Great Movies Almost Ruined By A Single Performance (4 Viewers)

[Joe Wong]

I’ve never heard a single negative thing about Sandler as a person

For those who saw the following award ceremony, Sandler is showered with high praise for his generosity and general "good"-ness.

https://www.kennedy-center.org/whats-on/marktwain/

 

[jayembee]

I am not a big fan of Adam Sandler either, however I was impressed with his acting in Spanglish. Without question that movie fairly deserves some of the criticism leveled at it, but I truly believed his emotional pain and helplessness in not knowing how to help his family, his desire to escape, and his strength in not giving in to that temptation.

Sometimes -- and Adam Sandler is an example of this -- I'm not sure if it's that I don't like the person in question, or I just don't like the kinds of movies they choose to do. I haven't seen Uncut Gems or Punch Drunk Love, so I can't judge him for those, but every one of his comedies just look awful to me, and I don't want to see them.

 

[mskaye]

Sometimes -- and Adam Sandler is an example of this -- I'm not sure if it's that I don't like the person in question, or I just don't like the kinds of movies they choose to do. I haven't seen Uncut Gems or Punch Drunk Love, so I can't judge him for those, but every one of his comedies just look awful to me, and I don't want to see them.

The earlier Sandler stuff is truly juvenile and silly and not for everyone (inc. me.) Uncut and Punch Drunk are not comedies but well made dramatic movies that he stars in as an actor. The Longest Yard remake is somewhere in the middle. It's hardly entertainment for The New Yorker crowd. I'm a mix of high and low brow (and a big fan of the original) so I enjoy it. Punch Drunk is a Paul Thomas Anderson film that he happens to be in. And Uncut does a good a job as any film of capturing the shot on the fly hyper anxiety of Friedkin and Lumet.

 

[Colin Jacobson]

The earlier Sandler stuff is truly juvenile and silly and not for everyone (inc. me.)

I argue that movies like "Billy Madison" aren't "truly juvenile".

They have a self-awareness that allows for a lot more cleverness than detractors want to acknowledge.

Of course, they come with some puerile moments - and some of Sandler's movies are "truly juvenile".

But early Sandler isn't all "juvenile" - and later Sandler can be awful!

 

[jayembee]

The earlier Sandler stuff is truly juvenile and silly and not for everyone (inc. me.) Uncut and Punch Drunk are not comedies but well made dramatic movies that he stars in as an actor. The Longest Yard remake is somewhere in the middle. It's hardly entertainment for The New Yorker crowd. I'm a mix of high and low brow (and a big fan of the original) so I enjoy it. Punch Drunk is a Paul Thomas Anderson film that he happens to be in. And Uncut does a good a job as any film of capturing the shot on the fly hyper anxiety of Friedkin and Lumet.

Yes, I'm aware that the two films I mentioned by name aren't comedies, hence my saying "but every one of his comedies" rather than "but every one of his other comedies".

Anyway, I'm not adverse to juvenile comedies (I love the Three Stooges, so I'm not one to throw stones in that regard), and I certainly have friends that like Sandler's movies, but they (Sandler's films...not my friends... ) just don't interest me.

 

[Ronald Epstein]

That's my issue with Sandler is that his early movies are juvenile and for a long time, he was a one-trick pony comedian which is why it was so easy to impersonate him, which many comics often did. I don't enjoy his early stuff, but I have already previously discussed that.

It really wasn't until UNCUT GEMS that I saw a different side of the actor. He does have serious acting chops.

As far as the man personally, I am an avid TIKTOK user and I often see videos taken of him in public where he readily greets and talks to his fans. In fact, he's highly accessible in public. That aspect of Sandler I greatly admire.

 

[Jeffrey D]

Yes Sandler can act, which makes his choices to be in dumb juvenile comedies a bit baffling. I guess he was just giving his audience what it wanted- a silly good time.

 

[TravisR]

Yes Sandler can act, which makes his choices to be in dumb juvenile comedies a bit baffling. I guess he was just giving his audience what it wanted- a silly good time.

