Bedtime Stories – GC Movie Review

Rated: PG - for some mild rude humor and mild language.
Genre: Comedies, Adventure, Comedy, Fantasy, Theatrical Release, Family (General), Storytelling, Action/Adventure
Theatrical Release: Dec 25, 2008 Worldwide
Starring: Adam Sandler, Guy Pearce, Keri Russell, Richard Griffiths, Courteney Cox, Lucy Lawless, Teresa Palmer, Russell Brand, Aisha Tyler, Jonathan Pryce
Director: Adam Shankman
Screenwriter: Matt Lopez, Tim Herlihy
Story: Matt Lopez
Producer: Adam Sandler, Jack Giarraputo, Andrew Gunn
Studio: Walt Disney Pictures
Run Time: 95 minutes

Synopsis: An adventure comedy starring ADAM SANDLER as Skeeter Bronson, a hotel handyman whose life is changed forever when the bedtime stories he tells his niece and nephew start to mysteriously come true. He attempts to take advantage of the phenomenon, incorporating his own aspirations into one outlandish tale after another, but it's the kids' unexpected contributions that turn Skeeter's life upside down. --© Walt Disney Pictures

Quietly, we are all dreamers and voyeurs of other people lives. We see people, we watch movies and we read books. They give us a birds eye view of what we could possibly be missing out on. We have graciously been given lives that we, literally, sometimes don’t want. Let’s be real people. I do believe that if we could, at any moment, read a fairytale or be offered an option to have our lives become that story, we would do it in a heartbeat. Why? Because fairytales have happy endings and those endings seem to be missing us. Contemplating our lives, how they turned out and what we’d like for them to be oftentimes makes us sad; almost regretful. 

In new the family friendly holiday comedy “Bedtime Stories,” Adam Sandler is quirky, but committed, hotel handyman Skeeter Bronson, who has eyes for a brighter future. A secretly aspiring hotelier, Skeeter is living the legacy of his father, played by (Jonathan Pryce - cameo scenes only) who once owned a Hollywood motel and was forced out by wealthy germophobe, Mr. Nottingham (Richard Griffiths). The Nottingham high rise, which Skeeter works for, currently occupies hi father’s previous hotel address.

On a visit to his newly divorced sister Wendy’s (Courtney Cox) house, Skeeter discovers that due to a recently announced school closing, Wendy will be losing her job as school principal. She must then go to Arizona to seek out a new employment. In the meantime, she asks Skeeter to take care of her children, Bobbi (Laura Ann Kesling) and Patrick (Jonathan Morgan Heit) along with her vegan buddy Julie (Keri Russell).

With no experience babysitting, but equipped with a wonderful imagination, Skeeter sets about telling Patrick and Bobbi elaborate and magical stories that range from medieval to an old western to stories set in outer space. Each story has an under appreciated local guy, Skeeter, who people like and an overachieving bully which Skeeter actually has at the hotel, played by (Guy Pierce) and both are vying for the heart of the beautiful girl (Teresa Palmer), and more respect at work.   

Skeeter soon realizes that as the children participate in adding to his stories, their parts began coming true. With a beautiful girl and the possibility of his “shot,“ a huge promotion at work on the line, Skeeter begins to try to manipulate the stories in order to obtain what he wants in life. The children’s stories become the source by which he decides the next day and his future.

(Keri Russell) plays Julie, the upright moral co-babysitter who’s constantly at odds with Skeeter and his version of proper child care. He feeds the kids burgers, let‘s them watch TV and eat junk food, yet somehow he and Julie work perfectly together. Skeeter’s other grown-up friend is Mickey (Russell Brand) his British cohort and waiter at the hotel. Mickey lends his comic humor and heart to these stories, and benefits from his role in them as well. 

Screenwriters Matt Lopez and Tim Herlihy are not trying to explain the existence or non-existence of magic and how it works, or whether our imaginations should drive us or not. They just want to entertain the child in all of us. You don’t question in impossibility of jumping from one time period to the next. You, instead find yourself anxiously awaiting the next story.

As we all know, and it’s safe to say that when choosing a movie this time of the year, cheesy must be eliminated immediately. In order to attract families and especially children, movie studios have most of their flops during this holiday. Everything seems rushed. However, “Bedtime Stories” hit’s the mark. It’s funny in the appropriate places, concerning when necessary and realistic even to the intelligent adult mind.