THE REAL ADAM SANDLER ALWAYS STOOD UP (Patreon)

I’ve always felt a bit like a Sandler fan adjacent.

I mean, I was there right at ground zero. Because I was still in middle school when Sandler’s first comedy album “They’re All Gonna Laugh At You” came out and I vividly remember an entire room full of boys just HOWLING with laughter as we all huddled around listening. But from that point on, I always felt I was laughing alongside them. It’s not that I didn’t find him amusing. It’s just that were kids who were OBSESSED with those Sandler bits. Those same kids became the teens who were similarly obsessed with his early movies like Billy Madison and Happy Gilmore. It wasn’t just boys, either. There were just these entire packs of roving teens going to the movie theater for whatever was Sandler’s latest movie. At times there were genuinely, like 30 of us? It became a whole social language that I could help but feel like I was a part of. But it comes with this admission that Sandler’s films were never like this defining for me the way I knew they were for others. But I think having that affinity with a little separation has provided a good way of watching his career unfold.

Because I feel like some critics keep trying to define Sandler in completely the wrong way.

Let’s start with this: one of the popular narratives is that Sandler started his career by making films for middle schoolers, then took a few shots at “serious acting,” before slinking away to make films of worse and worse quality, then finally reemerging as a serious actor again with Uncut Gems. But this ignores the fact that this back-and-forth has happened throughout his entire damn career. I remember the hooplah of when he showed genuine promise as a “romantic leading man” inThe Wedding Singer then people immediately argued The Waterboy was a huge step backward. And when people went for first shot at arthouse fare with Punch Drunk Love, they forget that same year had his lowbrow remake of Mr. Deeds. But he didn’t slink away after that either. People forget he took more attempts at serious fare with James L. Brooks’ Spanglish and Mike Binder’s Reign Over Me. Then again, when people were writing him off for Click and I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry, he was taking another semi-serious stab with Funny People (which is a fascinating meta-look at his career). But surely we can say that he was giving up when he was sliding into the nadir of the Grown Up series, Jack and Jill, and Pixels! Yeah, those movies are probably the laziest, but people forget that in that in that time he took another few stabs at drama with Jason Reitmans Men, Women and Children and Tom McCarthy’s The Cobbler.

He’s always been trying. Which leads to the realization that the only problem with those these serious attempts with solid filmmakers is that they just didn’t happen to work. And even when they did, they didn’t get a lot of notice. For example, right when he took that giant Netflix contract and started pumping out misguided efforts like the The Do-Over and Ridiculous Six, he also stared in / helped get The Meyerwitz Stories made (and he’s legitimately good in it). It’s all a part of how people keep forgetting / ignoring / not noticing the weird breadth of his career. Just as people forget he actually tried a standard Hollywood action comedy in 1996’s Bulletproof. Just as they likely didn’t see Sandy Wexler, which was a weirdly sweet tribute / roast of his long-time manager. Just as people see his new special and go “Oh wow, Adam Sandler is funny again!” But that’s not it. The problem is that people keep lending some kind of narrative to something that absolutely doesn’t have a narrative.

Because Sandler’s career has been a constant crap shoot.

But that’s when it’s important to understand who Adam Sandler is as person. Because metaphorically speaking, he likes shooting craps. At least he likes doing it from a comfortable place. To wit, he uses his Happy Madison company to keep his long-time friends gainfully employed. He likes making movies in a solid budget range so that crews and producers get paid. He always seems to find spots for people he thinks are funny. From industry chatter, I can tell you that crews tend to like working on his productions. Not just because he turns them into fun location-based vacations, but because he frequently hosts parties for the cast and crew almost every weekend throughout production (I’m pretty sure the frequent party jokes in Tropic Thunder are absolutely about Sandler movies). Honestly, it seems the biggest problem is when crews get upset with the constant delays because Sandler and his friend leads are playing pick-up basketball. Which means it’s no accident that his films, onscreen and off, have always had big “playground energy.” I mean, does this mean they ill they come out good? Probably not. But it’s results in a crapshoot where some are better than others. Even then, mileage my vary.

