Well folks, it seems that the ol evil genius, has been to a therapist resulting in a rave review for Adam Sandler's latest film. This strikes hard for those in the world (an unspoken mass of beings) that would wish Sandler's career would take a U-Turn back to the land of TV, but apparently BIG DADDY is predicted (and remember this guy has a time machine) to be Sandler's biggest hit yet. Well.. you know how it is... I'm sure his therapist gave him some lithium tablets resulting in hallucinations that featured his arch enemy as his personal car-boy. I edited out the part about the car-boy's diaper and drooling condition because... well it was an ugly hallucination... What some would call... a bad trip, Moriarty thinks is a pleasure cruise... So tread softly upon his tender lobes my friends... And remember... he ain't foolin'
Hey, Head Geek...
"Moriarty" here.
Well, where do I begin? I was having a typical morning today -- working on my Evil Master Plan To Rule The World, monitoring the global news sources, enjoying a light gnosh -- when one of my henchmen did something stupid. I don't even remember what it was, which makes me feel worse, considering I had him neutered and sewed his major orifices closed. Seems a little harsh now. I tried to calm down over lunch, and afterwards, several of the henchmen came to see me and suggest maybe I should talk to someone about my anger issues. Since I could practically smell the fear on them, I agreed.
I'm not going to go into details about the conversation I had with my new therapist, but I will say that we touched on several issues. After all, you don't get to be an Evil Genius without a little baggage. In particular, there are unresolved family things that were kicking around. Oddly, all of this began because I was suprisingly affected by a film I saw last night that does a wonderful job of touching on the definition of "family."
I've been getting more brazen lately, and this time, I actually hypnotized Joe Farrell himself into driving me to Falbrook to see Adam Sandler's new film BIG DADDY. He walked me in and got me early seats. In short, he's been subjugated completely to my will, and won't be trying any monkey business with AICN or this particular spy again any time soon. I wasn't really dying to see the Sandler film. I was doing it more just to practice, but I'm glad I did. This film, set to be released by Columbia this June, is going to be Sandler's biggest hit to date, and a crossover in the same way THE WEDDING SINGER was.
The setup for the film is handled with remarkable grace by the now-standard team of Sandler and Tim Herlihy, who's co-written every one of Sandler's starring vehicles. They've got the rhythm down by now. In broad strokes, we're introduced to Sonny Koufax. We learn that he graduated law school, but he ran from the responsibility by refusing to take the bar exam. Instead, he's working in a toll booth and living off a settlement from an accident in which a cab ran over his foot. Everyone -- his father (Joseph Bologna), his girlfriend (Kristy Swanson), and his roommate Kevin (Jon Stewart) -- is pressuring him to grow up and get a real life. Even more pressure's put on him when Kevin announces his engagement to his longtime girlfriend (Leslie Mann). Sonny's at a loss for how to make everyone happy without ruining his life.
Kevin's on his way out of the country for a major business trip to China when a social worker turns up at the door with a five year old boy, Julian (played beautifully by Cole Sprouse, a gifted child actor) and a note identifying Kevin as the boy's father. Through a series of simple misunderstandings, Sonny ends up being mistaken for Kevin and left in charge of the boy.
Suddenly having a son doesn't exactly fix things with his girlfriend, who leaves him, but it does have an effect on Sonny's life. There's not a lot of complicated plotting here. A big chunk of the film is simply Sandler and the kid getting to know each other, but the chemistry between them is so strong, and Adam is so funny playing off the boy, that it doesn't matter. This is no different at heart than MR. MOM was, but there's a reason a film like this is a good showcase for a comic actor. It's a chance to be very funny and to also display a lot of heart. Sandler has never been this approachable, this likable. He's taken the mainstream appeal he established in WEDDING SINGER and built upon it in a very canny way.
One of the miracles of WEDDING SINGER was, I thought, the interplay between Sandler and co-star Drew Barrymore. To be honest, I thought a good deal of that had to have been her. I figured she brought so much charm to the table that she made Adam look good. Turns out I wasn't giving him enough credit. Joey Lauren Adams, she of the helium voice and one time View Askew goddesshood, plays the woman who falls into Adam's life in this film, and the way they play off of each other is wonderful. This is a slightly written romance, but it's one you end up rooting for just because of how right they feel together. She's less overtly sexy than she has been in other roles, and it works in her favor. There's a real accessability to her here, and it's the kind of work that will get her a lot of roles in the future.
