The exact moment Adam Sandler realised critics hated him: “It kinda shook me up”
Adam Sandler is the perfect example of an actor who has constantly sold himself short. After rising to prominence as a comedian and subsequently landing himself a role on Saturday Night Live, the actor made a career for himself that centred on easy laughs and little more. Far from being considered high-brow or even just well-made comedies, his films became commercial successes but critical failures, making him quite the character in Hollywood.
While the general public seemed to like Sandler, he wasn’t exactly associated with cinematic excellence, with the term ‘Adam Sandler film’ becoming associated with immature comedy and poorly-executed concepts. If a comedy like The Big Lebowski is considered Michelin star, then an Adam Sandler comedy firmly exists in the realm of sloppy fast food.
Yet, when Sandler started his film career, it seemed as though he genuinely didn’t expect critics to be so harsh on him. Sadly, the actor never found much love from critics when he started out – that’s until he took an unexpected but incredibly welcome turn in Paul Thomas Anderson’s Punch Drunk Love. Before that, though, he led the movie Billy Madison, which he co-wrote with Tim Herlihy, playing the idiotic titular character to relative commercial success.
When the reviews came in, however, Sandler had to reckon with the fact that he might not be as universally beloved as he’d hoped. Talking to United Press International, the actor revealed, “Actually, when I made Billy Madison, I remember… thinking, ‘It’s going to be fun when it comes out and they actually write stuff about you and my parents will read it. This is incredible. The last time I was in the paper was when I was in eighth grade and made the honour role. And all of a sudden, I woke up that morning. I didn’t know they were going to come at me and hate me and what I was doing.”
Unfortunately for the star, the comedy, directed by Tamra Davis, wasn’t exactly the next Airplane! or Some Like It Hot. “It kinda shook me up that day. And then I remember calling up my friends and going, ‘What are they writing in your home town? Aah, them too, huh?’”
It was certainly a blow to Sandler’s ego, but he evidently reconciled with the fact that not everyone would be on board with the movies he was making. His next project, Happy Gilmore, earned more widespread success with viewers, although critics still weren’t convinced. Sandler has continued to make his unique brand of comedies throughout the years, regardless, although he finds the time to prove himself as a more serious actor once in a blue moon with a considerably more complex role.
Following the success of Punch Drunk Love, Sandler returned to his predictable comedic ways, but from the late 2010s onwards, he has graced some much more impressive films like Men, Women & Children, The Meyerowitz Stories (New and Selected), and, of course, Uncut Gems. The latter was a turning point for Sandler, who showed that, as with Punch Drunk Love, he really can play against type if you give him the opportunity. Yet, It seems as though, for the most part, he prefers to stick to his classic comedy ways, even if critics often lambast these choices.