Yeah, I think Sandler legitimately enjoys making people laugh and the silly stuff has reliably done that for decades now.

 

[ManW_TheUncool]

I remember Roger Ebert expressed a fair amount of such sentiments about Sandler for his review of Punch Drunk Love, which was the 1st time he had anything remotely good to say about Sandler's work/movies (and partly why I gave it a shot or two). IIRC, Ebert was even sorta a bit apologetic toward Sandler's mother (in thought/sentiment at least) or something like that for his prior disdain for Sandler's works, haha...

_Man_

 

[Sultanofcinema]

Sandler, Ferrell and Carrey and Vaughn can act as witnessed by the limited dramas they made. The issue is the general public won't accept them in these roles unless they are making toilet movies. This is sad.

 

[Joe Wong]

There are plenty of "comedians" who have shown they can act. Aside from the fact that trying to make people laugh is a hard-enough skill.

Examples (IMO), besides the likes of Sandler, Carrey, etc.:

John Candy (JFK)
Eddie Murphy (Dreamgirls)
Steve Coogan (Philomena)
Martin Short (The Morning Show on AppleTV)

 

[Sultanofcinema]

Look at Don Rickles in Casino and Fred Gwynn in Cotton Club.

 

[Joe Wong]

Yes! Rickles was excellent in Casino.

And I forgot Steve Carell in The Morning Show as well.

 

[TravisR]

There are plenty of "comedians" who have shown they can act. Aside from the fact that trying to make people laugh is a hard-enough skill.

I remember Bob Odenkirk and Michael McKean having a conversation on a Better Call Saul Blu-ray where he said how nearly every year there's people surprised when yet another comedian shows that they can act. Odenkirk and McKean are as good examples of that as anyone.

 

[jayembee]

Generally speaking, I find comedians better able to perform dramatic roles than dramatic actors can comedic roles. There are certainly exceptions in the latter case. I've always thought that George C. Scott was funnier in Dr. Strangelove than all three of Peter Sellers's roles put together.

On edit: Oh, and so was Sterling Hayden, for that matter.

 

[mskaye]

I remember Bob Odenkirk and Michael McKean having a conversation on a Better Call Saul Blu-ray where he said how nearly every year there's people surprised when yet another comedian shows that they can act. Odenkirk and McKean are as good examples of that as anyone.

You even had Jackie Gleason surprising people in The Hustler back in 1961. But then again, Gleason was always more of a comic actor than a true "comedian." Don Rickles went to the American Academy of Dramatic Arts and I think you can see that even in his stand up or talk show performances. Jim Carrey in the Truman Show was a nice hybrid of his manic mainstream persona with a healthy dose of pathos and empathy. All these guys have/had really fast minds. I'm sure the list can go on.

 

[Sultanofcinema]

Jackie Gleason in 1962's Gigot, directed by Gene Kelly! Not even on the blu ray radar screen. Jackie got to Paris before Gene and booked his entire orchestra into the hotel and when Gene arrived, there were no more rooms left and Kelly had to go to a different hotel.

 

[Jeffrey D]

A couple of films come to mind on the subject of comedians/funny guys that bring it in dramatic roles- Steve Carell in The Big Short (sad that he wasn’t given an Oscar nomination for that), and Ryan Reynolds for
Smokin’ Aces.

 

[Joe Wong]

And the comedic genius Robin Williams, of course, in a bunch of dramatic roles, including his Oscar winning turn in Good Will Hunting.

 

[mskaye]

Jackie Gleason in 1962's Gigot, directed by Gene Kelly! Not even on the blu ray radar screen. Jackie got to Paris before Gene and booked his entire orchestra into the hotel and when Gene arrived, there were no more rooms left and Kelly had to go to a different hotel.

It's a very sweet film that made an impact on me when I saw it as a kid in the 70s on NYC tv. I'm not sure how it holds up. I've read it was a bit of nightmare of a production. Gleason was a bit of a control freak .