Big Daddy

Starring: Adam Sandler, Joey Lauren Adams, Jon Stewart, Cole Sprouse, Dylan Sprouse, Leslie Mann, Rob Schneider, Kristy Swanson, Steve Buscemi, Josh Mostel, Peter Dante
Directed by: Dennis Dugan
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Comedy, Drama
1999

Times Seen:
Tim: 2

Summary: A lazy man (Adam Sandler) floating through life adopts a kid, and while they two have fun together, his parenting skills aren't exactly setting the kid up for success.

Review:

Tim: Big Daddy is one of those Adam Sandler films that have a lot going for it, but never quite reach the heights of his best movies. Sandler gets a lot of criticism (much of it warranted) for making bad movies, but he's made some very, very good ones also. This movie is clearly a second-tier film- not good enough to reach the upper echelon, but not one of his worst movies, either. It's frankly far too forgettable, and a few great scenes do not save it.

On paper, this movie was a no-brainer. Adam Sandler, who specializes in playing the immature manchild, is now responsible for raising a young kid. The bad parenting jokes just start coming at you. It is legitimately entertaining watching him thrust into parenthood- cleaning up a wet bed or vomit on the floor with newspapers, teaching him gross guy things, letting him eat whatever he wants- those things are all somewhat appealing and fun to watch. Those moments create a lot of the entertainment value, especially early in the film. However, as it goes on, that starts to get a bit sad, so the film needs to take a more mature approach and teach Sandler's character the error of his ways. These scenes are fine, and while they aren't very funny, they represent an important transformation the character undertakes. The problem is that the funny moments aren't incredibly funny, so when the movie turns serious, we're left with a comedy that doesn't make us laugh nearly enough.

Sandler is fine in the lead role. I never believed him as a law school graduate, but the immature role is clearly in his wheelhouse, and he works well with it. I always think I like Joy Lauren Adams, but her performances never live up to the expectations. She's average here. I liked seeing Jon Stewart in his role, but he really does not have much to do at all. Leslie Mann is funny, just because of the animosity between her and Sandler's character. I will say that the "Hooters" jokes just got really, really old (it was like the writer went back to this joke whenever he couldn't come up with something truly funny, which was quite often). It was fine to see Rob Schneider and Steve Buscemi as we've come to expect, but neither was really funny. The whole cast was average.

I did want to mention Cole and Dylan Sprouse. These twins, both playing Julian, really had a tough role. The dialogue the kid has on screen is very, very difficult for actors so young. I'm not sure any kid could have really pulled it off, but the Twins Sprouse give really bad performances. It's so obvious that the actors had no idea what they were saying, and just delivering the lines phoenetically. Their performance was forced, unnatural, and it really hurt the film. I don't want to beat them up too much because of their youth and the admittedly difficult nature of the performance, but I never believed them in the role. That was a big limitation of the film.

The story is pretty average, although I suppose there was a good message in it. This really is a harmless film. It does joke about bad parenting a little too much, but the spirit of the movie is quite positive. It's always fun to see characters undergo a transformation on screen, and that certainly happens here. Unfortunately, the characters and the story just aren't as memorable as they need to be. I don't have any major issues with Big Daddy, it's just a film that underwhelms me whenever I watch it. Like most Sandler movies, there's a couple of hilarious moments, but the rest of the movie is a bit too lackluster. This isn't Sandler's best, but it is watchable at least.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 6.5



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: The Waterboy, Billy Madison, Happy Gilmore, Mr. Deeds