Adam Sandler

My best guess at the moment is that people treat Adam Sandler movies like comfort food.  It's basically a sitcom in a movie theater for those who want to go out on a Friday/Saturday night.  Same star.  Same supporting cast. 

Some people value that sort of consistency, I guess.  Even the posters for his movies are consistent in their use of blue.  Sandler's movies have seemed to replaced the BIG RED TEXT of comedy with a Cool Sandler Blue.

That is one brutal filmography.

Billy Madison is my favorite of his comedies, in that it's committed to being stupid with a minimum of "heart." (Confession: I haven't seen another comedy of his since The Waterboy.) His best performance is Punch-Drunk Love, for sure, although I think it helps that P.T. Anderson wrote a role specifically for him.  I think his work in Spanglish & Reign O'er Me is notable, but both films are ruined by their maudlin screenplays (and, in the case of Spanglish, by Tea Leoni's absolutely horrible character.)

I have to respect the guy.  Yes, his movies are shit, but I honestly believe he's aware of this.  Sure, you can criticize him for failing (or not even trying) to grow as an actor or an artist, but he just doesn't seem interested in that.  He's found what works for him and seems contented.  

He's making money hand over fist, and he's giving his friends steady work (how many other celebrities are as fiercely loyal to their pre-fame friends as Sandler?)  I mean, Grown ups seemed like little more than an excuse for all his buddies to have a vacation together on the studio dime.  It's almost brilliant, in a way.

I give him a pass, more often than not, for that episode he played himself on Undeclared. 

I haven't seen a new movie of his in years, but I genuinely love Billy Madison, Happy Gilmore, and The Wedding Singer. The first two are mostly juvenile and the love comes from a nostalgic place, but The Wedding Singer is a genuinely good film. It has heart, although it may be responsible for the retro-fad that has permeated the last ten years of American pop culture. 

Imagine a world in which he played the Bear Jew in Inglorious Basterds. Would it have been a fluke, or would his whole oeuvre have changed at that point? 

Gets me everytime and sums up my feelings. Did really like Billy Madison and happy gilmore though.

As god-awful as the Happy Madison productions starring Sandler have been lately, the Happy Madison productions starring other people are ineffably worse.

Which doesn't absolve Sandler; on the contrary, it's like "Bucky Larson is gonna be awesome! That's the kind of movie I want my name on as a producer!"

As for how much money these things make, t'was ever thus. Sandler has had a lot more longevity as a guy who opens movies than I ever would've suspected.

Going through his filmography, I see that I tuned out after The Longest Yard (excepting Funny People).

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bartleby_Scriven  

 

Imagine a world in which he played the Bear Jew in Inglorious Basterds. Would it have been a fluke, or would his whole oeuvre have changed at that point? 

I don't think so. We've seen enough of his talent to know that it wouldn't be a fluke, and the Bear Jew's role in IB is ultimately rather small. It would have served as a nice diversion before his next fart-a-thon with Kevin James.

Like Scottie said above, the guy is able to make movies with his best buds that make huge profits every time. If I were in his position, I'd probably do the same thing. 

50 First Dates is pretty solid.  I remember liking that one quite a bit.

Sandler and Barrymore were fun enough together in their two films that every dumb-ass movie he makes is another romantic comedy he isn't making with her, and that's disappointing. They need to at least round out the trilogy before they both get too old.

I like Happy Gilmore, Big Daddy, Spanglish, Punch Drunk Love, Funny People, 50 First Dates and The Wedding Signer well enough.  The rest, I have seen, and are terrible.  I think "Grown Ups" could possibly be the worst film I have ever seen.  But, as much as I despise those films, I can't blame Sandler for making them.  Like you said, they are a guaranteed 100 million.  If I had a lottery ticket I could cash over and over again, I would, and I'm sure everyone else would too.  That said, I think Funny People, is how Sandler truely feels about himself and his films.  

I liked "Spanglish" and Sandler's performance in it. I think it gets too much hate here. It's not as strong as earlier James L. Brooks stuff like "Terms of Endearment" and "Broadcast News", but it's in the same league. As was the case with those movies, there's more psychological depth to the characters than in most movies, and Brooks was still an ace at writing good romantic dialog.  Sandler has a line with Paz Vega at one point that some might find cheesy, but I thought it was really sweet and inspired, much like Jack Nicholson's famous line to Helen Hunt in "As Good As I Gets".

