Spotlight on the Stars: Adam Sandler

For this week’s spotlight piece, I wanted to sort of go back to the start of the series and take a look at someone who doesn’t get the respect that they deserve from the masses. Today, that person is Adam Sandler, one of the kings of comedy who also has a flair for drama when he decides to go that route. He’s a huge titan of studio comedy, for sure, but he’s got a load of talent for when he chooses to get serious. The laughs have shot him to the A-list, but when he’s gone for depth and emotion, he’s shown that he’s got some acting chops as well. He’s rather underrated overall, so a spotlight today is definitely in the cards for him. Sandler got his start towards the A-list through television when he was cast on Saturday Night Live after a short stint on The Cosby Show. That established him as a jokester, something he’d transfer to the big screen with Airheads before actually getting to be the lead in Billy Madison. That was the start of “Adam Sandler”, with Happy Gilmore and a detour to action comedy with Bulletproof to follow. Sandler was starting to become “Sandler”. He continued to become one of the biggest names in comedy with hits like Big Daddy, The Waterboy, and The Wedding Singer. He also had his first non blockbusters in Eight Crazy Nights and Little Nicky, as well as a successful return to form in Mr. Deeds. The most notable thing he did during that time however was attempt drama with Punch Drunk Love. Sandler gets most of his respect through his serious performances. The aforementioned Punch Drunk Love was the first time he really showed how well he could pull it off (trusting Paul Thomas Anderson, which is never a bad idea), but since then he’s taken time out periodically to play it straight, always to great effect. Funny People, Reign Over Me, and Spanglish have represented some of his best performances. He sandwiches them around comedic performances in films like 50 First Dates, Anger Management, Bedtime Stories, Blended, Click, Grown Ups, Grown Ups 2, Hotel Transylvania, I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry, Jack and Jill, Just Go With It, The Longest Yard, That’s My Boy, and You Don’t Mess with the Zohan, but the movies where he doesn’t just go for the laughs are the ones where you really [...]