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Game Over

One of the most incisive film critics working, Amy Nicholson, tweeted "I never get tired of psychoanalyzing Adam Sandler" when she posted her review of his latest film, "Pixels". Let's take a moment to do the same.

Sandler's annual critics-be-damned film is not nearly as bad as some of the recent ones ("Grown Ups 2" and "That's My Boy" still linger as some of the worst movies in recent years). Watching Sandler in these comedies - under his Happy Madison Productions banner - is sometimes a sad thing to endure. The once funny man gave us some memorable comedies in the '90s - with "Happy Gilmore" continually being the standout - but has not made a truly funny film since "Anger Management" in 2003. What gives?

There is a pervasive sense that Sandler just doesn't care about the projects he selects. At the end of the day, he is cashing a large check and gets to hang out with his buds on a movie shoot. The older Sandler grows, the more his movies are plagued with a sense of lethargy and indifference. He gets these movies made, shows up and reads his lines. That's not much fun for the audience to watch.

This time around he recruited his old pal Kevin James once again. James his having a doozy of a year with "Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2" and "Little Boy". "Pixels" begins with young boys enjoying the latest sensation that is Pac-Man and other now-vintage video games. Brenner (Sandler), a video game prodigy, grows up to install audio/video systems in peoples' homes. His best friend, Cooper (James), grows up to be the President of the United States (really). It's a cruel reversal of fortune for the once-promising Brenner.

Cooper isn't doing so great as President and his wife (Jane Krakowski) isn't pleased with his absence at home. Things aren't going to get any easier when Earth comes under attack by an alien force. These aliens misinterpreted some old video game footage as a declaration of war and start attacking Earth with pixelated forms of old video games. Cooper needs Brenner at his side to help save the world and his approval ratings.

Along for the ride is Ludlow (Josh Gad), who Cooper and Brenner met at a video game competition. He never amounted to much, so he has nothing but time to help save the world. They spring an old video game foe, Eddie (Peter Dinklage), from jail to assist in their efforts. Michelle Monaghan's Violet works at the White House and teams up with the Arcaders, as they are called, to bring peace back to Earth.

"Pixels" is built on a clever concept but is saddled with a screenplay by Tim Herlihy and Timothy Dowling that throws lame jokes at us and relies too heavily on the nostalgia factor. Director Chris Columbus can never keep any sustainable pace, which makes the 105-minute film feel like an eternity.

I've often mused that Sandler really isn't meant to do broad comedies anymore. He just doesn't have it in him. He is impressive when he is out of his element in films like "Reign Over Me" or last year's hated (not by me) "Men, Women and Children". There's nuance in Sandler but there is no money in nuance, so we don't get to see a lot of it.

Sandler and company were given a lot of money to go out and make this movie. It'll do fine at the box office because Sandler continues to dupe moviegoers into thinking he is funny. It's not the '90s anymore, folks.