The rise and fall of Adam Sandler

Adam Sandler is definitely an enigmatic Hollywood actor. To quote Nick Swardson, "he busts his ass" making several films in a decade and spitting out new ideas like crazy. But are all his ideas good? Woody Allen, another prolific filmmaker, spits out several films in a small period of time, and sometimes two in one year. I really enjoyed his 2009 comedy Whatever Works, but found his mall-drama with high potential Scenes from a Mall to be very pictorial and boring. It all depends on what he chooses to pursue.

Same goes with Sandler. When asked my favorite Sandler film, I say Funny People. I've never seen an Adam Sandler comedy rise above the level of mediocrity. A quick glance once more at his Filmography, and I still can't find one comedy film I truly liked by him. Funny People was different. It was a joyous work of drama from two actors known for their very goofy roles. Sandler was convincing, Seth Rogen was fantastic, and Leslie Mann did amazing.

When it comes to Sandler's comedies, the ones done in the nineties are always the first to get praised. Let's inspect them. This might be difficult because I have seen very few of them. His first film was in 1989, made for dirt money called Going Overboard. Ironically, it earns a very special place on the IMDB Bottom 100 and is cited by many as "one of the worst films of all time." It has a checkered history in its development stages and I'd rather not ridicule an already mocked film.



The first film that really got Sandler public attention was Billy Madison. This was during the time Sandler was a regular on SNL so it was fair to expect that he'd get his own film soon enough. I've only seen clips of this, and from what I saw, it was actually somewhat amusing. Good? I don't know if I'd go that far, but funny, yes. Another famous one is Happy Gilmore, his first film where he worked with Director Dennis Dugan, who he'd collaborate much more with in his future career (which is where the "and fall" comes in) and is often cited as one of his funniest films. Too came The Wedding Singer, The Waterboy, and Big Daddy. In 1999, after Big Daddy, he funded his own production company titled "Happy Madison" where he'd start making his own line of comedy films, some featuring him, some not. What lay in store was an awfully bumpy road with minimal rest stops

By now, it's the beginning of a new century. It's 2000 and Sandler has already made a pretty big name for himself. Sandler went on with the dopey comedies, one of which is the highly audience acclaimed Mr. Deeds, but many others were of a different breed. They were Adam Sandler's Dramas. He didn't do a lot, but he did enough to clarify that he could and would if the script and pay was right. His first experience with drama was Punch-Drunk Love, which has been called "one of my favorite films" by the amazing writer Judd Apatow. I might even give that one a whirl faster than I thought. He also put effort into Spanglish and Reign Over Me. I watched Reign Over Me, and I was surprised at how well Sandler and Don Cheadle worked together. The story was gripping, Sandler was very good, and the whole chemistry between the two was memorable. This was a good Adam Sandler movie. It would remain my favorite Sandler film until I saw Funny People a few years later.



For the comedy in the 2000's Sandler delivered to his audience, it was hit or miss. His 2006 film Click was actually one of his better movies. Click's premise was intriguing, and very memorable, but Sandler brought little memorable schtick to the table. It was also a real big kick in the crotch when the end "twist" was revealed and the film managed to trick your tear-ducts for nothing. It was a balanced movie that packed little wit, but it worked overtime in the satisfaction and pleasing field. You wish you had a remote like that. And frankly, I'm sure Sandler and his crew does too.

Here's where the fall starts to come. After working very hectically with Happy Madison Productions and producing numerous comedy films, Sandler reunited with Dennis Dugan to work on some more films. His first would be the lukewarm comedy I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry. Was it funny? Sort of. But it would later go on to be hilarious compared to what Sandler and Dugan had in store. The next piece of work would be in 2007 with You Don't Mess with the Zohan, a film without humor and wit. It got laughs, but none of which for good reasons. Sandler's "Zohan" character was strange and at no point did the film feel sincere.



Next up was Grown Ups which would prove to be mediocrity at its finest. At first glance, it's not a bad film, but with the talent involved and the measly laughs that were provided, it's easily a forgettable film. Rumor has it that Kevin James' part was originally written for Chris Farley back in the nineties. I believe it because Sandler, Farley, Spade, Schneider, and Rock were all part of SNL and it would only be logic that they'd want to do one big film together. The laughs were few and far between, and often it seemed the men's wives delivered the most laughs.

Dugan was behind the camera with Sandler twice in 2011 to deliver some of Sandler's most unforgivable features. Take Just Go With It for example. This currently ranks, for me, as the worst Adam Sandler film. The plot isn't funny, and in order for it to work you'd need passable chemistry and a solid script. Maybe the story had both when it was the French play. Here, with Jennifer Aniston and Adam Sandler it's not funny as much as it is sad. We the audience watch in awe as Sandler treats his friends like crap and his co-worker's kids like meat all for very few laughs and for Sandler's well being. Just Go With It will easily be a high contender on my worst films of 2011.


Does this look like a movie you want to see?

The latest Sandler/Dugan comedy could very well be the worst film on everyone who was part of the film's career. The film was Jack & Jill and it was universally panned by critics and audience members alike. The film was about Sandler's character Jack being tormented by his sister, also played by Sandler, named Jill who comes over to spend time with the family for the holiday. The idea of Sandler dressing up in drag is a desperately unfunny idea and it proves that Sandler no longer cares how his audience responds to his films. He knows that you'll see it regardless of it being bad or good.

Despite the horrendous reviews and zero appeal in the concept, the film has a number of cameos I'd be interested in seeing. Chris Farley's brother John, Regis Philbin, Shaq, Dana Carvey (in his first theatrical film since, I believe, The Master of Disguise), and Al Pacino. It horrifies me to see what Sandler will do next seeing as he seemed totally committed to doing Jack & Jill.


This any better?

Also in 2011, Sandler co-wrote a film called Bucky Larson: Born to Be a Star which went on to be another mockery in 2011. The film was marketed to hell with trailers appearing constantly, but because of the ridiculous concept the film didn't even crack the top ten in the box office. Nick Swardson, who played Bucky Larson, said "critics wanted to hate the film." Seems like a poor excuse for the 0% on Rotten Tomatoes seeing as the filmmakers didn't even screen the film for critics.

But I'm getting ahead of myself. I just wanted to give people a little rehash of what Sandler has handed his audience and the studio for the last couple decades. Is he a bad person? I don't think so. Does he make bad movies? Plenty. If I could deliver one piece of advice to the man himself it would be this; it doesn't matter how prolific and hard you work, your movie might still suck.