Dissecting Adam Sandler
The secret MAJOR Hollywood Influencer
I was recently watching an old interview of Leonard Maltin, the influential film critic, on Kevin Pollacks Chat Show Podcast. They were discussing who the most influential and financially successful actor in Hollywood was. They were talking about anyone who arrived after Charlie Chaplin. I was expecting them to say Marlon Brando, Paul Newman, Meryl Streep, or Tom Cruise?
The name Pollack brought up was most unexpected.
Adam Sandler!
Adam Sandler?
Adam Sandler from SNL? The guy who makes comedy films so sophomoric that they would make Jerry Lewis blush?
The guy who wrote the Hanukah song?
That Adam Sandler?
Yup, that Adam Sandler.
How Did He Get So Successful and Influential, especially when so many former cast members of SNL are teaching classes on Improvisational Comedy in community theaters in Idaho (Not that there is anything wrong with that).
He gained popularity as a stand-up and then he got onto SNL. This boosted his comedy career to put him into movies as the lead. He now owns his own production company. But, it was SNL that made him famous, and he stayed famous.
Adam Sandler’s first role in a movie that was nationally promoted was the 1993 comedy, Coneheads. This is the film that is responsible for bringing together many past and present members of the hit TV show Saturday Night Live and featuring them together on the big screen. Besides Sandler the list includes: Dan Akroyd, Jane Curtin, Larraine Newman, David Spade, Chris Farley, and Michael McKean (the later being added to the SNL cast a year later).
There are a number of reasons for Sandler’s continued success.
· He seems to be a nice guy, and sometime nice guys don’t finish last. He seems to truly appreciate his fans and to be exceptionally loyal to those with whom he has worked.
· Among his man silly, and very popular comedies, many critics agree that he is a talented actor with great depth. Though his bad movies make enormous amounts of money, he has made many critically appreciated, if not acclaimed movies like “Punch-Drunk Love,” “The Meyerowitz Stories,” and “50 First Dates,” all of which are better than his average.
· He has a core of fans who always see his movies and those films slowly continue to earn revenue over time and,
· He is reported to be one of the nicest people in show business so that he works well with directors, actors, and even crew members all of whom will readily say good things about him and work with him again and again.
Yes, many of his movies have been hit and miss.
Take Billy Madison and Happy Gilmore, The Wedding Singer…with Drew Barrymore, Big Daddy? So far, “not too shabby”. Then he did Little Nicky. Strange and interesting for sure? Funny? Eight Crazy Nights was a cartoon holiday movie that not many people have seen but the songs were catchy. The deer scenes? Gross! Not particularly kid friendly either.
In a sense it is fair to say that his popularity is well analogized in Happy Gilmore — a funny, working class dude who shows up and plays humor that is funny to his niche following and manages to succeed at the expense of his hating critics.
Happy Gilmore and Billy Madison galvanized a cult following, and he makes the type of movies those people want to watch.
If you don’t understand why every Adam Sandler silly movie is the same, the answer is simple.
Because that is what people want and expect from an Adam Sandler movie. Humans are funny creatures, they say that they want one thing but when it actually comes to spending their time and money they will choose something else (it is why focus groups can often be completely worthless). People will say that they want something new and interesting that challenges their ideas and beliefs but when it comes down to it they will instead choose something that they know is safe and familiar. That is why branding and reputation are all so important these days. They want to turn off their brains and see Adam Sandler and his friends hanging out, making poop/fart/pee/all of the above jokes. Adam Sandler’s comedy stories are built on yucks, and seldom have any real stakes or tension.
Interestingly, the movies where Sandler gets to show off his acting chops don’t make much money. People generally want to see Sandler play a parody of himself with exaggerated dialogue and gestures. It doesn’t help that the scripts he’s given don’t allow him a whole lot of latitude.
So, how is Adam Sandler so famous even though his comedic movies aren’t considered very good?
Because his movies consistently make good money. There are some misses, but his movies do make money. You liking his movies his irrelevant since a lot of other people do.
And Then There Was Spanglish
Let’s talk about Adam Sandler’s movie Spanglish, a romantic comedy-drama film written and directed by James L. Brooks.
It is a brilliant culture study and economic status examination of people who function together daily, but live worlds apart in many ways. Unlike the extreme examples of many films, where the wealthy employer doesn’t even attempt to try to relate to employees, the wife of the wealthy chef played by Tea Leone, clueless as she is, actually believes she is relating. In fact, she is beyond clueless on many levels. In addition to that, she also believes that everyone around her should get on board with her program. That is the power of the film.
It is an extremely well-written film that uses comedy and subtle revelation to address selfishness, class struggles, social ignorance, cultural ignorance, economic disparity, adultery, self-involvement, privilege, fat shaming, parental manipulation, superficiality, unfulfilled dreams and more, in one fun ride. The acting is superb on all counts, and this subtle, thoughtful film is an absolute delight.