Brooks could write the hell out of a wooing line. And Tea Leoni's character wasn't that bad...almost every Brooks movie has to have some hysterically neurotic character (like Holly Hunter in "Broadcast News" or Jack Nicholson in "As Good As It Gets") and she was no worse than any of the others. I think "Spanglish" was his best overall movie. He plays the sweet romantic lead well in it, just as he did in "The Wedding Singer" and "50 First Dates" (I like his comedy, but I enjoy his work more in the nicer roles), but the movie is much better written and acted than either of those.

Sandler is one of those guys who had a hot streak of actually decent to good movies, then once he made his money, he got lazy and resigned himself to mostly making overly maudlin or overly broad crap, with the occasional detour outside his comfort zone (i.e. "Punch Drunk Love", "Funny People"). He's a bit like Jim Carrey that way.

I enjoyed "Billy Madison", "Happy Gilmore", and "Big Daddy", even though they weren't exactly good movies, just mediocre, but watchable ones, with some genuine laughs. I thought "The Wedding Singer" was very lazily written, but saved by the charm of the performances. "50 First Dates", and "Spanglish" were just good movies. "Punch-Drunk Love" is okay, but overrated. I liked his performance, but the relationship felt fake to me. "Funny People" is very good, but too long. Probably Sandler's best performance, but personally I liked his work in "Spanglish" more...I guess the combination of him in a serious romantic role and some solid James L. Brooks writing just really clicked for me.

can't believe there is hate for Spanglish?  I think it's a good hearted film.  It's a great film to watch after sleeping in on Sunday.  

My impression of Sandler is that he's a businessman first and foremost.   He knows what he's good at, what his audience wants to see, and what makes money and he does that.   As bad as he is, he still has more legitimately good movies under his belt than Eddie Murphy over the same time period.

Quote:

Originally Posted by mcnooj82 

50 First Dates is pretty solid.  I remember liking that one quite a bit.

Echoing this. Incredibly big-hearted, thoughtful movie with a bittersweet streak throughout, and Dan Aykroyd and Sean Astin doing surprisingly great work.

Also echoing whoever above mentioned Funny People as Sandler commenting on himself. Really wish that flick delivered on the promise of its first two acts.

still can't get past the part where Sandler goes down on Mann... but they don't have sex?  HUH.

There is something odd about my relationship to his films too. I feely admit I laughed my ass off at The Waterboy and Don't Mess With The Zohan, probably widely considered two of his dumbest films, but I have no interest in Grown Ups or Just Go With It or I Now Pronounce You Chuck And Larry which are probably "better" films - or at least which are films which don't have Sandler goofing around with silly voices.

So I like his smartest films and his dumber films but not his dumbest film (Little Nicky) or middle of the road films.

Peaked at SNL and even then, he was best when playing off someone like Farley or Spade.  As for his filmography, I pretty much checked out after The Waterboy (which I admittedly enjoyed, mainly for Kathy Bates).   I did like Funny People to a degree, but that's been about it for me.  

Punch-Drunk Love is so far above anything else he's done.  It's to him what Requiem For A Dream is for Marlon Wayans: a leftfield, brilliant one-off.  

Quote:

Originally Posted by dynamotv 

My impression of Sandler is that he's a businessman first and foremost.   He knows what he's good at, what his audience wants to see, and what makes money and he does that.

Yeah, I was talking to a friend about Sandler once and he said something similar. I was quoting how Ebert said "Punch-Drunk Love" was so surprising because it revealed depths to Sandler that no one could have ever imagined based on his previous films. My friend suggested that even the way Sandler makes so many dumb movies reveals an intelligence. If stupid stuff works and makes him money, you can't call him an idiot for doing it. Still, it does get a bit frustrating to see someone do stuff that has real substance, then revert back to doing garbage.

You'd think once someone proved that they could perform at a higher level, they'd try to keep it up and continue growing as an artist instead of regressing, but obviously a lot of actors don't think that way. Hence, Jim Carrey following up "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind" with "Fun with Dick and Jane", Eddie Murphy following up "Dreamgirls" with "Norbit", and Adam Sandler following up "Punch-Drunk Love" with "Mr. Deeds". It's this weird pattern that seems to happen in Hollywood. See also the trend of people who won an Oscar and then immediately after made a bunch of absolute shit movies consecutively.

