I Did not expect this to be as good as it was.
Big Daddy is a comedy released in 1999 starring Adam Sandler as a lazy and immature New Yorker who suddenly becomes a dad. While he fails to be a great son in his father’s eyes, Sonny (Adam Sandler) sets out to prove he can be responsible to his girlfriend Vanessa when he adopts a five year old. The young boy pops up on Sonny’s doorstep one day, even making an impression on the detached law school graduate. His goofball personality and natural zest similar to a child influences his unique parenting style, letting his new son “Frankenstein” be able to name himself and make his own decisions. Sonny eventually starts to realize how crazy he is as a parent, putting himself in a pickle with Social Services. Sonny wants to return the kid but his mother is no longer alive, so he is forced to father him until a foster family is found for young Julien.
The Pros
I have always liked Adam Sandler even through his diabolical movies because he has that funny factor. It doesn’t matter if the movie you are watching is absolute shit, Adam Sandler will sneak a couple laughs in there somehow. I found he did this in Big Daddy and gave us our first looks before Uncut Gems did, into coupling his comedy strength with emotional acting. Sure, he was funny in the moments with Frankenstein but also was not cringe at all when the sad scenes of the movie came about.
I really enjoyed watching Big Daddy because of the pace of the story and how it never had a dull moment. EVERY SINGLE SCENE of the movie was well placed and was essential. Each scene was properly timed and was not boring. Great job by director Dennis Dugan.
Oh, and Rob Schneider’s performance was nice.
The Cons
The ending.
(WARNING: Slight Spoil in this critique)
Sure, it’s a classic thing to dislike an ending of a movie but this one just had one of those cringe endings. The cringe wasn’t due necessarily to the switching of fathers from Sonny to Kevin, but that it was one of those miracles that these movies tend to love and overuse. I am referencing the court scene. Funny at parts, but Sonny’s father being suddenly changed about his son’s ability to be responsible is just so out of whack. The entire movie until this scene is built about how immature Sonny is. The idea that in the middle of court his father would suddenly support him winning the custody battle is quite the notorious miracle ending. I just hate that they had to entertain the idea of the court being bush league in its evaluation of Sonny instead of being realistic. Yeah I know, this is kind of a overanalyzing critique but I didn’t like it.
My other dislike was simply just Layla’s (Joey Lauren Adams) voice. I didn’t like her voice and it distracted me from her entire portion of the movie. It’s kind of a funny critique, but it matters. People are going to be distracted and probably opposed to the content if there is an odd voice or appearance that gets in the way of the show.
An interesting Adam Sandler movie early in his career. They just don’t make ‘em like this anymore, the Shobe Score is a 70.