Adam Sandler – The Entertainer Who Always Tickled My Funny Bone

I was barely 10 when I saw Adam Richard Sandler for the first time in the movie Billy Madison, where this guy with a head shaped like an egg, play the role of a spoilt 27-year-old heir to Madison Hotels, a Fortune 500 company.

Such were his antics in this movie, that he won me over by going back to school at that age to earn his father’s respect and beat his competitor who was eyeing the property through various kinds of fun-filled educational activities.

His humour in this battle wasn’t over the top, albeit more through mannerisms and dialogues, and truth be told as a 10-year-old, I was laughing myself silly seeing Sandler play the part of Billy Madison.

For me, a true comic Hollywood star had arrived after the late great Robin Williams.

Before stepping into Hollywood, Sandler had done a bit of TV and impressed with his performance, comedian Dennis Miller referred him to the producer of Saturday Night Live.

What’s more, he was hired as a writer for SNL in 1990 and became a featured player the following year, making a name for himself by performing amusing original songs on the show, including ‘The Thanksgiving Song’ and ‘The Chanukah Song’.

After Billy Madison, the next movie which got me to appreciate his work, even more, was Happy Gilmore, where he played the role of an ice hockey player who discovers a new-found talent in golf and how by going pro, he earns loads of moolah to reclaim his lost house and get his granny out of the old age home.

Needless to say, there was a fair dosage of humour in the entire story, otherwise, it wouldn’t be an Adam Sandler movie, would it!

Post Happy Gilmore, there were a host of good movies that continued to tickle my funny bone the likes of Mr. Deeds, The Water Boy, Little Nicky and a blend of emotion and humour in Big Daddy.

The cherry on the cake for me was yet to come when in 2003 he partnered with the legendary Jack Nicholson in Anger Management, which was the story of this young man who has irrepressible anger issues albeit with a humorous twist.

Next up, his role of making the beautiful Drew Barrymore fall in love with him every single day was one for the ages in 50 First Dates. Romance and Comedy at its best.

What’s more 11 years later the duo again came together in the light-hearted comedy Blended, a family-moon vacation in South Africa.

Such was Sandler’s diversity in comedy that from playing a lover boy in 50 First Dates, he made a 360 shift of character in his next offering, The Longest Yard, to play an American football player who had dropped a game and to prove his worth got the convicts to win a game against the guards. 

His camaraderie in this movie with fellow comedian Chris Rock was simply beyond words and they would continue to give more legendary movies in the time to come with the likes of Grown Ups, Grown Ups 2 and The Week Of.

By this time Sandler’s comedy stable had fine actors with Chris Rock, Kevin James, David Spade and Rob Schneider.

His humour exploits continued with more gems, the likes of You Don’t Mess with the Zohan an epic comic saga of an Israeli Agent who decides to become a barber in New York, I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry, a comic gay angle with real-life friend Kevin James and Just Go With It, where he plays a dentist who falls for a girl half his age, also starring the gorgeous Jennifer Aniston.

Such was their chemistry, that Sandler and Aniston would again team up in the recent murder comedy film Murder Mystery.

To add to that, Adam also acted in some totally nonsensical, leave logic at home, funny offerings that just gave bundles of laughter with Sandy Wexler and The Ridiculous Six.

Having written about his light-hearted and comedy side, if one thought Adam Sandler was only about humour and laughs, they surely had more coming.

As one would know diversity in roles is the mark of a fine actor and Sandler certainly showed that with character drama movies the likes of Reign Over Me, Spanglish, The Meyerowitz Stories with the icon Dustin Hoffman and another funny man Ben Stiller, The Cobbler again with Dustin Hoffman and his latest offering Uncut Gems

Rather than me describing his role in these movies, I would simply urge you to watch them to see the true potential of this man and moreover the actor, truly an uncut gem.

A true all-rounder, Adam Sandler along with acting is also a fantastic screenwriter and has his own production house called Happy Madison, a concoction from two of his films, Happy Gilmore and Billy Madison.

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When not acting, Adam loves spending time with his lovely wife Jackie Sandler who if I may add has starred in a supporting role in many of his movies and his two beautiful daughters Sadie and Sunny.

An able comedian, a fine actor and moreover a kind-hearted man, Adam Sandler is surely the complete entertainer and my favourite contemporary actor in Hollywood.

I wish this legend a happy 54th with the hope of getting more from where all the fun and drama has come!