Roommates
Rating: 4/5
By: Nathaniel Simpson
Adam Sandler has done numerous comedies throughout the decades, cracking up audiences both young and old. He has became a household name and a staple in the comedy genre, so to see his daughter, Sadie Sandler, start to become the lead in comedies like Roommates is such a delight. The film, which is directed by Candler Levack, is absolutely hilarious from beginning to end, with Sandler and Chloe East being the best choices to play these characters. I have seen this film a few times now, and while I may have a couple issues with the story and some of the characters, this movie never fails to crack me up, reminding me of the iconic comedic classics her father starred in.
The movie follows Devon (Sandler), a college student who is transitioning from being a nobody in high school to having friends in college. She is starting to try and put herself out there more, and by doing so, she meets Celeste (East), a mysterious, older girl who is starting as a freshman at her college as well. When they hit it off, they decide to become roommates for the upcoming school year, a choice that may possibly be the worst that Devon has ever made.
In a way, this movie has to rely on the chemistry and the performances from Sandler and East, and both actresses just completely hit it out of the ballpark. In their own rights, they are both fantastic as these characters, and they both do a fantastic job of complementing each other's performance in the best ways possible. The movie starts these two out as friends, but as the story progresses, they work towards being enemies more and more. While East is great as being the antagonizer in many of these scenes, I really think it is Sandler who just shows off both her acting chops and how she got her dad's genes for being good at comedy. The way we see her start to slowly breakdown and finally have enough is incredibly satisfying due to her performance, and she easily embodies the character of Devon. There is no doubt in my mind she has a very long career ahead of her, and I can't wait to check out some of the other movies she has done after watching this one.
At the same time, there are so many side characters that have terrific performances as well. Before we jump into the other characters, I especially want to highlight Martin Herlihy as George, as I think he perhaps gives one of the major standout performances here. He isn't in the movie too much, but every time he is on screen, he steals the show. Believe me when I tell you he is absolutely hilarious, and I would honestly watch a whole movie about just his character in this film. At the same time, I really enjoyed the performances from Natasha Lyonne, Billy Bryk, Aidan Langford, and Nick Kroll, and I think they all did a great job of complementing the two main leads.
I think the only major problem I had with this film was the story continuously cutting back and forth between the story of Celeste and Devon and the Dean of Student Life (Sarah Sherman) recounting the story to bickering roommates (Storm Reid, Ivy Wolk) as a sort of lesson about life. Nothing against the actresses playing these characters, but I think this subplot simply doesn't work. Sure, there are a few funny gags here and there with them, but I think the movie would have worked a lot better if they removed it entirely and focused more on Celeste and Devon.
The story has the same beats as other Adam Sandler movies, with it being crude at times but always containing that lovable, heartfelt element that audiences go see their movies for. I appreciate the filmmakers telling this story that showcases the good qualities of people, and how they may lose their way but always find themselves coming back to who they were towards the end of the film. I think the film does that beautifully here. and I think adding in the side-story of the brother and him coming out to Devon as a really nice touch.
Roommates is honestly just a feel-good movie that I think a lot of people will enjoy and get something out of. There is no doubt in my mind that Sadie Sandler is going to have a terrific acting career, and I think this movie shows that she's off to a good start. Combining Levack's directing with a hilarious story and this fantastic cast just blended together perfectly, and this is a movie I know I am going to revisit again and again.
Comments
Post a Comment