Explaining Adam Sandler’s confusing filmography
When Adam Sandler appeared in the Safdie Brothers’ second film, Uncut Gems, audiences worldwide were shocked that the actor, known chiefly for his goofy comedy films such as Happy Gilmore, Mr. Deeds and Click, could perform with such unbridled intensity in a mostly dramatic film.
Sandler first rolled into the public’s eye on Saturday Night Live and performed in sketches such as ‘Opera Man’ and the now controversially derided ‘Canteen Boy’. Since then, Sandler has persistently treated us to some of the wackiest comedies of the 21st Century and, in doing so, has grossed over $2 billion worldwide.
Yet the many comedies were frequently punctuated by more dramatic roles. In addition to Uncut Gems, Sandler also played in Paul Thomas Anderson’s Punch-Drunk Love and Noah Baumbach’s The Meyerowitz Stories and showed us that he had more strings to his bow than we first realised.
In fact, it was arguably Anderson’s decision to cast him in Punch-Drunk Love that gave Sandler the belief that he could be more than just a funny man. Anderson had specifically sought out Sandler for the role, despite the initial reservations of the film’s producers.
Anderson said of casting Sandler: “I saw this Best of Adam Sandler DVD from Saturday Night Live, and an amazing thing happened. There’s this moment when he’s doing this talk show called ‘The Denise Show’ about his ex-girlfriend who’s left him. And Adam goes into this fit of rage, screaming at his father, and honest to God, I saw this moment where it appears as if the whites of his eyes turn black and they roll back in his head. It was like he had just lost his mind. I would play it back, over and over again.”
So, the proof is in the pudding; Sandler himself is more than capable of handling himself in dramatic roles. Yet this only makes certain other parts of his filmography all the more confusing. If Sandler is capable of being an actor par excellence, why did he agree to perform in the horrendously panned Jack and Jill?
Ah, that’s right, because Sandler’s films (and also typically bad comedies) are some of the most bankable cinematic guarantees in the industry. However, this has not deterred acclaimed directors from casting Sandler in their films; if anything, perhaps Sandler’s confusing filmic past leads to an unbridled level of intrigue in audiences. “Oh, you’ve got to see Adam Sandler in this!” “What, really? Adam Sandler?”
Many of us grew up with Sandler’s comedy films. As such, we know him as the typical goofball who throws himself into unnecessary frenzies on every occasion (such as in Happy Gilmore). Yet as we grow, we learn of Sandler’s more serious roles, and in many ways, they feel at odds with what we have come to know him as.
While Sandler likely has performed in certain features to pay off mortgages and live what we can assume is a somewhat lavish lifestyle, we are also left with the question of ‘what if?’ What if, after that initial wave of the success of Saturday Night Live and Happy Gilmore, Sandler found something within himself following his performance in Punch-Drunk Love that he ardently wished to explore more of?
What if Sandler had become a primarily (or even solely) dramatic actor? Would his dramatic roles still feel at odds with his early work? I personally don’t believe they would. We may have just seen Sandler’s initial career as his way into the industry so that he could get to work on what he really holds significant talent for.
However, it must be admitted that we haven’t really heard of Sandler being in an awful Jack and Jill kind of role for some time now. Perhaps Sandler had been banking on such roles to keep the cash rolling in. And despite his appearances in The Meyerowitz Stories and Punch-Drunk Love, he never really believed in himself that he could make a proper living from serious roles. Arguably (and hopefully), that time has now come to an end.
Regardless of his occasional dodgy film performances, let’s hope that the Sandman continues to deliver some of his finer dramatic performances in the years to come.