I don't see why there isn't more love for Zohan... I honestly think it's one of the most overlooked underrated comedies of the past 10 years.

Everything else he does is utter crap. Although I am 24, so I did have those few years where I thought Billy Madison was the absolute pinnace of comedy.

Sure, Sandler's got a shitload of dreck on his CV, but I laugh when people peg him as some sort of cinematic antichrist. People don't flock to Sandler flicks because they're morons. They go because he's an unpretentious, funny, hugely likeable dude; an everyman in the truest sense of the word. He's a great screen clown and an honest-to-gosh movie star. If his incredible success was because the moviegoing public are mouthbreathing idiots who like any flick with fart gags, then Ashton Kutcher, Dane Cook and countless other charmless ass-clowns would be up there with him.

God I just hated Billy Madison (sorry Chris) But I have all kinds of love for Happy Gilmore... go figure.

Oscar-wise, I think that "weird pattern" you speak of is called "Getting as many paychecks as possible while you can."

I'm gonna just throw this out there...Bedtime Stories is actually not that bad.

The Wedding Singer remains one of my favorate movies - love the hell out of that flick.  I have enjoyed some of his other output and have a strange love of Zohan but as people have said above I think he just knows what he is good at and sticks to it.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Martin Blank 

Going through his filmography, I see that I tuned out after The Longest Yard (excepting Funny People).

Roughly the same here. I actually enjoy quite a few of his films but Jack and Jill? I'd like to act surprised that it was greenlit but given Hollywood's love for draq queen comedies, I'd say there is plenty more where this came from. I'm predicting a huge hit. There's something about this kind of film that works as a seat-filler because it allows the audience, no matter how low their IQ, feel mentally superior to the people in the movie because they realize the girl LOOKS LIKE A DUDE. I understand in the case of this and some of the Murphy vehiciles that the character is not a draq queen but an obviously male actor playing a female but plays basically the same to the laughing crowd. It's the same crummy sitcom set-up where a viewer of any age can turn on the movie-TV show at a moment way after the confused character has been introduced into the scene and still be way ahead of him/her in figuring out what is off. It's like they always say: You'll never go broke appealing to the lowest common denominator.
 

When Little Nicky came out, I thought it was the dumbest thing Sandler had ever done. In retrospect of his career, it was a labor of creative genius.

Funny when you remember he was fired from SNL...and now they love to claim him as one of their great success stories when his career didn't pop until years later. Don't think he's returned as a guest-host since they shit-canned him, correct me if I'm wrong.

That's the other thing though. His success as a movie-star was really rooted in a grass-roots fashion. Billy Madison and Happy Gilmore were inexpensive films that weren't big in theaters but they were huge on home video. He slowly and steadily built up his brand of comedy and audience cementing it with Wedding Singer (the movie where he won over women) and Waterboy (his first real mega-hit).

Bulletproof probably has to be his defining "mixed bag" film (there's probably a more appropriate term for it but that's where my head is at right now).  It doesn't inspire the sheer hatred of some of his later efforts but it's never really been a huge favorite of anyones either. It was an interesting career choice for him to do a buddy action film at that time but clearly, it wasn't a good path to take at the time. At this point, I'd take a handful of buddy cop Sandler films over shit like Jack and Jill and I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry. 

Quote:

Originally Posted by NickP 

still can't get past the part where Sandler goes down on Mann... but they don't have sex?  HUH.

I can't get past the part where you can't get past that. If you've got some rule book concerning a sequence of sexual activity that must be followed in precise order that I've somehow never read, please enlighten me.

On topic. When Adam Sandler is not working with a filmmaker I respect (Anderson, Apatow), he is more or less a non-entity in my world. 85% of this dude's filmography is outside of my experience, a complete mystery.

Can't stand this man.  Have never liked him or his films. 

Quote:

Originally Posted by JacknifeJohnny 

 

I can't get past the part where you can't get past that. If you've got some rule book concerning a sequence of sexual activity that must be followed in precise order that I've somehow never read, please enlighten me.

 

 

 

 

I just think it's funny.  Maybe I missed it or did she say  "hey, the girls are preoccupied, go down on me like you used too".  Her snatch must taste like French vanilla ice cream or something.   I mean, he at least got a BJ out of the deal, right?

