BIG DADDY Reviewed by Jamie Peck
Rating: *** (out of four) TriStar / 1:34 / 1999 / PG-13 (language, crude humor) Cast: Adam Sandler; Cole & Dylan Sprouse; Joey Lauren Adams; Leslie Mann; Allen Covert; Peter Dante; Kristy Swanson; Jon Stewart; Rob Schneider; Steve Buscemi; Joseph Bologna Director: Dennis Dugan Screenplay: Steve Franks; Tim Herlihy; Adam Sandler
Late in the new Adam Sandler vehicle "Big Daddy," a character makes the observation that "Most critics are cynical a--holes." The line is played for a laugh, coming straight from the mouth of an adorable little boy, but given that Sandler co-wrote "Big Daddy"'s screenplay (with Steve Franks and frequent collaborator Tim Herlihy), perhaps it suggests some pointed hidden meaning. See, critics have never really been all that kind to Sandler, an ex-"Saturday Night Live" cast member whose constantly soaring popularity at the box office seems to be inversely related to their consistently declining opinion of his films.
But lo and behold: "Big Daddy" rates pretty good as a comedy and better as a Sandler opus - a silly, sappy concoction that, yes, probably only cynical a--holes will be able to out-and-out resist. Sandler tones his patented obnoxiousness down in favor of appealing to what could be his largest audience yet, meanwhile eliminating a lot of the irritating elements from past cinematic ventures. There's no smug inanity like in "Billy Madison." No fingernails-on-the-blackboard baby-voice like in "The Waterboy." No sugary sentiment like in "The Wedding Singer" - until an overwrought send-off piles it on thick, that is. But for the most part, "Big Daddy" taps Sandler highs unheard of since the randy golf farce "Happy Gilmore."
Sandler stars here as immature New York law school grad Sonny Koufax, but before you begin to ponder the notion of Sandler respectfully addressing a judge, please note that the guy lives off a huge insurance settlement from a taxi mishap and entertains himself by tossing tree branches in front of Central Park rollerbladers. All typical Sandler hijinks. It's an atypical Sandler plot revelation, though, when the abrasive actor grows a heart after taking an abandoned five-year-old (Cole and Dylan Sprouse) under his wing. The kid is not his son, but Sonny conveniently uses him to falsely flaunt fatherhood-esque responsibility in front of his frazzled girlfriend (Kristy Swanson).
Alas, a reconciliation ain't in the cards. She, sick of his man-child ways (maybe she's seen his movies), leaves him for a beard-and cardigan-sporting grandpa-type, and even he agrees that Sandler suffers from lack of ambition. "Hey, Old Man River," Sonny retorts. "Zip it." Too late. The "Austin Powers" sequel beat "Big Daddy" to that punchline and racks up a more solid laugh quotient, but the plights of Sonny's so-called parenting evokes hefty yucks and yuks nonetheless. Let's just say that Dr. Spock he's not - Sonny's answer to every problem is newspaper, helpful for the absorption of spilled milk, wet beds and vomit. Yes, Virginia, bodily fluids and Sandler shtick still go together hand-in-hand.
But in "Big Daddy," the creative mind seems to be maturing - slowly but surely - even as it panders to lowbrow tastes. When two of Sonny's college buds (Allen Covert and Peter Dante) are introduced as gay lovers with a sudden liplock, the stage is set for homophobic humor which thankfully never arrives, using the pair to instead make light of public discomfort with same-sex affection. Elsewhere, Sandler's frat-boy sensibilities come into focus, especially in the portrayal of a dopey Eastern European delivery guy (fellow "SNL" alum Rob Schneider) who pals around with Sonny. Forget that Jar Jar Binks. Schneider makes for the season's most potentially offensive ethnic stereotyping.
"I keep hoping the kid'll change him," bemoaned a viewer to her companion after the umpteenth instance of Sonny's bad influence rubbing off on the tyke. Duh. Sandler's guaranteed reformation is strictly been-there, done-that as a story arc, so credit must be given to a colorful supporting ensemble for providing ample distraction - some of whom you might be surprised to find in a Sandler flick. They include glib Jon Stewart as Sonny's roommate, sweet Joey Lauren Adams as Sonny's new squeeze and witchy Leslie Mann as Sonny's longtime adversary. Those Sprouse brothers are promising as well. Let's hope they pass on the impending sitcom and home video deals.
Sandler, too, stays on par with his castmates until "Big Daddy"'s climactic courtroom trial sequence, which, in a Sandler film, feels as out of place as ... a climactic courtroom trial sequence. Here, our leading goofball sticks out like a sore thumb, his snarling-jester exterior shredded so that tears can run down his cheeks, his charged speechifying allegedly exposing vulnerability and emotion but delivered in a hurried monotone perhaps indicative of his own disbelief at the turn taken by his own script. Drama may never be Sandler's bag, which is why his movies are what they are so far. Following suit, "Big Daddy" won't melt your heart, but - when it steers clear of gavels and grovels - it'll tickle your funny bone.
© 1999 Jamie Peck E-mail: jpeck1@gl.umbc.edu Visit The Reel Deal Online: http://www.gl.umbc.edu/~jpeck1/ "Here it is at last, the first 150-minute trailer. ‘Armageddon' is cut together like its own highlights. Take almost any 30 seconds at random, and you'd have a TV ad. The movie is an assault on the eyes, the ears, the brain, common sense and the human desire to be entertained. No matter what they're charging to get in, it's worth more to get out." -Roger Ebert on "Armageddon"
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