Welcome to what will become a regular feature on the blog. In these posts, I will discuss an actor, their oeuvre of film and what makes them ultimately work or not work as a box office draw.
When he burst onto the national scene via Remote Control in 1987 as a 21 year old, Adam Sandler spent his time playing a young man consumed with adolescent tendencies. As he moved onto a highly successful Saturday Night Live run he made his name playing characters consumed with adolescent tendencies. When he made the inevitable jump to movie he began playing characters in films that were stunted man boys consumed by their adolescent tendencies. It is a well he continues to go to over and over and it has made him, his producing partners, movies studios, and his friends a ton of money. At some point though people expected a law of diminishing returns which for the most part he avoided. However, his past few films have shown some chinks in his armor and the box office receipts for his most recent films have dwindled quite a bit. So the question is: Why aren't his familiar characters and tendencies working anymore? People could blame it on the comedy landscape evolving or his main fanbase growing up and not identifying with him anymore, but I think his problems run deeper than that. Quite simply- he has forgotten what made some of his earlier characters so memorable. Let's go back to the beginning and focus on his manboy characters and see why certain films work- and why others don't.
Billy Madison (1995)
Sandler plays Billy- a grown man that has always lived off his father and has never had to grow up. His life is consumed by lounging around with his friends and looking at nudie magazines. When his father decides to give up his company and leave it to a sinister employee named Derek, Billy has to go back to school and complete grades K-12 again and earn his father's trust. It is a silly premise for a movie but in the film we get a good glimpse of what works and what doesn't work in Sandler films. His Billy speaks with a lisp of sorts and his manner of acting can be extremely grating. As he gains interest in his third grade teacher though he tries to legitimately make himself better as a person and focuses on pulling good grades. His friendship with young Ernie is where the teacher starts to look at his differently and it grounds the Billy character for the rest of the film after being completely off the rails for the first part. He may be rough around the edges and have odd social skills but he is capable of being a good guy and understands how to stand up for other people. The second half of the film really starts to click together and shows flashes of what would make Sandler movies so fun for the next few years.
Happy Gilmore (1996)
Again a family issue drives Sandler's character into action. This time though he forgoes the accent and just focuses on working his character's motivations throughout. His issue here is more anger driven and it makes for a more enjoyable movie. He isn't acting the way he is because he is trying to not grow up. He is acting that way because his anger forces him to act irrationally. In the end, he isn't a completely new guy, but rather a guy who can smooth his rough edges enough to support and show compassion for those he loves. The big piece here is his fight with Bob Barker- which ultimately leads to another issue where Sandler goes wrong anymore but this film is arguably the best version of the common character he plays.
The Wedding Singer (1998)
A different spin on his character as he is not driven into action by his own actions, but rather by the actions of someone else. When his wife leaves him on their wedding day he falls into deep depression and begins trying to deconstruct the idea of weddings even as he is falling for the waitress character by Drew Barrymore. (Who is beyond adorable in this film). A lot of the credit can be given to director Frank Corci who grounds much of this film in reality which prevents Sandler's wedding singer character from blasting into orbit. Even when he is acting bizarre everything around him pulls the film back to Earth. Even when he is at his lowest though, Sandler's character is a likable guy because he knows how to keep the party going even when he is dying inside. He has his one outburst in the film but after that he buries himself in trying to pull through for Barrymore. His character knows what to say and when to say it. He is the inspirer rather than the one in need of inspiring. This was the first film where Sandler played a likable character from the start and as a viewer you were into his whole story. He actually comes off as a fully fleshed character and you can see why Barrymore's character is so drawn to him instead of her fiancee.
The Waterboy (1998)
This may be controversial to some but while The Waterboy has plenty of funny lines, it is not a really good movie. This is Sandler at his worst. He plays Bobby Boucher which is basically the stunted character with a lisp. It is supposed to be inherently funny when he acts out and talks the way he does, but it isn't. After a while it gets tiresome seeing him just get angry and bumrush people on the field, and there is really very little to like about his character. Overall though I do find the movie funny, but more for the supporting performances in the film. Take Sandler out and this is probably a better movie. That was the first time where you could say that about him.
Big Daddy (1999)
Again we go back to, SAndler needing to pull himself together for someone else. What stands out in this film are the shifts between crude humor and the sentimental relationship between him and the Sprouse twins. Often it works, but it is jarring watching the film jump back and forth. There are running gags that don't work (the Hooters jokes) but again- you have a film where Sandler can be very likable. It is as if though he didn't want to commit fully to that role like he did in Wedding Singer and instead insisted on keeping some of his same tendencies. Notable to me is the end where Sandler has to act in the courtroom scenes and acquits himself very well.
Little Nicky (2000)
This is the doldrums of Sandler in his early career. He puts on a weird accent and ties that to a bizarre and ultimately unlikable character. Here he isn't even a grown man with young characteristics. He is just a child basically going through the motions. I remember seeing this film in theaters and just leaving with a cold feeling because nothing was overly funny throughout. Half the time it was hard to understand what his character was even saying. That makes it a 90 minute slog.
