Blended (2014)

Blended is a 2014 American romantic comedy film directed by Frank Coraci. Written by Ivan Menchell and Clare Sera, the film stars Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore as two single parents who went on a blind date together and never wanted to see each other again afterwards. To their surprise, they both end up at the same African safari resort with their children and are forced to stay together. The film's ensemble cast also features Kevin Nealon, Terry Crews, and Wendi McLendon-Covey. South African cricketer Dale Steyn makes a cameo appearance as himself.

The film was produced by Adam Sandler, Jack Giarraputo, and Mike Karz. It was released theatrically on May 23, 2014. Grossed $128 million worldwide, against a budget of $40 million, and received generally negative reviews from critics. This is the third collaboration between Sandler and Barrymore after The Wedding Singer (also directed by Coraci) and 50 First Dates.

Storyline[]

Divorced Lauren Reynolds goes on a blind date with widower Jim Friedman at Hooters; it goes poorly.

Jim's wife has died from cancer and his three daughters, Hilary "Larry", Espen "ESPN" and Louise "Lou", try to cope with her loss. Lauren's husband Mark cheated on her but she never told her kids, Brendan and Tyler, why they are divorced, so they are hostile to her dating again. While Jim struggles with his girls (Hilary is going through puberty and desires a more feminine look; Espen still pretends that her late mother is around, and Lou is still a very young child), Lauren struggles with her sons (Tyler is prone to fits of anger, while Brendan, who struggles with the divorce, is also going through puberty).

The two run into each other while on errands to the pharmacy. Jim is buying tampons for Hilary, while Lauren is looking at porn for her oldest son (after destroying his hidden magazine). The cashier mistakenly switches their credit cards, so Jim goes to Lauren's house to switch the credit cards back. Jen, Lauren's friend and co-worker, arrives at Lauren's to announce that she has broken up with her boyfriend Dick, Jim's boss. Devastated, Jen tells Lauren and (inadvertently) Jim that Dick had planned on taking Jen on a special trip to Africa. Since Jen and Dick broke up, Lauren commits to using Jen's portion of the vacation package without knowing that Jim is simultaneously making the same arraignment with Dick.

When both families arrive at the resort, they are both dismayed to see one another and to see that the hotel room is a romantic suite. At meal-time, the families are put together for a "blended familymoon", where they dine together with other blended families, including the oversexed Eddy and Ginger. Eddy's new bride is quite his junior, to the chagrin of his teenage son Jake, on whom Hilary develops a crush at first sight. The kids make an awkward impression on each other, with Brendan calling his mother "hot," and the others not knowing how to react to ESPN, the middle girl, acting like her mother is there with her. Over time the kids begin to bond with each other and their respective parents.

Jim bonds with the boys by helping Lauren's youngest son Tyler learn how to hit in baseball and manages Tyler's anger when he strikes out. Jim also teaches Brendan how to box. Meanwhile, Lauren bonds with the girls, helping Hilary change her tomboy-ish look into a more feminine one. During this bonding time, Lauren learns that Jim's deceased wife had managed the Hooters restaurant, suggesting this is why he took Lauren there on their blind date. As they become closer to all the children, Jim and Lauren begin to warm up to each other including when they inadvertently get matched together for a couples' massage and actually have fun with each other.

When Lou asks Lauren to put her to bed, Lauren sings her "Over the Rainbow," which, unknown to her, was a song their mother used to sing to them. The other girls pretend to sleep, while discovering how much they love Lauren. She returns this feeling when she kisses each girl's forehead as she says goodnight.

On the last night of the trip, Lauren wears a dress that Jen stole from one of their clients, receiving admiration from everyone. Jim and she sit down for a do-over romantic dinner, which he had especially planned for her. They chat about basic parenting techniques and then move in for a kiss. However, at the last second, Jim pulls away, apologizing and explaining that he "can't do it".

After returning to America, Jim realizes he has fallen in love with Lauren. When he admits this to his daughters, they are ecstatic with the news. Despite not being fully ready to move on from her mother's death, ESPN does not want her family to lose Lauren. She announces that her mother is so busy in Heaven, she will not be around so much. At his girls' behest, Jim goes to Lauren's to give her flowers, only to find Mark there. Tyler gets excited to see Jim and wants to play ball; Mark bullies Jim into leaving and implies he is getting back together with Lauren, then ditches Tyler to answer a summons from "work". Mark tries to make a move on Lauren, who rejects him due to his continuous failure as a father and his past affairs.

Lauren and Brendan go to support Tyler at his next baseball game, along with Jen, Dick (whom Jen is back together with), and Dick's five kids. Mark does not show up. To Lauren's surprise, Jim and his daughters arrive to show encouragement, inspiring Tyler to hit the ball as Jim had taught him in Africa. Jim then finds Lauren and they admit to wanting to be together and kiss, to their kids' delight, who know that they are already a blended family.

Blended (2014)

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Storyline[]

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