Mr. Deeds (PG-13, 2002)

common sense media says

Pretty awful, but teen Sandler fans may like it.


parents & educators say

What parents need to know

Parents need to know that this movie has extremely vulgar humor and strong language for a PG-13.

Violence: Comic violence, character frozen to death, a lot of punching
Sex: Vulgar references, a few chaste kisses
Language: Crude language
Consumerism: Movie stops for Wendy's ad
Drinking, drugs, & smoking: Character gets very drunk

More on Mr. Deeds

What to talk about

Talk to your kids
Families can talk about what they would do if they inherited $40 billion, how childhood dreams turn into adult realities, and how the media covers celebrities.

What's the story?

What's the story?
MR. DEEDS is a remake of the Depression era movie classic starring Gary Cooper (Mr. Deeds Goes to Town). As in the original, the main character is a small-town guy named Longfellow Deeds (Adam Sandler) who writes poems for greeting cards and is kind to his neighbors. Deeds unexpectedly inherits a fortune. So, he goes to the big city, where an unscrupulous reporter named Babe (Winona Ryder) pretends to be a damsel in distress to get close enough to him so that she can write stories about what an idiot he is.

Is it any good?

Is it any good?
 
This remake removes all of the wit and warmth (and the point) of the original and substitutes jokes about getting hit on the head, getting hit in the genitals, snapping off the arm of a frozen dead body, getting stabbed in the foot, physical deformity, and getting hit in the throat.

Sandler's "I'm just a sweet guy who likes dumb jokes" routine is getting tired, and apparently so is he. He looks puffy and uninterested in many of the scenes and oddly uncomfortable when called upon to kiss his leading lady. Ryder is far classier than the material, as are supporting stalwarts John Turturro, Conchatta Farrell, and Steve Buscemi. The other supporting actors range from bland to incompetent, including an obviously uncomfortable John McEnroe.

Movie themes & details

Movie Details
Studio: Columbia Tristar
Director: Steven Brill
Cast: Adam Sandler, John Turturro, Winona Ryder
Genre: Comedy
Run time: 91 minutes
Theatrical release: June 28, 2002
DVD release: October 22, 2002
MPAA Rating: PG-13
MPAA explanation: vulgar humor and language

This review was written by Nell Minow
 
 

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What parents & educators say

Most useful reviews by all members

HP the Critic
kid, 12 years old
 
So Funny
Comedy can't get any better than this.A great and funny Sandler comedy.Some strong language such as s**t,h**l,d**n,a*s,b***h,t***p,sl*t,and a some obsence hand gestures with strong sexual dialouge and references and a charcters butt is shown. NOTE:There is a neat dvd player known as clearplay which is when you take a movie such as this one and you won't let your 10 year old see it you can watch it and choose to block out all the bad stuff and they are only abot $65 to $100 and maybe even cheaper and it is worth it.Think about it.

emailsydney
teen, 13 years old
 
funny, but pretty cheesy story line
lots of language-d, s, h, b, etc... many sexual referances-"tap her", "squeeze my girlfriend's big, fake you know whats," etc overall, good movie, but violence is comical and stupid.

Abbyrae11256
kid, 13 years old
 
nah leave it hate the movie and some punching

 
Not Bad
I am an Adam Sandler fan. I think that this movie shows what can happen when we judge people before we actually know anything about them. The language is pretty bad and there is a lot of drinking but I like the message.

 
Another Classic
Adam Sandler is the greatest actor ever. He makes another great movie this time around and he can't do anything wrong. This movie is classic. I hope that Adam Sandler always stays like this.

Jacob R.
teen, 15 years old
 
Older tweens and teens will enjoy funny Adam Sandler movie.
I like this movie too. It is fairly clean considering this is Adam Sandler. The language is sh*t, a**, h*ll, d*mn, b*tch used in the sentence "I'm gonna cut you into eight slices of b*tcheroni!" boobies, one bleeped use of f*ck, a middle finger is flashed, and one incomplete use of the word d*ck. Sex consists of sexual innuendo/humor, including brief rear nudity, plus lots of crude humor. Violence is a man being frozen to his death, punching a guy in the face, a man repeatedly getting hit with tennis balls in his face and his private area, egging people's cars, falling off a railing and smashing through a table, and other comic mishaps. There is one scene were Deeds and Johnny Mac get really, really drunk and smoke some, plus references to beer. I rate this OFF for 10, and ON for 11 and older.

NDC
kid, 11 years old
 
Good
Pretty good movie but some bad stuff

moviesearcher
teen, 17 years old
 
I laughed My BUTT OF/some iffy stuff though
Hahahaa...... this movie will make u pee ur pants but it has some problems with laguageS**t,D**m,.....and also two middle fingers. But other wise it is tottally clean...............

 
Great family comedy
I have kids ranging from 8-15, and it’s REALLY hard to find a movie we can all watch, and want to watch. This was one. While the Pixar movies are all good examples of younger aged movies that my teenagers will happily watch and the parents enjoy heartily as well, there simply aren’t that many well done G rated features out there. So we often end up trying to find PG and even PG-13 movies that work for the range of kids we have. We gambled on Adam Sandler, and it worked as a family film night selection—hard to do. It’s a sweet, slightly melodramatic and very slap sticky affair; cats get thrown out of a 5th story window, bounce off the rescue mat, and land in a cake, a guy’s afro, etc. The only potentially objectionable things are the periodic use of s@#$ or bulls@#$, and a couple of scenes where Sandler’s character pummels a bad guy. The latter are so funny, it’s hard (for me anyway) to call them objectionable, even for an 8 year old. The very occasional profanity was the only part of the movie I wish our youngest could have skipped.

 
this is a funny, funny movie, one ofSandler's best and most appropriate. Nothing TOO questionable, but watch it with teens and up.

 
I'm sorry, but Forknose, you have no taste.
Absolutely terrible movie, that contunes to show that Adam Sandler does not know when to stop making "movies" (only because that's what he insists on calling them). "Classic"? "Great actor"? There couldn't be any words that least described this movie other than those. DON'T WASTE YOUR TIME ON THIS MOVIE OR ANY OTHER SANDLER MOVIE FOR THAT MATTER! (escept The Wedding Singer and Punch Drunk Love, which are probably only good because they were the first two movies Sandler was in.)

melissakissa
teen, 16 years old
 
I disagree...
i saw this movie a few days ago and i thought it was hilarious and a pretty good movie. i was very surprised when i saw this review because i really didnt think it was that inappropreate. overall i really liked it.

themoviefinder
teen, 16 years old
 
This made me rolfl
i recomend it to everybody who wants a good laugh

 
OK, moviemogul (2.0) formerly known as moviemogul - you suck!
First of all what kind of a name is that?! What did moviemogul die or something so you decided to make a new one? GET A LIFE!!! This movie is good, but not great. Not the best of the Sandler movies - but its not bad. I give it a 3. But if you want to see it i won't discourage you.

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ON: Content is appropriate for kids this age.
PAUSE: Know your child, some content may not be right for some kids
OFF: Not age appropriate for kids this age