Customer Reviews

Bedtime Stories (Two-Disc Special Edition + Digital Copy)

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Let's just clarify at the beginning. If you are looking to just own the movie, buy the less expensive regular BEDTIME STORIES DVD. However, if you or your family enjoys the special features that usually are included with movies, you'll want to purchase this, the DELUXE DVD EDITION of BEDTIME STORIES.

In 2008 Sandler starred in two movies. One (YOU DON'T MESS WITH THE ZOHAN) was a complete bust on all accounts. The other was BEDTIME STORIES, a film the critic meeting with mediocrity, but that was made major box office during the Christmas season. The film has a pretty decent story line with enough laughs for kids and adults and is actually quite family friendly (the movie was the first Happy Gilmore Production to receive a PG rating).

Sandler portrays Skeeter Bronson the son of a father (Jonathan Pryce) who attempted to fulfill his life dream of owning and operating a small hotel. However, Skeeter's dad just isn't a very good businessmen and ends up having to sell his hotel to Barry Nottingham (Richard Griffiths), but only on the condition that when Skeeter is grown that he will be made manager. The deal is struck and Nottingham tears down the quaint hotel and builds a luxurious, mega-hotel. He keeps Skeeter around as the head janitor, but soon forgets the promise he made. When Skeeter learns that Nottingham is going to be building a new hotel, he believes this is his big break, but then Nottingham announces his future son-in-law, Kendall (Guy Pierce) will be the manager of the new hotel. Skeeter is heartbroken. However, he does have other matters to occupy part of his time because his sister, Wendy (Courtney Cox) has to leave town for a job interview and asks Skeeter to watch over her kids, Patrick (Jonathan Morgan Heti) and Bobbi (Laura Ann Kesling), in the evenings and overnight. Wendy has already arranged for a friend of hers, Jill (Keri Russell) to watch the kids during the day but in the evenings she has classes to attend. Initially Skeeter is a bit hesitant with the kids and he absolutely abhors Jill. However, after an evening of bedtime stories the kids are hooked and bond is made between them. The next morning events from the bedtime story he told that night before begin to come true. Skeeter is amazed and then attempts to manipulate his nephew and niece ideas to allow his own dreams come true, but true to life, things don't exactly turn out the way he imagines.

I really enjoyed BEDTIME STORIES. The idea of the film is not exactly a new one, but it was done in a fresh and interesting way. The film has a great amount of family humor, with nothing too gross and very little crudity. The movie also has some very positive messages about family and living in a community. Bedtime stories can have a major impact upon children and I really enjoyed how the filmmakers used this concept as a way of strengthening the bonds between emotionally-distanced family members. Unlike some other recent Sandler projects, BEDTIME STORIES has no pretensions about being some kind of movie it isn't. It's just an enjoyable and quality family movie which also happens to be the best movie Adam Sandler has made in years.

The Deluxe DVD Edition of BEDTIME STORIES has the same movie and trailers as the regular DVD. However, as mentioned at the beginning, the Deluxe DVD Edition is the DVD you want to purchase if you like special features. The special features on this 2-disc set include the featurette "Until Gravity Do Us Part", which is a look at the special effects of the movie; "It's Bugsy"--a special look at the big-eyed and hearted guinea pig of the film; "To All the Little People"; a special look at Blu-ray entitled "Dylan & Cole Sprouse: Blu-ray is Suite"; bloopers, deleted scenes, and a few other surprises.

BLU-RAY REVIEW: BEDTIME STORIES
MOVIE: 5/5
VIDEO QUALITY: 4.5/5
AUDIO: 5/5
EXTRAS: 3/5
OVERALL: 4/5

MOVIE:
Adam Sandler is a funny guy, but I was a tad afraid to watch this after seeing that train wreck You Don't Mess With The Zohan in the theater. Seeing that movie, I lost a lot of respect for him. I kept wanting to leave the theater, but I convinced myself to stay, only to realize I shouldn't have.

Anyways, I swallowed my pride and rented this movie tonight in Blu-Ray. I'm really glad I did actually. It looks like all is forgiven with Mister Sandler.

Skeeter Bronson is a failing Utility man at a luxury hotel. His (overly eco-friendly) sister is leaving town for a week, so he watches over them for a week. He is to watch them at night when in the day, a friend of hers watches in the day. It seems as it they have not so good first impressions. However, they settle bad first impressions with Bedtime stories he tells. The stories are cute, fun, fantastical, and imaginative. And the funny thing is that they relate to his life- the hotel arses, him trying to win the management, the OCD boss, and much more.

