Movie Review: Bedtime Stories

Rating: PG

Genre: Family comedy

Release Date: December 25, 2008

Running Time: 100 minutes

Child friendly?: Don’t worry. Although Bedtime Stories is technically an Adam Sandler movie, it’s not one of his lewd and rude efforts but rather a comforting family comedy that does not push any boundaries. There is some mild toilet humor but is otherwise safe for kids aged around 6 and up.

What if fairy tales and other bedtime stories had an impact on our ordinary daytime lives? That is the premise behind Bedtime Stories, the new Disney family comedy starring Adam Sandler.

Fathers may be familiar with Sandler’s sillier and more crass projects, such as Happy Gilmore or Billy Madison, but there is only a hint of this type of humor in his latest film. While previous efforts may have been childish, this one is actually aimed at kids.

Younger children may delight in the land of magic and wonder that is created when Skeeter, a maintenance man at a hotel, is put in charge of caring for his sister’s children.

Every night, he entertains them with a different outlandish story, and the next morning elements from the tale begin to infiltrate his waking life.

Ultimately, Skeeter aims to use storytelling to take control of his life and regain the hotel that his father once lost.

This is a movie that has the potential to please most of the family. Kids may particularly be infatuated with Bugsy, a CGI guinea pig that lives in the kids’ room and seems to pass cartoonish judgment on the nightly stories.