Mr. Deeds (2001)
I know many critics hated this film but I think it was a welcome return after the mess that was Little Nicky. He character is a mix between the good parts of Happy Gilmore and the bad parts of Little Nicky. He acts silly towards others and too often just lashes out against others for no real apparent reason. His greeting card angle doesn't even really work either because the rhymes he comes up with aren't sweet enough to work or show that underneath there is a decent guy waiting to get out. He just looks like a guy that is lucky to get by in life because he bullies others into his way of thinking. Also, his chemistry with Winona Ryder is almost non-existant which hurts the romantic angle they are going for the whole time. With Wedding Singer you can see why Barrymore falls for him, here- it makes little to no sense. In fact, Ryder's character is just as bad and they accentuate the bad tendencies in each other.
Eight Crazy Nights (2002)
Basically an animated version of his normal character but the animated nature of the film helps support the craziness rather than detract from it. What helps is that his meanness is being played most of the time against two older characters both voiced by Sandler. It still looks mean but it is balanced by the fact that the older couple blows off most of what he says and plows forward. The town sees a jerk but they try to look past that even when they shouldn't. It doesn't always work, and it is brief but it has moments of humor.
50 First Dates (2004)
A completely different feel for a Sandler film as he is not the driving force of the plot. Here it is Barrymore's character and her inability to keep memories for more than 24 hours forcing them to date over and over again for the first time. What works here is that Sandler leaves behind the rough edges of his normal character and he focuses on his warmer side. It makes this film incredibly enjoyable as he is more concerned with helping others than engaging in his adolescent side. It actually showed a ton of growth on his part.
Click (2006)
This film didn't really resonate with me when I saw it. It borrows shamelessly from other, better films and Sandler's character is such a mess in this film. You are supposed to watch the film and identify with Sandler's character as he is missing the beauty of his life and instead focusing on what he shouldn't be concerned with. In the end though, nothing connects and Sandler just ends up being unlikable and more importantly- unfunny.
I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry (2007)
Again Sandler concedes the pulse of the film to a co-star and it doesn't work as effectively. Mainly because, Sandler's character is so prevalent in the edges. He knows he is helping out a friend in a tough spot but doesn't seem to care all that much and proceeds in his normal manner. This changes the theme of his earlier films where his motivation is helping others. Here it sort of is, but he never commits to it. The film has moments of hilarity but this would've worked better without Sandler in his role or had it focused more on James' character. That is rare for a Sandler film.
You Don't Mess with the Zohan (2008)
Continuing with the previous films addressing of current events issues, Sandler here tackles politics and the Israeli-Palestenian conflict. Yes, that is odd for a Sandler film. This film relies on sight gags over and over and the plot takes way too long to kick in. For the first half of the film it is about Zohan and his rival but then there is a mall developer and his evil plot that comes out of left field in the last 30 minutes. The redneck piece is horrific and the accent Sandler uses is bizarre in every way imaginable. It is a film that wears you down though because it throws everything at the wall just to see what will stick. Looking back- this feels like a last gasp for Sandler films.
Grown Ups (2010)
Not a good film in any way and it should've been. Here is where we start running into problems with Sandler films. He overstuffed this with his buddies and instead of forcing him to act against someone challenging him, he is allowed to indulge in all the worst attributes of his character. It is a string of set pieces with a loose story piecing it all together. There is way too much talent in this film to waste and they wasted it in every way possible.
Just Go With It (2011)
Without Jennifer Aniston this movie probably falls flat. Sandler is a weird character in this film again. It starts promising with a similar premise to his Wedding Singer character but then it goes to the complete opposite end of the spectrum as he treats his assistant horribly only to ultimately fall for her. She falls for him but it is unclear why. On top of that he spends a majority of the film fawning over Brooklyn Decker- who while attractive has zero acting ability. Also, here we start getting into stunt casting and cameos which would become a problem later on.
Jack and Jill (2011)
Horrendous film. Neither twin is likable and Al Pacino is slumming it here badly. It takes the worst of all his previous films and amplifies them here. On top of that, he engages in a horrible lisp for the sister character and drags this film to a crawl throughout.
That's My Boy (2012)
The second straight film of Sandler's to basically tank at the box office and it isn't hard to see why. Cameos abound and the film is full of people that serve no purpose other than "Hey look at who is playing that role." The main character is a jerk at every turn and his "reversal" is one of the most unbelievable ones in film. Mainly because, he doesn't really turn but rather his son becomes more like him which just looks dumb because he just watched his dad ruin every aspect of his life for years. On top of that, the story takes some bizarre turns here and the accent Sandler employs detracts at every turn from the film. It has a 30 minute stretch that is a ton of fun but in a 100 minute film- that is a horrible average.
Let's recap the Sandler catalog discussed here and I will present some ranking of the films in my eyes. The top films would be where I think Sandler works in films and where he doesn't. From worst to first:
16. Jack and Jill
15. Grown Ups
14. Little Nicky
13. Click
12. That's My Boy
11. Just Go With It
10. Mr. Deeds
9. I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry
8. The Waterboy
7. You Don't Mess with the Zohan
6. Billy Madison
5. Eight Crazy Nights
4. Big Daddy
3. Happy Gilmore
2. 50 First Dates
1. The Wedding Singer
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