I liked the movie a lot actually. It was funny, it was cute. It even had that classic Journey song Don't Stop Believin'. The special effects were great too! They looked very realistic and were very well done. And Sandler was hilarious too. So if you like the Sandler-type humor, be sure to see it.

BLU-RAY:

-VIDEO QUALITY: 4.5/5
The movie has a spectacular presentation. The video quality looks great especially in the story scenes. The best one weeing with Skeeto (I do mean the Sci-Fi one). The reason it gets half a point docked off is because of a slight grain in the few of a conversation scenes. But after a while it's unnoticeable.

-SOUND QUALITY: 5/5
The sound quality is excellent. The sound will blow you away, especially the ancient Rome scene. The music is quite mind blowing too. The 5.1 is great too. Good use of the back speakers too, during the story sequences you really feel like the crowd is surrounding you. It's a good release for sure.

-EXTRAS: 3/5:
A shame, really, about the extras. With the exception of the deleted scenes, they're very short. For one, we don't get a commentary track here. There's one about the space scene which is interesting but not really much. The one about Bugsy is wasted potential too. The one about the kids is OK, but WHERE'S A DOCUMENTARY ABOUT THE MOVIE? On the bright side, we have some cool deleted scenes, as well as some hilarious outtakes.

OVERALL: This is a good movie that's worth it for sure if you love Adam Sandler you'll like this movie. As for the Blu-Ray, it's worth it for the quality alone.

You'll Love It!!! A great movie... make some popcorn. It will leave everyone with a good feeling all over.

It's a great movie filled with laughter, and of love. It's amazing what one will do to make his dreams come true.

Disney was right to support this Adam Sandler comedy. It will have a good laugh for the whole family. Sandler plays Skeeter Johnson, a hotel worker that has been cleaning up everyone's messes for twenty-five years. His father had once owned a motel at the same location but it was bought out by another man when they told Skeeter's father they would make Skeeter manager if he worked hard and showed initiative. They then built a big hotel around it. Skeeter has finally come to the conculusion he will never get his shot as promised. The next thing he knows his sister is begging him to watch her kids with another friend of hers while she goes out of town for an interview.

All of a sudden he has to babysit his sisters two kids. He hasn't seen his sister in years and considering her unusual vegetarian diet and exaggerated attitude about saving the planet, we wonder why in the world would she choose Skeeter to babysit. His idea of diet includes junkfood and he can't stomach all the save this and that books. So he decides to make up his own story. It turns out Skeeter has a talent for telling bedtime stories like his father before him. The results of the stories on real life is where it really gets interesting. Part of his stories appears to have affected his real life. Or at least how he believes they are is what changes his life. Fun family movie. Good quality DVD with plenty of replayability. If you enjoyed this catch Yes Man (+ Digital Copy) [Blu-ray].

CA Luster

Okay, so this film isn't original, challenging or anything that would be considered "high cinema". But it is entertaining and pretty darned funny, which is why I gave it a lukewarm positive review rating.

I give it a positive rating with a serious note of caution for Mr. Sandler. Now I'm not an Adam Sandler fan and, in fact, have often avoided his childish and mindless comedies (I point you to the insipidness that is Little Nicky, Mr. Deeds, and, well ...you can look up the rest). However he has surprised me on occasion with a flash of talent in such things as Spanglish and Reign Over Me. But, in truth, looking at the trailers and reviews of BEDTIME STORIES, I was more than just a little hesitant to check it out. My big note of caution comes in the form of another early actor who lately has been putting out some of the worst films on celluloid. I'm talking about Eddie Murphy. Murphy's early career reads like the who's-who of great comedies: 48 HOURS, Trading Places, and the king of them all, Beverly Hills Cop. These are films that are ingrained in the cinematic community. But look at what he's done lately and you can't help but become a tad nauseous. Norbit, The Haunted Mansion, Daddy Day Care and the abominable The Adventures of Pluto Nash. And that terrible list seems to be growing. Where Murphy apparently has fallen down is in that he's trying hard (and it's obvious he's trying too hard) to be family friendly. Everything he's done lately has been PG or friendlier. I'm not saying that PG films can't be good, it's just that they can stifle the creative process as production companies attempt to appeal to a broader audience. Which brings us back to Bedtime Stories...

