In Defense Of Big Daddy
This has been an Adam Sandler-dominated week on Barstool Twitter thanks to the Chicago's Dog Walk Sandman draft. It would be ridiculous to complain as if there's one thing that will make everyone in the world happy, it's Adam Sandler. YET there's been a few opinions that I need to respond to.
The first being a great tweet by Rico yesterday afternoon mentioning That's My Boy. I do absolutely love that's my boy and believe if you take the stick out of your ass and actually laugh at funny shit you can realize that it is a ridiculously funny movie. Like up there with Sandler's best...but the movie gets a bad rap because some critics are cynical assholes.
Sorry- just had to mention That's My Boy before I got into the main complaint I have. And that complaint is coming from the mouth of none other than White Sox Dave. Some may say that White Sox Dave not liking Big Daddy is actually a good sign- kind've like when your friend that eats solely turkey sandwiches tries something out of the ordinary and hates it, but I still feel like I need to state my case.
Now do I think Big Daddy is the "GREATEST MOVIE OF ALL-TIME"? Of course not! But do I think it's probably Adam Sandler's overall BEST movie? Yup and I don't think it's particularly close. I've been telling my friends for years on end now that I truly think Big Daddy is one of America's most beloved movies (what kind of a serial killer doesn't like Big Daddy?) and I stand by that. When I'm talking about movies I also want to specify that FUNNIEST and BEST are 2 completely things. For example I think the funniest comedy ever made is Superbad, but I think the best comedy ever made is the Hangover…2 different things! And of course the holy grail of Sandman comedy is Happy Gilmore/Billy Madison/Waterboy, I just happen to find Big Daddy to be the best movie of them all due to how great of a movie and how hilarious it is.
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Now trust me, the thought of people forgetting just how funny Big Daddy is does keep me up at night.
Also listening to the draft the other day the side character category really caught my eye- the side characters are almost as important as Sandler in a lot of his movies & I think this resonates in Big Daddy more than any other.
A STRONG 2nd round pick was Nazo the Cozy Soup-N-Burger delivery guy. Rob Schneider is the Patron Saint of the Sandman side character & that doesn't ring true anymore than it can in Big Daddy. Genuinely an iconic role.
And a VERY low-key side character is Mr. Herlihy. Steals the show with a few simple lines that have turned into classic quotes like "I had a few chardonnays, what of it?" & just the "Hell Yes!"
Finally it's impossible to do this without mentioning my personal favorite Big Daddy character- the hobo. Steve Buscemi is a national treasure. I would go to war for that man. No questions asked.
And the most interesting thing is in White Sox Dave's blog he actually says his favorite Sandler movie is the Wedding Singer- which I totally think makes sense! I personally think Big Daddy then Wedding Singer than everything else when it comes to the actual best movies in the catalogue. Fantastic storylines, lighthearted, good romance, great comedy, and the Sandman looks like fuckin' Daniel Day when he really gets his acting chops going.
At the end of the day though it brings me joy that we can all once again love Adam Sandler & his movies. It was a sad time a few years ago when people began to hate him at the beginning of his Netflix deal and thank God he's back. Long live the Sandman. Long live Big Daddy. Hell, at this point, long live Jack & Jill- that's how much we all love the man.