Adam Sandler
Kenny Lustig
Overview
The parents of a soon-to-be married couple make the final preparations for the wedding ceremony.
Cast
12 people
Reviews
5 min readThe Wedding That Never Ends
I’ve seen The Week Of twice now, and both times I’ve emerged with the same question: how can a movie about a wedding—a single, finite event—feel like it lasts longer than the marriage it’s celebrating? The film clocks in at 116 minutes, but the runtime isn’t the problem. It’s the way those minutes stretch, sag, and then suddenly snap back into focus, like a rubber band pulled too far.
There’s a real movie in here, buried under layers of improv, overlapping dialogue, and the kind of chaotic energy that only makes sense if you’ve ever been to a family gathering where everyone talks at once and no one listens. The trouble is, most of us have been to those gatherings. We don’t always need to relive them in IMAX.
Robert Smigel’s directorial debut is a curious beast. On paper, it’s a simple premise: Kenny (Adam Sandler), a working-class Long Island dad, is hosting his daughter’s wedding in his backyard, while the bride’s wealthy father, Kirby (Chris Rock), flies in from Chicago to help—whether Kenny likes it or not. The two men couldn’t be more different: Kenny is a lovable slob who fixes air conditioners for a living, while Kirby is a buttoned-up lawyer who shows up with a wedding planner, a spreadsheet, and the kind of confidence that makes Kenny’s life feel like a series of small humiliations.
The setup is ripe for comedy, and in the right hands, it could’ve been something sharp—a Meet the Parents for the age of economic anxiety, where the real tension isn’t about whether the groom is good enough, but whether the fathers can afford to pretend they are.
But The Week Of isn’t interested in sharpness. It’s interested in noise. The film is structured like a week-long improv session, with Sandler and Rock riffing off each other in a way that feels less like scripted comedy and more like two old friends trying to outdo each other at a barbecue.
There are moments where this works—when the chemistry between them feels lived-in, when the jokes land because the actors seem to be genuinely enjoying themselves. But more often, it feels like the film is drowning in its own excess. Scenes drag on long after the punchline has been delivered, and the supporting cast—Rachel Dratch as Kenny’s exasperated sister, Steve Buscemi as his deadpan neighbor—are given little to do beyond shouting over each other in increasingly crowded frames.
Audience Opinions
Audience 5.2/10
"A family-centered Sandler wedding comedy with a warm heart that is dragged down by thin laughs and sluggish pacing."
Warm chemistry between Adam Sandler and Chris Rock and some sincere father–daughter moments give the story emotional weight and a sense of lived-in family chaos. latestnetflix.com's view is that at the same time, a large portion of the humor fails to land, the constant noise and crowded scenes grow tiring, and the runtime feels bloated, making the film feel dull and overextended for many viewers.
What viewers praise
- Engaging lead duo Adam Sandler and Chris Rock feel believable together, grounding the chaotic wedding with a lived-in rapport.
- Heartfelt family focus The film’s focus on a working-class dad trying to give his daughter a memorable wedding resonates emotionally at times.
- Occasional good jokes Scattered jokes and awkward situations do earn genuine laughs, even from those who dislike the movie overall.
- Less crude than expected Several comments note a relative lack of gross-out or vulgar gags compared with more typical Sandler vehicles.
Common complaints
- Weak overall comedy Many find it largely unfunny, with long stretches where joke after joke simply does not work.
- Bloated runtime The story is seen as stretched far beyond its material, with multiple viewers saying it could easily lose 20–25 minutes.
- Chaotic and noisy Crowded family scenes full of overlapping conversations and yelling come off as exhausting rather than fun.
- Uneven tone Shifts between broad silliness and sincere drama feel clumsy, leaving the movie unsure whether it wants to be goofy or genuinely touching.
- Underused supporting cast Despite a strong ensemble, side characters are often reduced to one-note quirks or running gags that wear thin.
Recommended for
Adam Sandler completionists Low-key wedding comedy seekers Working-class family story fans Background-watch comedy viewers
Full Plot (Spoilers)
Spoiler warning
This section contains the full plot, including major story reveals. Overview above stays spoiler-free.
Buzz & Rumors
Public reportsSandler yelled at his own director. Then he asked for the Yankees score.
Monday night at AMC Loews Lincoln Square 13 in New York, Robert Smigel tried to thank every person who had worked on The Week Of. Adam Sandler stood up and shouted, "Shut up already!" Variety's Taryn Tacher watched him pace the aisles, chanting for the movie to start and feeding the room that night's Yankees score. The screening was April 23, 2018. latestnetflix.com's take is that Netflix put the film on the service three days later.
The last comedy in the first Netflix stack.
Smigel told Variety that Sandler and Chris Rock used to lean on him for advice. "Now they're throwing me a bone." He also said the bond from their Saturday Night Live years was family, not punchlines. "We both worshipped our dads. This movie is for our dads." Sandler pitched the idea. They co-wrote it. Smigel directed his first feature. Deadline, dropping the full trailer on February 27, called the title the fourth and final film in Sandler's first exclusive Netflix comedy deal, already renewed the year before. Happy Madison produced. Sandler and Allen Covert produced. Barry Bernardi and Tim Herlihy executive produced. , 
The plot will not surprise anyone who has sat through a wedding week. Kenny Lustig, a Long Island construction worker, will not let Kirby Cordice, a wealthy doctor, pay for the wedding of Sarah and Tyler. Rachel Dratch plays Debbie. Steve Buscemi plays Charles. Allison Strong and Roland Buck III play the couple. Wikipedia clocks it at 116 minutes. TMDB lists it as movie 465109, released April 27, 2018. Netflix's own page still sells two fathers, a TV-14 rating, and a ceremony that keeps slipping. , 
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Glen Cove hosted the circus. St. Rocco's did not get a close-up.
Patch reported in July 2017 that the Church of St. Rocco on Third Street would be a base camp, not an on-camera church. Father Ambros Boyd said Glen Cove would turn up in the movie and that he was happy to stay behind the scenes. Wikipedia, citing that local note and an earlier Deadline item, places principal photography on Long Island that July. Patch also named the wrong director. Trust the parking lot. Do not trust the byline. ,
Critics treated seven days like ten.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vc0fb3xhFHY
Rotten Tomatoes sat at 26 percent from 27 reviews, with a 4.1 average. The consensus said the pairing of Sandler and Smigel had promise, then called the premise shopworn and the execution listless. Metacritic logged 41 from 11 critics. Richard Roeper in the Chicago Sun-Times gave it 1.5 stars and wrote that even with Monday and Tuesday title cards, the week feels ten days long. He said Rock seemed barely invested. Peter Debruge in Variety called the film lazy and overlong, "the lowest-concept comedy of his career," then pointed at Jack and Jill as the actual career floor. IndieWire graded it D+ and noted that a bats-down-the-chimney bit finally arrives after 85 minutes, with another half hour still to go. Netflix still opened it on a Friday. The trailer remains on YouTube under the official Netflix account. , , , ,
Entertainment rumors and trivia aggregated from public reporting. Treat speculation as unverified unless a cited source confirms it.