Adam Sandler is a loyal guy. When he has film roles to cast, he tries to provide work for his friends. It helps that most of his “regulars” are either funny or skilled actors. When developing scripts, he creates roles for them — like Rob Schneider as a native Hawaiian in 50 First Dates. (Schneider is part Filippino.)
With his serious work, like the luminous Spanglish, Sandler shows what a fine actor he really is. In a non-silly movie, few of his regulars would be good for the film. He knows it and they know it. But they know Sandler keeps them working as much as he can, bringing them money and fame. Being his friend when he was just a goofy comic in the clubs or the goofy kid on Saturday Night Live turns out to have been a terrific investment.
But one place he doesn’t miss is at the box office. His films in total have a total box office take of $1.9 million domestically and $1 billion overseas, and that’s just when he’s the lead. If he’s in the film as part of the main cast, that’s another $2 billion.
In addition, Sandler usually has a “skin the game” as screenwriter, producer or executive producer.
His most successful project has been the Hotel Transylvania movies, which have taken in $1.2 billion. However, he has 17 other movies that have topped the $100 million mark worldwide, and 13 of those made $100 million in just the domestic market.
He’s a Nice Guy
After filming for “Click” Adam was kind enough to invite the cast and crew to his home for a party after they wrapped (a film shooting was over — and the bulk of the editing was about to begin) — so I got to go to his house, say hi — and hang out.
He was very generous allowing them to wander around his house.
He even gave people t-shirts from his then-recent stand-up tour.
Has Adam Sandler ever been in a movie where he wasn’t a lead/main role?
Remember, Adam Sandler didn’t start off in leading/main roles from the very beginning. He has appeared in several of his earlier movies as a supporting or secondary character.
Those movies are Mixed Nuts, Coneheads, Airheads, and Shakes The Clown. He also was on a couple of TV shows/movies prior to the movies listed above.
Most actors start off in small supporting roles, and then some move upwards into leading man roles (e.g. Bradley Cooper), while others drift downward
Sandler’s bad movies have created a $300 million net worth for him, I doubt if he cares about haters. He’ll likely keep on doing whatever he’s doing.
Sandler was great in “Uncut Gems” “Punch Drunk Love” as well as
“Spanglish.”
The fact is that Sandler is is financially one of the most successful movie makers in Hollywood and nearly unavoidable on Netflix. There was no redemption story here.
Adam Sandler’s 10 Best Dramatic Roles, According To IMDb
What makes a film a box office success?
A film’s success can be attributed to many potential factors. Sandler has mastered many of them.
• the popularity or skill of the actors;
• the popularity of the film’s genre among the current filmgoing audience;
• the timeliness or timelessness of the film’s premise;
• the quality of the script (and if it’s an adapted script, the popularity of the novel or other work that it is based on);
• the quality of the direction or the following of the director;
• the impressiveness of the special effects;
• the reach of the marketing campaign;
• positive word of mouth;
• the popularity of the film preceding it (if it’s a sequel);
• the timing and appropriateness of its release schedule;
• the weather;
• the competition (or lack thereof) at the box office;
• the competition from non-movie events, especially on opening weekend (major sports competitions, and news stories that keep everyone glued to their television sets).
A box office hit may be due to one, some or all of these things, all coming together at the right time. Essentially Sandler is likeable on every level, and is extremely popular with his target demographic. The films you love: His fans hate those films.
The Takeaway.
Adam Sandler isn’t going anywhere, and his newest film has gotten rave reviews from his fans and the critics. Here is more on that
I want to acknowledge Daniel Bittinat, Steven Haddock, Mark Bolles, Miles Barton, Jeff Kinney, Steven Haddock, David Mullich for their posts on Adam Sandler. They motivated me to dig deeper into his extraordinary career.
The article you have just read is an excerpt from my online Course “The Self Improvement Lifestyle”.
Author: Lewis Harrison is a film critic and a past member The National Board of Review for Motion Pictures. He is also the creator of the Ask Lewis Mentoring Method as well as HAGT — Harrison’s Applied Game Theory. He and is the Executive Director of the International Association of Healing Professionals an educational organization that offers programs around the world in Intentional Living. He is also Independent Scholar and a Results-Oriented Success Coach, with a passion for knowledge, personal development, self-improvement, creativity, innovation, and problem-solving. You can read all of his Medium stories at Lewis.coaches@medium.com.
For a decade, Lewis was the host of a humor-based Q & A talk show on NPR (National Public Radio) affiliated WIOX FM in NY.
I am always exploring trends, areas of interest, and solutions to build new stories upon. Please share this article with others. It is appreciated.
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