It's PG. It's good. It's not great. And it nearly slips into the shoddy category, but doesn't for a few reasons that aren't necessarily related to Sandler. The main attraction (for me, at least) was watching the two young kids, Jonathan Morgan Heit and Laura Ann Kesling. It is their infectious and animated actions that made the movie oh-so-watchable. One scene in particular that has stuck with me is when Bobbi (Laura Ann Kesling) is in the bathroom and has shaving cream all over her head and says, "I"m Princess Leia!"

Whenever Sandler is onscreen with the kids, the interest and impact of the story grows tenfold. And it's not just because that's when the bedtime stories are taking place, but because of the kids' interactions with Sandler and his responsiveness to them. This made it, dare I say, very family friendly and will probably bring a smile to the hardest of hearts.

So, yeah, this is a fun film. It won't expand your consciousness or challenge your kids to learn anything new. But it will entertain them and maybe, just maybe, you might like it too.

Surprisingly, Adam Sandler stars in a fantastic family movie, and he doesn't even seem out of his comfort zone. Threaded with great themes of honesty, justice, and especially family love in a broken home, this movie is definitely a deviation from Sandler's regular roles, but he is still his same funny self.

Summary: Skeeter Bronson, a maintenance man who, by all rights should be managing the mega-hotel he works at, is cajoled by his sister into babysitting the niece and nephew for a few days. When the bedtime stories he tells them begin coming true, he sees a way for him to realize his dream of managing the hotel. Of course, unforeseen consequences provide strange and hilarious happenings along his path.

the magical family comedy by Walt Disney

Its is a Fun movie for Adult and Childrens .

A tale about a man who makes up bedtime stories for his niece and nephew only to find that they magically come true the next day, Bedtime Stories is a funny and enjoyable film about finding happiness in unexpected places

there are some scenes which are not kid friendly.

Overall a Good Movie to watch

This is a silly kid's movie, but it was certainly entertaining for kids. In the film, the twists and turns of Adam Sandler's life eerily resemble the bedtime stories he tells his sister's children. The movie actually has a few surprises and genuinely funny moments. However, the movie seems too short and character developments hurried. It is never really clear why, for example, why the two main characters fall in love (they go from hating each other to nearly kissing in the span of a few minutes). I suppose this isn't the most important element for a kid's movie, but better character development might have made the movie appeal to a wider audience.

A child-friendly Adam Sandler film! An enjoyable family film with a good dose of fantasy and action balancing both Walt Disney innocence and Happy Madison craziness.

The film is directed by Adam Shankman ("Hairspray", "The Wedding Planner", "Bringing Down the House" and a screenplay by Matt Lopez ("Race to Witch Mountain") and Saturday Night Live writer Tim Herlihy ("The Wedding Singer", "Happy Gilmore", "Little Nicky" and "Big Daddy")

"Bedtime Stories" is a film that kicks off a flashback from the past, taking place at a family run inn. Father Marty Bronson (Jonathan Pryce) raising his two children (also employees of the Inn) trying to keep his business and family afloat. Every night reading his children a bedtime story, Bronson tries to keep a happy face despite knowing his inn is not doing well financially. Businessman and hotel mogul Barry Nottingham offers Marty plenty of money if he signs away the rights to the inn and Marty agrees to the deal if only he makes a promise that when his son Skeeter becomes older, he would run the inn. The two make a deal.

Flash forward to the present, nearly twenty five years later and the inn has now become among one of Nottingham's multi-million dollar hotel investments and is now a popular, classy and luxurious hotel in Southern California. Meanwhile, Skeeter Bronson (Adam Sandler), a middle-aged man handyman/custodian is not exactly running the business as his father has hoped.

When Nottingham (Richard Griffiths) makes an announcement of a new hotel to open up in Southern California, Skeeter feels that perhaps this is his time. Unfortunately, the job is given to the arrogant Kendall (Guy Pearce). A man who is dating Nottingham hotel heiress Violet Nottingham (Teresa Palmer), a party hopping, Paris Hilton-esque socialite and behind-the-scenes, Kendall is having fun with the hotel concierge Aspen (Lucy Lawless).

