Theory Thursday: Adam Sandler is Doing Some of His Career-Best Work Right Now (2015-Present)

Scene from Hubie Halloween

Welcome to a sporadic column called Theory Thursdays, which will be released every Thursday and discuss my "controversial opinion" related to something relative to the week of release. Sometimes it will be birthdays while others is current events or a new film release. Whatever the case may be, this is a personal defense for why I disagree with the general opinion and hope to convince you of the same. While I don't expect you to be on my side, I do hope for a rational argument. After all, film is a subjective medium and this is merely just a theory that can be proven either way. 

Subject: Hubie Halloween is released on Netflix this Wednesday.

Theory: Adam Sandler is doing a lot of his career-best work right now.

Scene from Uncut Gems

As hard as it is to believe, but audiences have been underestimating Adam Sandler for a solid 30 years now. Since he first hit the scene as the bad boy of Saturday Night Live, he's been accused of dumbing down comedy with irreverent jokes and even fouler sketch albums. As much as he was the perfect embodiment of Generation X absurdism, those who didn't get him couldn't get on board with his films like Billy Madison and Happy Gilmore, mixing slapstick with underdog stories that have defined the era. The fact that he's still around is frankly a miracle, proving every one of his critics wrong with continued success. Sure, he may be found more often than not on streaming thanks to a lush Netflix deal, but he's still bringing in the audiences.

With his latest film Hubie Halloween, it feels like a good time to discuss something. While it's likely that the generational divide will never be connected over whether it's an idiot savant or just an idiot, I have noticed something subliminal even within myself. As someone who grew up loving Sandler, seeing every movie he lead theatrically up until 2010's Grown Ups, I have felt squeamish about giving his new work a shot because, more than anything, I felt like I had outgrown it. Right when his films became the most accessible, I would read The Ridiculous 6's plot description and think to myself "I'll pass." His old stuff is still very funny, but I think there's a decent argument to say that he hit a wall by the Mid-2000s, his viability shrinking.

This isn't to say that I have been chaste about his work. I did see Just Go With It and Jack and Jill, and by then I felt it was over. Somehow shifting from working with Rob Schneider to Nick Swardson and Kevin James was too much more me. They weren't funny. If anything, I justified things by arguing that they were a bad influence on his comedic tendencies. I should know, I convinced myself to watch Bucky Larson: Born to Be a Star. But still, because of that since of disappointment, I never really came back to him when the Netflix deal hit. I only ever came back when he did a "dramatic" role like The Cobbler or Men, Women & Children (the Reefer Madness of technophobia). They were interesting, but it felt like things were over.

And yet, I come out of Hubie Halloween with one comment: I liked it. Sandler is back with another delightful, if light, comedy that hits enough of the right notes for a fun evening. I wouldn't say it'll ever feel like essential Sandler, but it felt like a good time to share something that may seem blasphemous, especially given that I just said that he hit a wall, doing some of his worst work less than 10 years ago. By some miracle, at some unexpected turn, there is a moment where Sandler came back. It felt like he cared again, and suddenly I find myself less sheepish about turning to his comedies, dramas, and stand-up specials for warmth. Maybe I'm just becoming less critical, but I personally believe that sometime around 2015, he began doing some of his career-best work.

Oh sure, you can argue his 90s comedies will always be funnier or that Punch-Drunk Love deserves to be hailed as his peak. However, as time has moved on, these feel like blips on his radar, and during the early 2010s, it felt like we liked what Sandler was and not what he is. Again, I can only speak for a handful of those films, but they all had the same horrible vibe to them, playing off of a mean-spiritedness that was gross and off-putting. My style of humor was moving away from that. Basically, I think that Sandler realized that himself and figured that he had to begin proving himself all over again. How was he going to age into an elder statesman when he had so little draw in terms of recent projects?

