thismeintiel said:
Not at all. The best protagonists have flaws and usually grow during the film. It's boring to watch someone who's the best of the best and that's basically it for the film. Especially when it's just some average looking dude whose a chick magnet for no other reason than the script says so. Look at some of his better regarded films from his early career that made him a star. Billy Madison - He's basically a spoiled fuck up, but he's still funny enough and has a big enough heart to be likable. During the course of the film he learns to be a little more serious when it calls for it. And even though he wins his father's company in the end, he still realizes he's too much of a fuck up to run it, so gives it to his father's VP. Happy Gilmore - He's got a hell of a power shot, but sucks at skating and all other parts of hockey. His temper often gets him into trouble. Even when he swtches to golf, he sucks at putting and needs to learn to control is temper to beat the antagonist. The Wedding Singer - He's a guy in a dead end job. He's not a chick magnet. In fact, his girlfriend no longer wants to marry him because of his career. He gets so depressed after this that he almost fucks up everything going for him. Almost. The Waterboy - Not the smartest guy around, but again, his heart is in the right place. He has a temper when pushed to the most extreme, but uses it on the field to help him tackle. He has to learn to overcome the control of his momma to continue to play and overcome his shyness to get the girl. Big Daddy - He's basically a loser. His girlfriend leaves him for someone old enough to be her grandfather. When he first gets the kid he doesn't want him, but then eventually becomes a hands-off dad that allows the kid to do anything. But, when he finds out how that is negatively affecting the kid's life, he becomes a better father figure, and then fights in court for custody of him. In the end, he doesn't even become the kid's dad, instead accepting his role as an "uncle." Like I said, he's MUCH better when he's playing the lovable goofball. Each one having their own flaws and obstacles to overcome. When he's the best at whatever he does and/or is a chick magnet, it just makes the story boring because he is just overcoming other people and their flaws, while he's perfect. It doesn't help that a lot of his movies have been on autopilot lately. After The Waterboy, it seems every 2-3 movies, he just does a movie where he does a funny voice, thinking that will carry the film. |
agreed. His earlier films seemed a tiny bit self aware and modest in the sense that they embraced that the humor was retarded and that generally Sandler was a loser in them. He did a lot of self deprecating humor and seemed more concerned with getting the audience to care. The Waterboy might be overall a dumb comedy, but there are certainly moments there where you relate to and sympathize with Sandler's character and uncomfortableness (even if massively exaggerated).
starting in like the mid 2000s he was in so many collaboration family stupid comedy films where the dumb comedy is sold as being funny but its not particularly- partially because it doesn't embrace self awareness between the audience and the film. When you watch Billy Madison its quite obvious Sandler and the filmmakers literally were thinking while making it "how can we make this more obscenely stupid?", and it works because its like a massively extended SNL skit. but when you watch something like "You Don't Mess with the Zohan" or "Jack and Jill" it just seems... forced and like they genuinely thought people might think the concepts at their cores were funny. Harkening back to "Billy Madison", it works because the concept isn't really that funny, it shouldn't be, but it has the balls to be almost cringily bad to the point where it works- again, self awareness that Sandler's talent is in (essentially) behaving reallyyyyy dumb and not that he's good at completely transforming into some other character
it doesn't help that comedians often do seem to get worse with age, and Sandler was always so strongly identified with physical comedy and somewhat juvenile stuff that naturally that would be tough to maintain consistently in older age.
In the end I'm over contemplating it, but I agree 100% thismeintiel- and I think the reason his earlier goofball stuff is pretty good is because its similar to his SNL stuff and not so forced. The creators seemed aware that part of the fun of the Adam Sandler stuff is not always necessarily laughing because of him BUT at him (as bad as that may sound haha).
Anyway its rare for comedians to last. Not everyone is going to be a Steve Martin or Bill Murray
