'Big Daddy' (1999)
A movie review by Walter Frith
wfrith@cgocable.net
Member of the ‘Online Film Critics Society' http://www.ofcs.org
Adam Sandler's movies are sort of like watching a performer on amateur night at your local comedy club. They serve a purpose (to make you laugh, although just barely), and you hope that the next time you see that particular comedic performer that he or she will be better. In fairness, Sandler has had some hysterically funny scenes recorded on film. The Sandler vs. Bob Barker bout in 'Happy Gilmore', Sandler singing in the shower to Damon Wayans in 'Bulletproof' and Sandler tackling a Colonel Sanders look alike in 'The Waterboy'. When I'm alone and reflect on the comedy films I've seen in the past few years, these moments always make me laugh out loud. Like other over rated comics such as Jim Carrey and Martin Short, Sandler gets under your skin after a while and I'm sure there will come a time when some people who support the work of these guys will protest the motion picture academy to create an Oscar category entitled "Best Performance By An Actor In A Silly Role".
'Big Daddy' will offend some people who cling to the idea of traditional family values and they will attack the film for setting a bad example for children and while I'm one of the biggest supporters of family values, this assumption would be wrong. The movie IS NOT about teaching the wrong values to impressionable children but rather one man making the mistake of under estimating their impressionable minds and redeeming himself by correcting the problem.
In 'Big Daddy', Sandler plays Sonny Kofaux, a man in his early thirties who has all the qualities of a generation x-er. He sleeps late, very late. He takes few things seriously in his life and doesn't quite understand just where it is he fits in. His apartment is a mess. He leaves potato chip bags and pop cans everywhere, never makes his bed and won't fix the broken window next to the front garage like door of his Manhattan apartment. Sonny won $200,000 from a jury in a civil case after a taxi cab ran over his feet and this accounts a lot for his laziness and he has a one day a week job as a toll booth collector. His girlfriend Vanessa (Kristy Swanson) wants a more serious guy and ditches him like Bill Murray's girlfriend did at the beginning of 'Stripes', accusing him of never being able to do anything more with his life than he's presently doing. Sonny's room mate Kevin (Jon Stewart) is a big time corporate honcho about to become a liaison executive for his company in China. After Stewart leaves, a little boy shows up at their front door with a note claiming to be Kevin's son. In Kevin's absence, Sonny assumes his identity and tries to raise the little five year old by himself with difficulty at first but later becomes attached to him and vice versa.
Sonny life is layered with some interesting characters. There is Kevin's fiancée Corinne (Leslie Mann), Corinne's sister Layla (Joey Lauren Adams) who develops a romantic relationship with Sonny. A foreign delivery man who speaks broken English and who befriends Sonny (Rob Schneider). A totally uproarious performance by Steve Buscemi as a homeless guy who likes McDonald's food and Sonny's dad who's a hot shot lawyer and wants his son to follow in his footsteps (Joseph Bologna).
I never lie and I have to admit that strangely, I enjoyed 'Big Daddy'. I liked it because there are many characters who hold their own with Sandler and actually upstage him on many occasions, especially the Sprouse twins (Cole and Dylan) who play the five year old boy named Julian at the center of the film's story line and emotional core who simply steals hearts. And the other supporting characters save this film from being a total comedic misfire. As you're watching the courtroom climax scene, it is definitely silly and plays like camp comedy but since this is the intention, it works!
'Big Daddy' is written by Steve Franks, Tim Herlihy and Adam Sandler and is directed by Dennis Dugan and Sandler is one of the executive producers and doesn't look as if he wants total control over the film this time and gives the entire cast a fair shake and by violating the first rule of show business that states you should never follow the act of animals or children, Sandler mixes the innocence of the latter with his own roadhouse humour and comes up with a mildly pleasing winner.
OUT OF 5 > * * * 1/2
Visit FILM FOLLOW-UP by Walter Frith http://www.cgocable.net/~wfrith/movies.htm
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