Summary
Adam Sandler and Rob Schneider’s friendship has seen them work on plenty of movies together, with decidedly mixed results. Like Kevin James and David Spade, Schneider has appeared in many of Sandler’s biggest movies. Sandler has returned the favor by popping up in several movies led by Schneider over the years. No matter the movie, the two friends always seem to be able to find a role for one another.
Sandler and Schneider’s style of comedy isn’t for everyone, and even some of their most popular movies have been panned by critics. However, some ofAdam Sandler’s best moviesare considered comedy classics, and he has developed a devoted following over the years. Sandler and Schneider have appeared in more than their fair share of misfires, but they also have a few huge hits together.
20 Best Quotes From All Adam Sandler Movies
Adam Sandler has starred in dozens of hilarious comedies and critically acclaimed dramas that have offered both funny and inspirational one-liners.
When people say they hate Adam Sandler’s style of comedy, they are usually thinking about movies likeJack & Jill,which even failed to win over some of his biggest fans. Sandler plays both lead roles in this criminally unfunny comedy. The biggest surprise amid a slog of lame physical humor is that Al Pacino somehow agreed to lend his talents to one of theworst movies of all time.
When people say they hate Adam Sandler’s style of comedy, they are usually thinking about movies likeJack & Jill.
The most frustrating aspect ofJack & Jill,other than the fact that it has wasted the time of many good people, is thatit has the makings of a much better movie. Classic comedies such asDr. StrangeloveandKind Hearts and Coronetshave benefited from having one actor in multiple roles, andJack & Jill’s playful approach to gender stereotypes is a comedic trick older than Shakespeare.Jack & Jillhas none of the intelligence needed to deliver on this potential.
19The Animal (2001)
Schneider stars as a man with the characteristics of several animals
The Animalstars Rob Schneider as a wannabe police officer who undergoes a radical surgery which gives him the organs, and the traits, of several animals. Few movies have captured the ethos of a Rob Schneider movie as succinctly as this premise. It is utterly nonsensical and totally devoid of any emotional stakes, but it presents the opportunity for a lot of goofy comedy, which Scheider revels in.
Adam Sandler has a cameo as a townie, which is an in-joke for fans who are familiar with Rob Schneider’s similar character fromThe WaterboyandLittle Nicky.
The Animaltrades in mediocre slapstick.Schneider’s character is tossed over a cliff, kicked by a goat and beaten up by an elderly woman. Unfortunately, the humor stays at the surface level. The one joke that a man acts like a dog, cat or dolphin is repeated endlessly, with rapidly diminishing returns.Adam Sandler has a cameoas a townie, which is an in-joke for fans who are familiar with Rob Schneider’s similar character fromThe WaterboyandLittle Nicky.
In the same year that Quentin Tarantino releasedThe Hateful Eight,Adam Sandler had his own take on the Western classicThe Magnificent Seven.The Ridiculous 6is arguably the worst ofAdam Sandler’s Netflix original movies. It takes many of the hallmarks of his style of humor and transplants them lazily into a Western setting. After being eviscerated by critics,The Ridiculous 6entered the club ofmovies with a 0% score on Rotten Tomatoes.
After being eviscerated by critics,The Ridiculous 6entered the club of movies with a 0% score on Rotten Tomatoes.
The Ridiculous 6boasts a higher production value than many of Sandler’s lowbrow comedies, and this gives it a sense of class that doesn’t suit the rest of the movie. Interestingly, it could have been more successful if it hadn’t been given the appearance of a genuinely viable Western, although the production value has little to do with the dreary and often needlessly insensitive humor.
Eight Crazy Nightsis Adam Sandler’s attempt to make an animated Hannukah movie to rival the abundance of Christmas options. In this way, it’s a noble attempt to do something different. Unfortunately, the execution means thatEight Crazy Nightsis barely distinguishable from other Sandler comedies. Its animation is a rare change of pace, but it barely masks the crude humor that has become Sandler’s trademark.
Eight Crazy Nightscould have been an interesting subversive holiday comedy, but it never makes the most out of its setting or its animation.
Rob Schneider plays a Chinese waiter with as much subtlety as any of his other racial caricatures. His character sums up the style of comedy on display inEight Crazy Nights.Sandler’s vision of the holiday season is grim and stressful. This could be enough to makeEight Crazy Nightsstand out as a subversive holiday comedy, but it never makes the most out of its setting or its animation.
Little Nickyis standard Sandler fare, with the comedian pushing a quirky premise to its comedic limits with plenty of slapstick, insult comedy and a touch of romance. What makesLittle Nickyso much worse thanMr. DeedsorHappy Gilmore,for example, is just how obnoxious the lead character is. Sandler can be great as an everyman, or as a lovable loser with a deep reservoir of rage. Nicky is a grating creep with a voice and general presence that make him hard to spend time with.
What makesLittle Nickyso much worse thanMr. DeedsorHappy Gilmore,for example, is just how obnoxious the lead character is.
