Product Details

• Actors: Adam Sandler, Winona Ryder, John Turturro, Allen Covert, Peter Gallagher
• Directors: Steven Brill
• Writers: Clarence Budington Kelland, Robert Riskin, Tim Herlihy
• Producers: Adam Sandler, Allen Covert, Alex Siskin, Jack Giarraputo
• Format: Closed-captioned, Color, NTSC
• Language: English
• Rated: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: Sony Pictures
• VHS Release Date: October 22, 2002
• Run Time: 96 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (179 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B00006IJDA
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #265,069 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Following the flop of Little Nicky, Adam Sandler returned to safe territory in Mr. Deeds... and made Nicky look inspired by comparison. A loose remake of Frank Capra's 1936 classic Mr. Deeds Goes to Town, this dumbed-down version finds Sandler in the Gary Cooper role, inheriting a vast fortune and a corporate empire, foiling a greedy executive (Peter Gallagher), and winning the heart of an undercover reporter (Winona Ryder) who's been mocking his small-town naiveté in print while falling for his goodhearted sincerity. It's fun enough to satisfy Sandler's loyal fans--and John Turturro's a hoot as Deeds's foot-fetishist butler--but the subtleties of Capra are lost on Sandler, director Steven Brill, and writer Tim Herlihy. While Gary Cooper portrayed a rube who was savvy about big-city cynicism, Sandler's an amiable goofball with a heart of gold and an empty skull. You can admire him, and parts of the movie (including Steve Buscemi's unbilled cameo), but you have to work harder to get there. --Jeff Shannon

From The New Yorker

It's billed as an homage to the 1936 Capra classic, but the only tradition being watered down is the Adam Sandler movie. He's one of the more gifted wisecrackers around, but most of his routines-the deadpan sincerity, the over-the-top regular guyness, the non-actors he lines up for odd cameos-seem stale and second rate in this, his seventh starring vehicle. The over-all experience is like listening to a decent pop song you've heard too many times. The chief pleasure is John Turturro, who steals the movie as a "sneaky, sneaky" butler with a foot fetish. -Michael Agger
Copyright © 2006 The New Yorker

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Mr. Deeds, March 22, 2008

By 

Kelly "Reviewer for The Sinfully Sensuous" (Littleton, Colorado) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Mr. Deeds (Widescreen Special Edition) (DVD)

This was an entertaining movie with a sound cast. The story didn't quite measure up to the original as the remake, but there were some funny shining moments. While this is supposed to be an Adam Sandler film, John Turturro literally steals the movie. He is hilarious as Emilio Lopez the "sneaky sneaky" butler. This movie showcases his well timed comedic talent. Without his contribution, it would have been just an okay remake of a 1920's classic.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Mr. Deeds makes the eyes smile and the heart chuckle, October 11, 2002

By 

F. Poff "Lucky #8" (Tornado City, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Mr. Deeds (Widescreen Special Edition) (DVD)

Mr. Deeds is a great movie. It's not intelligent or powerful or anything so lofty. But it is a sweet, silly and very fun movie to watch. Adam Sandler is perfect as the kind-hearted small-town boy experiencing big city life for the first time. Winona Ryder is fantastic to look at and fun to watch. She shines. But the character who steals the show is John Turturo as the butler. His bit parts are big scene stealers. I liked this flick so much I saw it at the theater twice. It is a feel-good movie with some real tender parts and is filled with under-keyed hilarious moments. I like Adam Sandler's raunchy humor, but it is very cool to see him play such a great nice guy. And don't worry, some of the humor in this movie is downright "weird" like only Sandler can deliver. I loved this flick!

9 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Take incongruities with grain of salt, and it's entertaining, September 26, 2002

By 

Dorothy Jansen (Fletchmoor, MA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Mr. Deeds (Widescreen Special Edition) (DVD)

...As the title character, Sandler is a hero we pull for, but his old screwball antics do get in the way at times. No real hero would clobber senseless a whole reataurant full of people because they ridiculed him. But here, Sandler as the title character does so in a return to his screwball persona. One might even argue that that persona goes over the top when he goes after a purse-snatcher and doesn't stop with merely subduing him but continues to beat him while he is down, with a seemingly sadistic glee. Perhaps a real hero should show some restraint in such a situation, even considering that the purse-snatching could actually be a setup, as it in fact is in this case. To buy into the heroism of Mr. Deeds, we have to do some considerable winking past these gratuitous farcically sadistic episodes. For those who can do that, the movie can be passably enjoyable. Sandler is entertaining, even when incongrously so. The movie is elevated considerably by the pleasant surprise of Winona Ryder's performance, even though her character starts out as a participant in that purse-snatching setup...MR. DEEDS should be remembered as one of the brighter spots in her uneven career. Here she puts forth a charm we haven't seen in a long time, and her acting fits well into the story. As a co-star to Sandler, she meshed with his character well, certainly the best since Drew Barrymore in THE WEDDING SINGER...She might just be the most uniformly good part of MR. DEEDS, and that gives hope for a more evenly successful career in her future. All in all MR. DEEDS is a watchable bit of entertainment for those not too put off by its incongrous swings between irreverent farce and heartwarming feel-good story and romance.