8 Reasons ‘Murder Mystery’ is a Pleasant Surprise
Jul 10, 2019 • Tim Henares
Murder Mystery is the latest Adam Sandler production under the Netflix banner, and despite mostly tepid reviews, resulted in the streaming service’s biggest opening weekend ever.
The thing is, despite what the critics say, there’s actually a lot of enjoyment to be had from this film, provided you keep your expectations low, and you’re a fan of the mystery genre. We know. We were surprised, too. Here are just 8 reasons why.
This isn’t Jack and Jill
Via NME
Jack and Jill was probably one of the worst affronts to comedy ever committed to film, and Adam Sandler was to blame for that one. Thankfully, no matter how bad this film may or may not have gotten, it’s still no Jack and Jill, so there’s that.
Adam Sandler is actually trying
Via Variety
Any Adam Sandler fan can generally tell when he’s trying and when he’s just phoning it in. This film is easily in the former category, particularly with multiple attempts at throwing actual punchlines, an actual, perfectly serviceable plot, and even a character that isn’t just another variation of the bumbling Adam Sandler man-child archetype, although there’s still a lot of that here.
And now that you’ve gotten the backhanded notes out of the way, let’s dive into what makes the film actually work just fine…
A stellar cast
People have generally acknowledged that Adam Sandler films are excuses for the cast and crew to have a fun time vacationing while shooting a movie in between. This seems hardly different, but having Luke Evans, Terence Stamp, and Jennifer Aniston along for the ride gives this film more gravitas than it needed or deserved, and it’s all the better for it.
An actual mystery
Via Geek Tyrant
Without spoiling anything, Murder Mystery gets its plot going pretty snappily once the people start dropping dead left and right. And it does present quite a decent mystery on its own. Certainly better than, say, Will Ferrel’s Sherlock and Watson, which makes Murder Mystery look like freaking The Producers in comparison.
Breathtaking backdrops
Via Yahoo
Part of turning movie shoots into vacations tends to be going to awesome locations to do said shoots. Well, Murder Mystery doesn’t disappoint with its choices, and seeing lovely shots of Europe throughout the film certainly helped keep the film from being drab.
No overtly crass humor
Via Cosmopolitan
Adam Sandler is at his worst when his humor goes from lowbrow to downright crass. None of that here. Hooray!
Great chemistry
Via slashgear
Aniston and Sandler have great chemistry no matter how bad the script you hand them is. Hand them a mediocre to decent script like this, and it’s no wonder this film broke records, despite the fact that everyone has written Adam Sandler off for the longest time.
A great twist
Via Polygon
You wouldn’t expect a pretty catchy twist in an Adam Sandler film, but hey, you’re in for one here! Overall, while you can’t expect this film to be in anyone’s top 10 for the year, it’s easily one of the better efforts by Adam Sandler in a long time, and that’s saying something.
Have you seen this on Netflix? Tell us what you think of it below!
