Today’s quick review: Bedtime Stories. Skeeter Bronson (Adam Sandler), an underappreciated hotel handyman, gets in touch with his creative side when his sister Wendy (Courteney Cox) asks him to take care of her son Patrick (Jonathan Morgan Heit) and daughter Bobbi (Laura Ann Kesling) for the week. Skeeter entertains the children by telling them imaginative bedtime stories, only to find their events coming true in his own life.
Bedtime Stories is a family comedy adventure about a man making up stories for his niece and nephew. Adam Sandler stars as Skeeter, once promised the chance to run Barry Nottingham’s (Richard Griffiths) hotel and now reduced to running errands for Kendall (Guy Pearce), Nottingham’s favorite. Bedtime Stories injects some fantasy into Skeeter’s mundane life as the stories he makes up start to come true, giving him a way out of his predicament.
Bedtime Stories does not have a clear audience in mind. The real-world setup is geared towards adults, with a plot that involves Wendy losing her job, Skeeter trying to impress his boss, and all kinds of subtler disappointments in life. At the same time, Skeeter’s bedtime stories are clearly meant to appeal to kids, flights of fancy with minimal plot that are there to add some color and wonder to the challenges Skeeter faces in real life.
The result is a movie that never figures out what it is meant to be. The sense of magic is hobbled by the fact that Skeeter’s fantasy world serves as an outlet for his job troubles rather than standing on its own. The more realistic themes the movie tries to explore are undercut by the childlike plot logic and reliance on random events. As such, an otherwise charming premise gets lost in the noise.
Bedtime Stories works better on paper than it does in practice. Fans of Adam Sandler’s down-to-earth style of comedy will get something out of it, as will viewers who like the crossover between mundane reality and flights of fancy. But even though it has the makings of a tender, imaginative story, Bedtime Stories’ unclear vision keeps it from having the full effect it wants to.
For a family comedy with a similar setup, check out Mr. Popper’s Penguins. For a more fulfilling adventure about a daydreamer, check out The Secret Life of Walter Mitty. For a more enduring bedtime story, try The Princess Bride. For a more inventive exploration of the power of story, try The Adventures of Baron Munchausen.
[6.0 out of 10 on IMDB](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0960731/). I give it a 5.5 for a charming but misplaced premise.