Scene from Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation 

To be fair, you can argue that this shift actually started in 2012 with Hotel Transylvania when he started his first fully-fledged family franchise. While they never quite are as masterful as their Genddy Tartakovsky-direction would suggest, they are delightful, proving that he could do goofy voices and wild antics without resorting to a crassness that had long turned me off. If anything, it was the most symbolic of what has worked for Sandler in this time. While some of it is just nostalgia overload, it's also the reality that I think watching him now is to see him like a father figure, capable of giving you a security in every one of his stories. It's most obvious in Hotel Transylvania, where he's constantly at odds with his vampire daughter dating a normie, leading to a whole host of wacky conflicts. 

But it's worked to define most of the post-2015 output and may explain why I now turn them on with a smile on my face. It feels like he cares again, breaking free of an existential crisis and finding a confidence that is reassuring. Not only that, but somewhere in his Netflix deal he began to be more amibitious with his collaborators. The most noteworthy remains Noah Baumbach for The Meyerowitz Stories, which finds him dealing with dysfunctional family in a wonderful drama that challenges him. I'd argue that it's his best work since Punch-Drunk Love, finding humor and frustration being channeled into organic character development. There's even a fun song number that plays subversively with his persona as a funny song guy. It's cute and simple, showing how deep down he cares. Not only that, but his typical "manic yelling" shtick makes for one of the best opening scenes of the decade as he loses his mind looking for a parking spot. 

Whereas The Cobbler and Men, Women & Children weren't the successes we'd hope for, they at least had substance in their story that made you think in the right hands that they'd be great. To be fair, The Cobbler SHOULD'VE been much better because it was from that year's Best Picture-winning director Tom McCarthy. Instead, it's a transphobic mess. Still, the high-concept reflected someone who was on his way to a series of The Meyerowitz Stories, proving that he wasn't just going to do one and done like he did with Paul Thomas Anderson over a decade earlier. He needed to build to a The Meyerowitz Stories because, like I've established, there needed to be reason to believe in him again. This couldn't just be a fluke. As much as you can read it as a cynical Oscar ploy, it was so much more about developing a character that was insecure with his own maturity, and Baumbach frankly is one of our best human condition screenwriters.

Scene from 100% Fresh

I'd even go so far as to say that this was only teeing us off for an incredible run. Since 2018, he has had one of the best stretches of his entire filmography. Again, his shift into a more subtle, caring father archetype has done him wonders. While The Week Of may not be his most ribald or memorable, it's still one of those comedies where you realize that he's trying to flex his muscles, able to play more subdued and quiet roles. It's the type that makes you long for more indie comedies in his future, especially if they star someone who understands him as well as Chris Rock (Sandler's cameo in Top 5 is also worth checking out). I do honestly believe that Sandler can sometimes be only as good as his collaborators, and he's managed to pick more wisely in recent years. 

Though if you want to know what best reflects the Sandler nostalgia coming back hard, 100% Fresh is his first stand-up special, and it's everything you'd expect from him. It's as sporadic and irreverent as his best work. It's the type of show that gets by on random gags that come out of nowhere. A big difference from his films is the feeling he gets from a live audience, guiding him with cheers and laughs. It also has some of his most heartwarming moments in his entire career, including a loving tribute to Chris Farley that proves that even if he's still your neighborhood silly man, he still has compassion and heart. There's not a moment of malice here. Everything feels alive with warmth, allowing you to feel safe when he goes into those goofy accents and catch you off-guard with catchy lyrics that may be secretly appalling. 

For me, 100% Fresh embodies his legacy better than any one film. It's the type of performance that makes you understand the man himself, able to age with this strange grace. At times it may be his most disjointed work, but it's also one that reflects where all of his ideas come from, that he's used to entertain us for a near 30 years and likely will for the next 20 if he's allowed. The idea of this special is made even better because, despite being a live concert format, it feels like nothing else that Netflix released. It was cherry-picked into a special, meditative format that flows from highlight to highlight, making you want to relive Happy Gilmore all over again. More than anything, he seems like one of the nicest celebrities out there.