There's a lot of Sandler's trademark surreal silliness here, with Rob Schneider and Steve Buscemi providing supporting work in truly cartoonish roles. Their material's spotty, with some of it paying off in big laughs and some of it just laying flat. Still, Adam's films are cartoons, and he's not trying to turn his back on that. Enough of it is genuinely funny that you won't mind the misfires. The "normal" part of the supporting cast is all fine, with Stewart in particular displaying the same wry charm that makes him such a delight on THE DAILY SHOW. Josh Mostel is excellent for the first half of the film, but then plot conventions rob his character of the quirks that made him so interesting. It's a shame, as it was a nice piece of work. One of the only things I'd cut back would be the gay couple who are friends with Adam -- and not because I had a problem with the onscreen kissing, and not because the 14 year olds seated around me did, but because it doesn't really serve the film. It seems thrown in, designed to provoke for no good reason. It's admirable that Adam seems to be preaching some tolerance for them through Sonny's attitude (they're old law school buddies of his who are now dating, and he's fine with it), but when they're this peripheral to the film, it's more jarring than interesting.
You won't notice, though, 'cause this baby books. Like all of Adam's films, you're going to be in and out in 90 minutes. The only drawback to that is there's so much time spent establishing the bond between Sonny and Julian that the climax of the film is rushed, hurried. Considering the surprising amount of genuine emotion that is built up, it seems a shame to rush through it.
Even the film's messages about responsibility and adulthood are surprisingly well handled. They don't feel grafted on and phony. Instead, they're an extension of the character and the situation. Of course these ideas are explored in this film. It's the perfect vehicle to explore them. There's a great chunk of the film where Sonny decides that the problem with most fathers is the way they tell you what to do instead of letting you choose for yourself. He decides to let Julian make all his own choices, from his name (he prefers Frankenstein) to his clothes (some of his ensembles include water wings and underwear on the outside) and his meals (30 packs of ketchup is a favorite lunch). It's not just played for laughs, either, since there are consequences to these choices. I think a lot of people will be surprised by how sincere and real much of the film is.
There's two ways to approach this film, and I'd like to try and address it from both perspectives. First, let me speak to those of you who aren't Adam Sandler fans. No doubt you think of him as juvenile or silly or gross or too frat boy for you. Well, I'd say you're the perfect audience for this film. This is the classic definition of a crossover hit. This movie has enough of the old Adam to satisfy his fans, but it's a big stretch in many other ways... important ways. This film wasn't a guilty pleasure of mine. I sincerely enjoyed it. I think Adam is becoming enormously comfortable onscreen, and his natural ease translates to comic confidence. There's not a scene in this movie that he's not in control of, and that's great fun to watch. Now, for those of you who have been fans since BILLY MADISON, I'm sorry to say that Adam is moving on. This film isn't anywhere near as weird or as rude as that film, or HAPPY GILMORE, the best of the early bunch. This film is aiming for a wider audience. Many of you are going to scream "Sell out!" but that's not fair. Adam's in his thirties now, and his whole persona is shifting. I think he's doing it with enormous grace, and that should guarantee him a long career.
In the film's too-quick courtroom finale, some big ideas are raised, and there's some honest emotion earned by Adam's exchange with his father about what makes a good father and what makes a good family. It's obvious to me that Adam comes from a strong family. During his ShoWest acceptance speech for Comedy Star of the Year, he talked about how his mother doesn't care about the fame or the money or anything except as it relates to his happiness. "Are you happy?" she asks him constantly. The nurturing that they showed Adam spills out in the way Sonny bonds with Julian. There are a lot of Adam's contemporaries (yes, you, Spade) who would be terrified of laying themselves open in the ways Adam does in this film, but he shows real courage. In an age as cynical and jaded as right now, sentiment can be viewed as corny or negative, but Adam's fearless approach sells it and avoids becoming syrupy.
In short, Columbia's got a monster late June hit on their hands here. If they sneak this the week before nationwide, they'll guarantee themselves a great opening weekend. Amidst the marvels of PHANTOM MENACE, the kitschy overkill of AUSTIN POWERS, the typical Disney blitz for TARZAN, and the frantic fireworks of WILD WILD WEST, I'm betting audiences will flock to this film for something that special effects still can't provide -- genuine human chemistry, and plenty of it.
Well, now that I'm feeling thoroughly in touch with my sensitive side, I think I should go apologize to my henchman and see about unstitching him. I'll be in touch more before the weekend. Until then...
"Moriarty" out.
