“Not Nearly As Bad As It Could’ve–Or Even Should’ve–Been.  Satire!”

Harvey Keitel, Luke Wilson, Sam Buscemi, Nick Nolte, John Turturro…I don’t know how Adam Sandler did it, but his Netflix movie, The Ridiculous 6, has an insane amount of cameos by some really good actors (at this point I wouldn’t be shocked if Sam Jackson or Quentin Tarantino–who’s a mediocre actor but a renown director–showed up).

And speaking of The Ridiculous 6, it’s got some pretty funny moments.  It’s no Blazing Saddles–it’s greatest problem in that department is that it doesn’t know when to rein it in–but it’s not terrible either.  In fact, there are more laugh-out loud moments that I anticipated finding in an Adam Sander movie.

And as far as being offensive to Native Americans, they’re pretty broad caricatures–a trait shared with everyone else in the movie–Native American or not, but they’re also treated more dignity than just about any other group in the movie (which is admittedly not saying a lot).

The Ridiculous 6 is also a study in contrasts, in that Rob Schneider, an irritating actor at the best of times, comes off pretty well, despite that he’s playing a Mexican (I suspect no Mexican actor in their right mind would want the role, especially since his character is little more than a mashing together of cliches supposedly typical of Mexicans (also a trait sheared with just about every other character).

And I honestly think that I have never seen Taylor Lautner act–as in playing a distinct character–like he does here.  I have to repeat that that’s not saying much, but he’s created a actual character at least (it probably won’t with help with rumors of him being gay.  Not one bit).

What’s particularly fascinating is how Sandler sleepwalks though his own movie.  He’s apparently parodying Clint Eastwood’s Nameless Drifter–who IMDB says was actually named Joe(!?) in A Fistful Of Dollars, anyway– but acts as if his doctor hasn’t quite worked out the proper dosage of Ritalin.

The plot, such as it is, runs out of steam around the middle (when Tuturro introduces the brothers to the game of baseball, for some reason) but I have to admit that this is the rare Adam Sandler movie that I wouldn’t be ashamed to admit that I found diverting.

And why Mark Twain was talking and dancing like a white person imitating what they think a black person sounds and dances like?  I have no idea, but it’s hardly the strangest thing in the aptly named The Ridiculous 6.