While I wouldn't call Hubie Halloween or Murder Mystery his top comedies, they feel like they're made with more effort. His previous accusations of filming his vacations for films like Grown Ups feel a bit like a thing of the past, that he's ready to win you back. Hubie Halloween feels like it's trying to be in the vein of The Waterboy, finding an underdog with a funny voice winning over the town. It's the type of role that he plays best and, when applying a cute mystery, actually serves as something grander for him. It may be just another comedy from him, but it feels more welcomed upon arrival, where he's able to throw in references to O'Doyle or Happy Gilmore (notably an early cameo) and make it feel delightful instead of tired. He's trying to give you something substantial, and that's what I feel is most different. Grown Ups is just lazy nonsense. Hubie Halloween at least feels like it's striving for something greater.

Given that Sandler also reported in the past week about his admiration for recently deceased actor Cameron Boyce, it only shows how much more compassion he has now. Even if you find his movies dumb and disposable, it feels like he's taking his fame more seriously now, allowing for honest conversations to be had. Whereas Funny People felt like a cautionary tale in 2009, it feels like he's finally learning from his mistakes and trying to make entertainment that will win over audiences. After all, so many people have Netflix and there's even more options to pull from. Why not make them care about stopping over and giving you a chance?

Then, of course, there's Uncut Gems. Even more than The Meyerowitz Stories, I am going to allow everyone who is mad about The Oscars snubbing this movie to go long. While there is this part of me that recognizes why the movie didn't make it (too aggressive, divisive), it's still infuriating because it's a performance that I would even go further and argue that this is his best work. Sure, I love Happy Gilmore just a tad more (have for almost 20 years), but this one has weaseled its way up the charts so quickly, managing to give me a performance that I like to call "the joke without the punchline." Much like Albert Brooks in Drive or A Most Violent Year, Sandler is playing a variation of himself, but without the comedic beat at the end. It's funny, sure, but there's tragedy in the humor, that he's this terrible man who just can't catch a break. It works as this deconstruction of his entire career, finding the raw nerve being scratched constantly by The Safdie Brothers in ways that are thrilling. 

This is a role that gives me faith in his future. It's not one designed for Oscar-bait, but genuine effort to tell a story that he cares about. To watch him get caught up in sports gambling is a hauntingly beautiful moment. When he says "This is how I win," it has this chill going down your spine. How does this man not see the damage he's done to himself? Sure, one can argue that this contradicts his fatherly image that I've talked about, but it's more that he's allowing himself to take bold risks in ways that aren't just fart jokes. There's genuine effort to make his aging persona mean something new. I wish Uncut Gems was an allusion to a change in prestige culture, but that's like expecting The Social Network to beat The King's Speech for being the shiny and new way of storytelling. Some will get it, but expect retrospectives in a decade to point out just how dirty we did The Sandman.

More than anything, the past five years feel like Sandler has been trying to prove himself, and I think he's found a nice groove. He is no longer making comedies just to dominate the box office. I'm sure he avoided doing dramas because they weren't his most profitable. I think of how Reign Over Me never caught on and I felt like he personally saw himself as burned for trying to branch out. As he recently suggested, not recognizing his genius will only make him act out by making the worst movies ever. Part of me thinks that explains, even validates, that period where he felt like he was phoning it in. Even then, his immediate follow-up with The Safdie Brothers, Goldman vs. Silverman, saw him go even more experimental, and I'm here for that. 

In fairness, taste is subjective and I'm aware that there are those who likely will find some of these movies I bashed (or outright ignored) to be masterpieces. I'm finding that a bit with Jack and Jill (for... some reason), but for me it's difficult to separate my shift in taste from that time to my belief that he was entering his least interesting period as an actor. Then again, it could've been his most essential, convincing him that he needed to try and bring something more to his work. I can't speak for everyone else, but I'm thankful for the path that he's gone on lately, and while they're not all five-star feasts, the best work reminds you of why he got into comedy in the first place: to make us laugh and have a good time. That has felt especially true since 2015 and I hope will only be true going forward.