers don't realize that he's not stupid, he's just very trusting and trustworthy. One reporter, Babe Bennett (Ryder), poses as a damsel in distress in order to get closer to him and get his story. What she learns about herself in the process may change both of their lives.

This is one of the best Adam Sandler movies that I have seen since Happy Gilmore. What's nice about this one is that Sandler's Deeds is just so darn...approachable. His other characters (Gilmore included) had an otherworldly quality about them; as though we were watching not only a made-up character, but one that also lives in a made-up world that is only slightly similar to our own. Deeds is a character that is as real as the person sitting next to you (not your imaginary friend, I mean the other one). The world is ours--even though it is a side of New York that many of us never get to see--and it seems to be made more accessible to us by viewing it through Deeds' eyes. His character has more of a journey than any of his previous characters and Sandler is more than up to the task.

The supporting cast is all but shadowed by the addition of Turturro in the role of Deeds' Spanish butler who has a penchant for other people's feet. He is living proof to the old adage that there is no such thing as small roles, only small actors. The movie is worth watching for his performance alone.

The DVD is pretty good, too. The featurettes are pure fluff, but I liked the movie enough to care about how they chose their costumes and how they went about adapting an already beloved Frank Capra movie starring Gary Cooper. So, even though they are fluff, I found myself wanting to watch them. The commentary track is quite funny, too. I only wish they could have gotten Sandler on it as well, but the director and writer have a rapport that comes across not only in the movie but in their conversation as well. There are also deleted scenes, which were obviously deleted for a purpose.

If you have been reading my reviews for long, you know that I am an avid fan of the Outtakes Reel. I have seen better reels than the one included on this disc, but I have to say that I am thankful that they included it. The DVD-ROM features are fairly good, too. You have the ability to watch the movie as the pages of the screenplay scroll by (thereby allowing you to see how the finished film looked in comparison to the text, natch), but the funniest of them all is the one that allows you to send one of Deeds' hilarious greeting cards to one of your dear friends or loved ones over the internet. There are several to choose from and you can personalize them. Hallmark it ain't, but they sure are a lot of fun to read.

So, pick this one up as a rental. The movie definitely should be seen. If you are an Adam Sandler fan, you might want to add this one to your collection permanently.