FUNNY PEOPLE is my favorite Judd Apatow. It just works for me, and I love Sandler in it. I hope its poor box-office doesn't prevent him from taking chances again. My favorite Happy Madison Sandler is DON'T MESS WITH THE ZOHAN. As Beaks said on Twitter, Apatow and Smigel snuck one past him on that one.

I have never really liked Adam Sandler but appreciated his work on SNL. His films seemed awful to me it wasn't till The Wedding Singer where I started to actually like him.

The above 5 are the only films I have liked of his. Outside of that its just painful. Only watched half of Funny People. Need to see the rest some time.

Quote:

Originally Posted by NickP 

I just think it's funny.  Maybe I missed it or did she say  "hey, the girls are preoccupied, go down on me like you used too".  Her snatch must taste like French vanilla ice cream or something.   I mean, he at least got a BJ out of the deal, right?

 

I don't wish to derail any further, and I honestly don't know why I'm even responding, but if you really can't get any enjoyment out of giving head w/out like reciprocation, then I so don't fucking wanna be you at all.

AHAHAHAHAHA, Gabe and JJ, you guys are hilarious. I totally agree. The act can be fun in and of itself, ya know. It doesn't just have to be a means to getting something for yourself in return.

On topic. I had a big thing for Airheads (which I don't consider a Sandler movie) when I was younger. Not sure if I'd like it now, or even be able to watch it all the way through (probably not), but back in the day I watched it pretty much whenever it was on.

I love me some Airheads, but it's definitely not a Sandler movie.  He's like the 4th lead and 8th funniest performance at best.

Quote:

Originally Posted by JacknifeJohnny 

I don't wish to derail any further, and I honestly don't know why I'm even responding, but if you really can't get any enjoyment out of giving head w/out like reciprocation, then I so don't fucking wanna be you at all.

 

I'm very glad you love Sushi, Junior.  Just don't tell it to the gang in Jersey... 

South of the border, down tuna fish lane....

Quote:

Originally Posted by Schwartz 

I love me some Airheads, but it's definitely not a Sandler movie.  He's like the 4th lead and 8th funniest performance at best.

I'm going to have to revisit it, because just thinking about it today conjured up memories of some very specific scenes that I'm sure still totally play. Also, I have to thank Airheads for getting me into the Ramones and Motorhead when I was 15-16 years old.  

Quote:

Originally Posted by NickP 

I'm very glad you love Sushi, Junior.  Just don't tell it to the gang in Jersey... 

 

 

Oh, you're so COOL, Brewster.

Quote:

Originally Posted by JLassiter 

Oh, you're so COOL, Brewster.

But can you STAND it!

Little Nicky is redeemed by Quentin Tarantino's cameo as a blind preacher. "You make the lawd VERY NERVOUS!!" 

I listened to his comedy albums when I was in high school. They were decent enough with some really funny bits, but for the most part the jokes miss more than they hit.

I still need to see Funny People.  I'm not sure how I missed out on that one.

For the most part, I've never liked Sandler, but I'll own up to laughing out loud a lot watching Little Nicky.  It would figure that most Sandler fans I know despise that one, but think Click is a fantastic movie. 

Punch-Drunk Love, of course, is fantastic. 

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gabe T 

 

Not to mention, less oddball digressions like Rob Schneider as the livestock-eating freak who bellows "You can do it!" in "Waterboy," literally the only time I cracked a smile during that movie.

Yeah, the highlights of those films were weird shit that didn't fit in with the stupid, uninspired tone of the rest of them. The details that were actually clever or at least just bewilderingly daft, rather than unfunny in a boring way, like everything else. "Oddball digressions" is an accurate way to describe them.

Rob Schneider's delivery of those four words was one of the only two things he ever did that I found really funny. The other was his character's struggle to pronounce "hippopotamus" in "Big Daddy". Those are probably the two high points of his career. The other good thing "The Waterboy" had going for it was the fucked up Kathy Bates mother character, and the way she called everybody "the devil". She was actually a rather original creation and a good performance, so it felt like she belonged in another (better) movie.

I will admit I have extremely fond memories of Waterboy. 

Also I saw the tail end of 'Grown Ups' this weekend and it made me hate everything.