Feeling that he's down on his luck, Skeeter goes to visit his sister Wendy (Courteney Cox) and his niece Bobbi (Laura Ann Kesling) and nephew Patrick (Jonathan Morgan Heit) who is celebrating a birthday. But all is not good with the family. Wendy's husband has left the family and she lost her job as a principal of her school due to the school closing. She has an interview for a job in another state but she needs someone to watch the kids for a few days. So, she asks if Skeeter can watch the kids at night, while during the day, her friend and a teacher at the school, Jill (Keri Russell), who has the children during the day. Unfortunately, Skeeter and Jill are at opposite ends of the spectrum and don't get along.

But Skeeter, who is not really close to the kids (nor do they know each other very well) agrees to take care of them for a few days. Also, joining them is their guinea pig (with its big eyes) named Bubsy.

Both Bobbia and Patrick have been raised by their mother to eat healthy, no television but Skeeter feels they need to have some fun. So, he lets them watch television, eat burgers and reads them a bedtime story. But Skeeter is not exactly in the happiest moods due to his job situation, so each time he tells a story, he ends it with a bad ending. So, the first bedtime story features a peasant named Sir Fix-a-Lot (Sandler) who is a hardworking man who is bypassed from a job which goes to Sir Butkiss (Pearce), a story that mirrors Skeeter's own life. But the children insist that a story must have a happy ending, so they start adding to the storyline of how things workout for Sir Fix-a-Lot such as his boss giving him a chance to prove that he's worthy of taking over the business and gumballs start raining in on him. Then after the kids finish the story, a sound of chimes appear. When Skeeter asks what that sound was, the kids tell him that it's their guinea pig ringing the chimes and wanting to go to sleep.

The day after, certain things that were told in the bedtime story comes true. After bad decision making by Kendall, Mr. Nottingham decides that he will give Skeeter a chance of taking over the new hotel. But it all comes down to who can come up with the best plan for the new hotel. Skeeter or Kendall. But for Skeeter, he feels something may be magical with the bedtime story when gumballs raining on top of him (actually a gumball truck was hit in an accident and thus the balls are falling off the interstate on to his car).

Feeling that the kids and even Bubsy may have something magical, he feels that perhaps he can help them come up with a great bedtime story that would benefit him in real life. So, with the last remaining three days with the children before he returns him to his mother, Skeeter comes up with ideas for him to get a Ferrari, a kiss from a damsel in distress and more! But of course, with the children's imaginative minds, things don't work out as smooth as Skeeter is hoping for things to be.


VIDEO & AUDIO:

Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment has been on top of their Blu-ray game. Becoming one of the few companies to release their Blu-rays with a bonus DVD and digital copy all in one, the Blu-ray releases are also known for its magnificent picture and audio quality.

So, with the release of "BEDTIME STORIES", the film is featured via 1080p High Definition with an aspect ratio of 2:30:1. Picture quality is vibrant and looks absolutely beautiful. One of the things that helps the film is much of it is filmed outdoors. With beautiful shots by DP Michael Barrett, the film really captures colors with the gumballs to the red Ferrari (horse and car). I didn't see any artifacting during the dark scenes and picture quality is just magnificent via High Definition on Blu-ray. Also, another plus is that the film utilizes a good blend of real time shooting and CG (during the sci-fi action scenes).

Another positive for the Blu-ray release is that the special features are featured in 1080p.

As for audio, audio is presented in English 5.1 DTS-HD (48kHZ, 24-Bit) and again, one of the positive things about this film is that the bedtime story sequences are action-based. And thus you get very good audio response from your front, center and rear channels. Scenes such as "Gravity Wars" from the audience to the weapon usage to Skeeter's truck backfiring, really sounds good courtesy of the DTS-HD. I noticed certain scenes really come quite strong from the rear surround channels during the action sequences. Dialogue overall is heard quite clearly from your front and center channels.

Also, included is a French and Spanish 5.1 Dolby Digital track as well.