The same is true when it comes to his serious acting attempts, mostly because they are rarely some calculated career move. It’s always when Sandler just likes the vibe of the story / character and goes “yeah, sure what the fuck.” He just doesn’t have that ambitious gene. Even when he starts getting accolades, it’s impossible for Sandler to take himself seriously (witness his near perfect Independent Spirit awards speech). As you can kind of glean from this, Sandler’s not really coming at any of these serious stories from a place of thematic drive or wanting to “say things.” And he certainly doesn’t want to say them in public political sense. Part of this makes even more sense when you know he’s technically registered republican, who even performed in 2004 RNC convention. But it all feels conservative in that libertarian, opportunistic, non-idealogical kind of way (I regret to inform you that more celebrities are like that than you imagine in that they are rich and like staying rich). But honestly, I don’t get the sense he much cares for the difference.

At their worst, his broad comedy films represent that complete ambivalence, along with a socially-conservative hetero-normative streak. Because so often they reek of those most tired of tropes, where wives are nags, families are nooses of responsiblity, and bullying is a sign or power-grabbing or supposed-affection (often at once). More over, the ableism is almost jaw-dropping this day in age, for everything that is seemingly “weird” about a person is a complete cause for panic or other-ing. Even at it’s supposed heart, the core love language of friends and family is kind of an unspeakable meanness. Which is precisely why the films where Sandler plays the generic “every dad” strike me as the most cynical efforts he puts out. Yes, I’m thinking of the Grown Ups films in particular (if you’ve never listened to The Worst Idea of All Time, it’s one of my favorite podcasts on the planet. I cannot recommend it more highly). I feel like the man-child plays more subtly insidious the more it’s purported to reflect a kind of normal reality. Which is probably why the films were Sandler plays a goofy idiot who is the main object of ridicule are simultaneously the most gentle and empathetic of his broad comedy offerings, but understandably, also the ones filled with the most overt problematic nonsense.

Within all of this, there is also the sheer fact that Sandler’s broad comedy efforts are filled with insanely talented performers who, like Sandler, are happy to take a paycheck and shoot from the hip. Couple this with the fact that the same movies don’t necessarily have ill-intentions and likely engaging in some un-complicated hijinks? Then factor in that the they’re firing joke after joke after joke without much concern for rhythm or coherence? The inevitable result is that some of those jokes are going to land… and they are going to land hard.

The reality of all of this hit me last night because I sat down to watch his latest Netflix effort, Hubie Halloween, which is sort of emblematic of everything I’ve discussed so far.

To wit, Hubie is a trademark bumbling idiot who exists to keep the town safe from halloween, I guess? It doesn’t matter much. The movie’s baseline reality is much like the main character’s magical thermos gadget, in that it’s utterly content to not make much sense. Thus, to criticize the film for being slapdash, rudderless, having a sagging middle, and doing that thing where it cuts too fast and yet leave in entire unnecessary sequences is to misunderstand that this is all part of the actual language of these films. Heck, we’ve seen enough Sandler to expect these things. The real factor in determining their quality is a simple question:

“How mean and uncaring are things going to get?”

Like I said before, the problem with Grown Ups films is they depict a world where everyone feels like a lazy target in the worst possible way. But here, Hubie is at least aiming for sweeter forms of conflict and catharsis. For instance, the best choice of the bunch is how love interest Julie Bowen ends up being a bit of a weirdo, too. Couple this with the genuinely nice, non-panicking sequences of her teenager dating and Hubie saying nice things like giving a “head start in the name of romance,” and I have to tell you these are downright progressive portrayals in comparison to his prior efforts. The film even offers joys more that are more personal, like how it shoots Salem, Massachusetts in genuinely glowing way! Often using real life locations I know so well, like the lighthouse!.

But the real thing that hit me is how many more gut laughs I got out of this one in comparison to other efforts. I even kept track of them! There’s when the kids first start throwing shit, the bike stunts, his mom’s t-shirts, the second Harley Quinn reveal (I wish they didn’t say anything on the third), the delay on the radio gag, a few of the pratfalls, the bears throwing stuff, the BLT lady-and-the-tramping gag, and George Wallace playing the mayor who is dressed up as the mayor from Jaws. Which reminds me how often the reward of these films comes when one of the guest stars actually succeeds with their given “crap shoot.”

Because there’s joy in seeing Ray Liotta speaking Italian to his grieving mother. Or watching Tim Meadows and Maya Rudolph play every ridiculous joke straight. Or watching June Squibb exhibit gentle resignation when saying, “No, I’m probably going to hell, Hubie” or “Hubie’s smart, has nice hair, and sex hope.”And dammit if Buscemi isn’t always just the best sport in these things (especially when it isn’t going to work). And every time there’s always some new young performer, probably-from-Disney-channel actor that Sandler’s real life kids like, who then gets a surprising amount of screen time. I’m always like, “Wait, who is that kid? They got chops.” And this time it’s Karan Brar, who plays the prankish young Indian teenage that Hubie works with in the deli.

