Whenever Valentine’s Day rolls around, we can usually look forward to picking from a small handful of romantic comedies in theaters. This year, the choices are meager. The most recent effort is a remake of a 1969 film based on a stage play, Dennis Dugan’s “Just Go With It.”

Plastic surgeon Danny (Adam Sandler) has a habit of picking up women by way of wearing an old wedding ring from a failed near-marriage years before.

After connecting unexpectedly with a much-younger girl who finds his ring after their night together, he spins a story to save his chances with her – he is in the middle of a divorce and is technically free to see other women. The girl demands a meeting with his soon-to-be-ex to clear the air, prompting Danny to recruit his assistant, Katherine (Jennifer Anniston), to play the part.

Through a series of bizarre events, Katherine and her two children end up accompanying Danny and his girl on a weekend trip to Hawaii that turns into a mess of impromptu cover stories and personal wake-up calls for all.

As much as America loves them as actors, Adam Sandler and Jennifer Anniston aren’t exactly known for playing roles that venture very far outside of themselves. The good news is the one redeeming feature of the movie – together, they have a sweet, slightly prickly chemistry that’s pleasant and amusing to see unfold.

As always, Anniston’s ability to charm her way through challenges, no matter the character, makes viewers comfortable with following her through the hilarity. It felt natural watching her go up against Sandler’s childish wit and tendency to be lewd in the most lovable of ways.

Fabrication and deception have been major staples of some of the best comedy films, and as this one is all about lying, there were plenty of opportunities for big laughs to be had. People love to see others squirm their way through circumstances built on lies, especially when things start to evolve out of characters’ control.

Here, there’s nothing particularly clever about how the players handle themselves. They cover their initial lies with new ones, but not very gracefully. The situations played out with all the believability of a cartoon, and, like most painfully unrealistic bits that snowball their way through a story, these grew old fairly quickly.

Additionally, there’s something about wrangling a couple of young kids into being proficient liars that felt wrong, even though their attempts made for the funniest moments in the movie.

Likewise, a fair amount of the gags and jokes in the film are exaggerated to the point of unfunny absurdity. Quite a few of them spawn from the lead characters’ professions in the field of plastic surgery. There’s a lot of shameless ribbing about deformity, ugliness, and imperfection in general. This isn’t anything new in comedy, but this movie treats those subjects so carelessly that the effect is sometimes cringe-worthy.

Similarly, as the main character’s big idea is to fabricate an entire family, this movie doesn’t hold marriage in very high regard. It’s a depressing custom in modern comedies to play up divorce as the kind of ultimate life failure that can be laughed off and used as an excuse or ammunition.

Calling “Just Go With It” a romantic comedy feels a little disingenuous – it contains far more comedy than romance, though it doesn’t succeed very well at either. If you’re looking for a night out at the movies for Valentine’s Day, this one may not do the job. You’ll likely be better off renting a classic rom-com that does light-hearted laughs the right way.

1 out of 4 stars