Subtitles are provided in English SDH, French and Spanish.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

Special features included on the "Bedtime Stories" Blu-ray are:

* Until Gravity Do Us Part - A four minute behind-the-scenes look at the film's mindboggling special effects. Interviews with John Adrew Berton Jr. (Visual Effects Supervisor) and Garrett Warren (Fight Choreographer) on how the segment was filmed. Quite interesting how much was put into the making of this scene CG wise and also instead of green screen, using all blu-screen and how much went into the fight choreography and getting Sandler and Pearce ready for the role.
* It's Bugsy - A near four minute featurette featuring a close up of Bugsy the big-eyed guinea pig. Behind-the-scenes of how many guinea pigs were used in the film and how they were utilized. Interviews with the cast of working with the guinea pig and more.
* To All The Little People - A near six minute featurette featuring interviews with Laura Ann Kesling (Bobbi) and Jonathan Morgan Heit (Patrick) and how they felt about working with Director Adam Shankman, Adam Sandler, Russell Brand, Keri Russell, Courteney Cox and others. Also, how the talent felt with working with the children.
* Laughter is Contagious Outtakes - A seven minute featurette featuring outtakes and interviews with the cast of working with each other. How Adam Sandler made everyone laugh and how he was good with the children. How Rob Schneider would make Adam Sandler laugh and much more.
* Cutting Room Flor: Deleted Scenes - Ten minutes worth of 12 deleted and extended scenes.

The Blu-ray is also BD-Live enabled with movie chat, movie mail and Disney Movie Rewards Live.

The included DVD features a special feature not included on the Blu-ray disc:

* Dylan & Cole Sprouse: Blu-ray is Suite - "The Suite Life of Zach & Cody" talents star in a six minute special feature promoting Blu-ray technology.

JUDGMENT CALL:

I enjoyed "Bedtime Stories" for its combination of comedy, fantasy and adventure. If anything, it was a fun and enjoyable family film.

Sure, I know it is a Happy Madison film (in collaboration with Walt Disney) but parents do not have to worry because none of the adult humor that you would come to expect from a Happy Madison film is there. If anything, this film is a very fun and safe family film. And if there was anything that may be deemed as risky, it ended up on the cutting room floor (which scenes you can watch in the deleted scenes special feature).

If anything, I think fatherhood has brought out Adam Sandler's gentler side and I think this film is probably one of the rare film to see the side of a lighthearted Adam Sandler with children (you'll see it more evident on the special features as the children absolute adore him). And for the primary two children of the film, both Laura Ann Kesling (Bobbi) and Jonathan Morgan Heit (Patrick) were just adorable and did a great job for their role in the film.

But as much as I enjoyed the film, there were a few more things that were hits but yet a few that were misses. One of the hits is featuring British comic Russel Brand. His interaction with Sandler was fun as the sleep panicky, crazy friend. And of course, what would a Adam Sandler Happy Madison film be without Rob Schneider in some crazy role and in this case, as Chief Runningmouth and the pickpocket thief.

As for misses, it would have to be Lucy Lawless as Aspen. As much as I enjoy watching the "Xena"/"Battlestar Galactica" actress, in the beginning, you get a feeling of the conspiring duo of Aspen and Kendall trying to gain power to run a hotel. So, you kind of get a feeling of a juicy conspiring role with her character and the protagonist Kendall but all of a sudden, she's lost in the second half of the film. If anything, what could have been a strong villain with the Aspen and Kendall duo in the film, suddenly gets degraded and the focus becomes more on family helping each other and the chemistry between Sandler's Skeeter and Russel's Jill.

So, it was unfortunate that Lawless's character as Aspen didn't live up to its potential but at least she had a good appearance in the first half of the film, unlike Carmen Elektra who has only a non-speaking cameo as the girlfriend of a guy showing off his vehicle.

Also, for some people who want an explanation of how these mysterious bedtime stories end up coming real for Skeeter, this is not the film to be logical (then again are many Happy Gilmore films logical?). If anything, "Bedtime Stories" is a straightforward family film that the children can watch and enjoy. I watched the film with my six-year-old son and he absolutely enjoyed it.

With the release of the film on Blu-ray, the fact that this film had so many outdoor shots and a good balance of action and sci-fi scenes, Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment has been on the winning end in bringing films out to Blu-ray with great picture and audio quality and "Bedtime Stories" does not disappoint. And the fact that you get the DVD and a digital copy on disc, that's another positive reason to own this film in my book.

Overall, what I really enjoyed is how the film incorporated so many elements from sci-fi films, action films of old, and balancing it with comedy. It was a fun film and definitely not a film to take seriously (and again, I feel like I repeat this each time with many Happy Gilmore related films that I review). So, if you are looking for a fun family film that the children will definitely enjoy, "Bedtime Stories" is definitely recommended!