But remarking on the quality of his co-stars always leaves me with quick, but inevitable side note. Which is that I can’t help but feel for Kevin James in some way… because every time I see him, I can’t help but think how much funnier every single one of these roles would be with the great Chris Farley. Hell, Sandler has basically admitted to this. Farley was one of those people who make ANYTHING funny and weirdly human and vulnerable. I swear, Sandler’s broad comedic career would be 34% more functional with Farley still in his orbit. Which makes it feel all the more strange that James keeps getting saddled with the most objectionable, blow-hard, and mean-spirited characters of the bunch… it’s like, what’s all that about? Because the analytical mind races…

Anyway! The thing I like most about this particular film is that Sandler is now in his mid-50’s but is still giving it his all as a goofy idiot. I honestly get why it would be so easy to see this tired old hat from an old man who should long be past it, but Sandler’s ENTIRE thing is that he never got past it. And what always gets lost in the discussion is that Sandler LIKES these movies he’s make. And undoubtedly kids like them, too. We keep ignoring that few other actors put themselves on stage for them quite like Sandler does. Who else is engineering scenes where an entire cafeteria full of kids is going to pelt him with food? He doesn’t mind being the butt of a joke, as long as it’s their joke. In a high-stake cinematic world, Sandler seems to be one of the few genuinely remembering what it feels like to be ages 11 to 13. And what it is they want.

This, of course, comes with double edged sword.

The first thing is that it sucks to actually sucks to be 11-13 in a toxic masculine culture. And often, they want crappy things. Luckily, we’re seeing more and more pieces of media that actually unpack that toxicity and provide better solutions to age-old cultural problems. The problem is that Sandler is from the era before. Which means he’s still portraying that masculine world I grew up with where “making fun of each other” is a love language and no one will ever, ever go to therapy. Which is why this is often the same world where trite aphorisms like “live every moment and love every day” paint an unearned bow on the chaotic proceedings. But what’s not discussed is that even though every Sandler film has embodied this 11-13 year old toxic culture, sometimes that embodiment is sensitive to the culture in a way that may not seem obvious.

Because every single one of these films tends to portrays a world where every character actually has a raw nerve, which is often available for them to see. You remember that Mulaney stand-up bit about 13 year olds are completely terrifying? “They will make fun of you, but in accurate way. they will get to the thing that you don’t like about you.” I cannot tell you many other broad comedies movies do not get at this sensibility. Sure, they might be mean, but often in a way that extends outward from the protagonist (or solely inward). In short, they aren’t vibing with the dog-eat-dog free for all that is middle school social terror. Which comes with a realization: Sandler movies actually reflect the world of how middle schoolers actual feel on a day to day basis. And at the same time, are one of the few that understand the unhinged, goofy solutions of relieving that specific brand of youthful tension.

It is just one the many contradictions that rest at the heart of Sandler’s work. Like the fact that for all the misguided attempts, I don’t think he’s ever purposefully been cynical. At his worst, it just comes out lazy, reductive, and mean. And at his best, it represents a kind of benign inanity with some moments of gut-laugh transcendence. It’s all part of the crap shoot. An endless series of attempts at things that work and don’t work to endless varying degrees. But it’s always been this. I know there are people who keep wrestling with this identity and want him to evolve, but the real Adam Sandler has always stood before us. And he will keep standing like this. This is the narrative. The only real thing to do is avoid it / rightfully criticize it (because they are understandably / rightfully unwatchable / objectionable / completely other-ing to some) or to accept it's inherent contradictions. Which is honestly something that is reflected in the way so many people consume these films with that understanding. For example, I mentioned I’d watch Hubie and a twitter follower @bigtotoro put it perfectly: “Have a 10yo who is looking forward to it and so am I. A C- film, pizza delivery, and a handful of laughs sound like heaven in 2020.”

This portrait is the very essence of all of his comedy's ecosystem. And it’s why seeing Sandler always brings me right back to room of middle school boys who are howling with laughter. Sure, I moved on. And sure I was only there adjacently. But I was there. And I remember the era of my life where raw nerves spilling out in every direction. But the whole thing is that Sandler offered both relief FROM and reenforcement OF that reductively cruel young teenage world. And unlike so many others, he’s he’s still committed to being with kids in that space. And for better AND worse, I don’t think there’s a comedian on the planet that has instinctively understood that space so well.

<3HULK