Rob Schneider reprises his role fromThe Waterboy,and he isn’t the only character from another Adam Sandler movie who pops up inLittle Nicky.Carl Weathers' character fromHappy Gilmore,Chubbs Peterson, is seen in the afterlife.Little Nickystops just short of establishing an MCU-style Sandlerverse, but it has some fun callbacks for Sandler’s fans.Quentin Tarantino’s cameo inLittle Nickytakes the cake as the movie’s most unexpected.
Rob Schneider makes a brief appearance inSandy Wexler,but his cameo is lost amid a sea of stars.Adam Sandler’s movies often have a few famous faces, but none go so far asSandy Wexler,which uses phony interviews from celebrities as varied as Weird Al Yankovic, Judd Apatow and Vanilla Ice, with many more in between. These interviews add up to a mockumentary about Sandy Wexler, the Hollywood talent agent based on Adam Sandler’s real-life manager.
There’s still the essence of an interesting mockumentary about Hollywood in the 1990s, but the sheer volume of interviews and the bloated runtime robSandy Wexlerof its dynamism.
Sandy Wexlerseems to exclude the audience from its main joke, since Adam Sandler is playing a parody of a person nobody knows. His clownish portrayal also makes it difficult to connect with the protagonist by relating him to any real people, or even any well-known archetypes. There’s still the essence of an interesting mockumentary about Hollywood in the 1990s, but the sheer volume of interviews and the bloated runtime robSandy Wexlerof its dynamism.
14Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo (1999)
Rob Schneider’s raunchy comedy was more popular with audiences than critics
Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolowas eviscerated by critics, but it earned over $90 million at the box office, so it must have done something wrong. The raunchy comedy stars Rob Schneider in one of his most famous roles as a hapless fish tank cleaner who resorts to sex work to make a quick buck after smashing a client’s expensive aquarium. What follows is a series of ludicrous sexual encounters with women who each have their own reasons for hiring a gigolo.
Schneider returned for a sequel in 2005,Deuce Bigalow: European Gigolo, which fared just as poorly with critics.
Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolowas the first movie to be produced by Adam Sandler’s Happy Madison Productions. Sandler gives himself the plum role of shouting various insults from off-screen, including the"Freak!“line which is one of very few things that people remember the firstDeuce Bigalowmovie for. Schneider returned for a sequel in 2005,Deuce Bigalow: European Gigolo, which fared just as poorly with critics.
The Hot Chickis partMean Girlsand partFreaky Friday.A high school girl wakes up one morning to find her body switched with an older man, played by Rob Schneider. This premise gives Schneider a chance to prance around in his own overblown caricature of femininity, butThe Hot Chickalso manages to sneak in some intelligent observational comedy along with its blatant stereotyping.
Schneider is sure to include his usual heavy helping of slapstick and crude humor, but there are moments inThe Hot Chickwhich dissect the difference between how women are perceived and how they actually are.
Schneider is sure to include his usual heavy helping of slapstick and crude humor, but there are moments inThe Hot Chickwhich dissect the difference between how women are perceived and how they actually are.Adam Sandler gets a minor cameo as a soft-spoken salesmanwho tells Jessica’s friends about how every item in the shop can be used to hide weed, which is a reference to an oldSaturday Night Livesketch led by Schneider.
In some ways,Adam Sandler seems like an obvious fit for children’s movies, but his few attempts at appealing to younger audiences have been a mixed bag so far. TheHotel Transylvaniamovies have done well, but many of his other kids movies have been rejected by both critics and audiences.Hubie Halloweenis a Halloween movie for the whole family, although it is unlikely to win over any fans who aren’t accustomed to Sandler’s humor.
Hubie Halloweenbenefits from its charming visual design and one or two horror sequences laced with genuine tension, even if this tension is often undercut by a cheap joke.
Hubie Halloweenis filled with cameos. There are so many that it’s hard to remember Rob Schneider’s role as Hubie’s old friend, but a lot of the cameos work surprisingly well. Shaquille O’Neal and Kenan Thompson are particularly good value, given their minimal screen time.Hubie Halloweenalso benefits from its charming visual design and one or two horror sequences laced with genuine tension, even if this tension is often undercut by a cheap joke.
Only Adam Sandler could make a movie about an Israeli super soldier that is basically apolitical.Sandler plays Zohan, the aforementioned counter-terrorist commando who moves to New York City to follow his dreams of becoming a hairstylist. Rather than wading into the politics of Israel’s foreign policy,YouDon’t Mess With the Zohanis a playful, campy social comedy with a ton of slapstick action.
You Don’t Mess With the Zohanis certainly not the type of movie to propose any nuanced solutions to global conflicts. Instead, the movie focuses on vulgar humor and elements of action parody.
The movie opens with a close-up shot of Sandler’s crotch, and this sets the tone for the following two hours. Zohan uses his crotch and his abnormally flexible legs to kick his way through a steady stream of enemies. There is a half-baked story about cooperation between Israelis and Palestinians, butYou Don’t Mess With the Zohanis certainly not the type of movie to propose any nuanced solutions to global conflicts. Instead, the movie focuses on vulgar humor and elements of action parody.
