Most of the public associates the name of Adam Sandler with some very successful comedies. However, in fact, he is a much more versatile and multifaceted actor than he might seem. Let’s follow his career by highlighting the main stages of his filmography.
Born in New York in 1966 Adam Sandler he took his first steps on the comedy scene in this city, taking part in the cast of a very famous Saturday night life. Success subsequently brought him to Los Angeles, where he was able to showcase and develop his talent. Throughout his career, he has had the opportunity to collaborate with great authors on the international scene (such as Paul Thomas Anderson, Noah Baumbach or the Safdie Brothers) and play memorable roles in some successful comedies such as Zohan – All women come home to visit or pixels. While most critics disapprove of the films he stars in, the public seems to reward his charisma instead. So much so that for two consecutive years (in 2011 and 2012) Sandler was the third highest paid actor of the year by Forbes magazine.
Adam Sandler has always given himself to projects of various calibers, not sparing himself, moving from comedies to high-voltage thrillers, working both in auteur films and in more commercial and mainstream ones. All of them are films that manage to highlight a multifaceted talent and often deserve to be returned to the mind and eye of the public. Therefore, we decided to trace the career of an interpreter, identify 7 best adam sandler moviesrecommending some of the works (offered in strict chronological order) that we believe are among the most successful and iconic in his filmography.
1. Drunk in love (2002)
If even today Adam Sandler’s career is divided between comedies and clearly stronger films, then this is all the credit. Paul Thomas Anderson. In fact, in 2002, the American director decided to make the actor the protagonist of his new work. Drunk on love it is a sentimental comedy in Anderson’s ideal style, and therefore far from the bright colors, frantic pace and verbal irony of similar works typical of those years. When in 1999 during the presentation Magnolia at the Berlin Film Festival, at a press conference, the director announced that he was working on a romantic comedy script and that he would ask Sandler to interpret it, the journalists laughed, thinking it was a joke. However, three years later, everything takes shape and the bet is completely won. Sandler is just perfect as a borderline character, depressed and unable to give a firm direction to his life and crushed by a completely human shyness that threatens to doom him to eternal loneliness. Drunk in Love is one of Paul Thomas Anderson’s most experimental games, and also one of the most underrated (unfortunately). However, it will be an opportunity for his protagonist to showcase other emotional veins than we’ve been used to up to that point, and of course, even today, it remains one of the most successful and poignant performances of his career, so much so that that it earned him his first and, to date, only Golden Globe nomination for Best Actor in a Comedy or Musical.
2. Shock therapy (2003)
The first of three collaborations between Adam Sandler and the director. Peter Segal, Shock therapy it is a comedy that over the years has managed to maintain its prestige high enough to become a small cult following. Much credit goes to a couple of main characters. In fact, Sandler shares the scene with irresistible Jack Nicholson in what at the time was seen by many as a sort of handover of the baton between two different generations. The film’s skeleton is a fairly classic setting, at least when contextualized during its production years. All of the narrative twists and turns in Shock Therapy are actually about putting the two characters in tragicomic situations bordering on the grotesque and stepping on the accelerator to heighten the absurdity of the moment. The task of confronting the sacred monster that Nicholson was and still is today was certainly not an easy one, but Sandler proves he can handle it without too much trouble, and in turn leaves his mark on the film. A soundtrack full of rock songs (from Santana to The Rolling Stones through The Who, Van Halen and Tori Amos) and a very large cast of co-primaries supporting the lead couple (Marisa Tomei, John Turturro, Woody Harrelson, John C, Reilly …).
3. 50 First Dates (2004)
After success Shock therapydirector Peter Segal calls Adam Sandler again this time to try his hand at a more “classic” sentimental comedy in 50 first kiss. It is interesting to note that the film was practically tailored to its protagonist in order to take advantage of the media appeal and comic verve that the Sandler name now guaranteed in the US production market of those years. Now they are joined Drew Barrymore, the film is about a playboy who has to conquer the heart of his new love every day, as she suffers from a serious memory defect due to an accident. 50 First Dates was a notable success at the box office, and it’s interesting to remember how the public reacted to the film, despite the fact that this is not a comedy aimed at causing laughter, but rather a sentimental film that tries in every possible way to warm the hearts of those who looks.
Adam Sandler: the comedian everyone loves to hate
4. Funny People (2009)
Paul Thomas Anderson’s legacy is being picked up Judd Apatowwho, in 2009, cast Sandler as the protagonist of his Bittersweet funny people. The title says it all: we’re in the cabaret world, but comedian George Simmons (actually Sandler) finds himself suffering from a very serious illness that could threaten his life soon after. Supported by a solid cast (Seth Rogen, Eric Bana, Leslie Mann, Jonah Hill and Jason Schwartzman), Sandler is the real star of the project. Just like in Drunk on love, the actor perfectly manages to balance the comic component with the more dramatic and takes on his shoulders the management of the film from beginning to end, following the instructions of the director. Apatow is back from apparently crazier films aimed solely at laughs. Instead, with this fragment of his filmography, he tries to experiment with something more complex and layered, demonstrating that he can confidently control different components. However, for Sandler, who in those years risked being trapped in roles and characters similar to each other and stereotyped in his cinematic mask, Funny People is an opportunity to once again remind the general public and the mainstream that they can decisively offer more varied and conscious interpretations.
5. Adults (2010)
It’s a classic title, loved by the general public and almost overlooked by critics, as was often the case in Adam Sandler’s filmography. Reviews around the world were actually very cold towards the director’s comedy. Dennis Dugan. Receipts, on the other hand, tell a different story. Weekends for big kids in fact, it is the highest-grossing box office of Adam Sandler’s career. Data that then prompted the production to release a sequel to the film in 2013 (Weekend like big kids 2) and convinced the protagonist to give a Maserati to each of the film’s other four main characters: Kevin James, Chris Rock, Salma Hayek, and Rob Schneider. The duo formed by Dugan and Sandler have made eight films together to date. So it’s definitely a full partnership and you can see the chemistry between the two sides on stage. While Grown Ups is definitely not an unforgettable or memorable comedy in terms of quality, the fact remains that it is one of the most iconic films of the actor’s career.
6. Meyerowitz stories (2017)
Presented in competition at the Cannes Film Festival, Meyerowitz stories represents another more authorial stage in the filmography of Adam Sandler. The movie is actually written and filmed Noah Baumbach and he has all the characteristics and qualities of this director’s gaze. So we’re from New York neighborhoods, in a dysfunctional family in which relationships between different generations are gradually becoming more and more slippery. We laugh and cry in this tragicomic and grotesque story with a typical Allen touch. Thanks to my experience in projects such as funny people but most of all Drunk on loveAdam Sandler juggles these tracks very well, and in The Meyerowitz Stories he manages to take on such a giant in the sector as Dustin Hoffman without showing any limitations. So much so that on the Croisette, many wanted the award for Best Actor (instead, it went to Joaquin Phoenix that year for You were never here).
7. Rough Diamonds (2019)
Landed straight on Netflix, days before the dreaded 2020 quarantine. Rough diamonds this is by far one of the most successful and powerful titles to have been interpreted in Adam Sandler’s career. Directed by the Safdie Brothers, it is also probably the only fully dramatic film (thus devoid of more comic flair) to feature a New York actor. Filmed right in the Big Apple, the film follows the thrilling race of a money- and gambling-obsessed jeweler. Between Scorsesian echoes and frenetic high-tension scenes, Diamonds in the Rough is a lively and intense urban noir in which two directors revel in the carnage of their protagonist (and audiences along with him). Set in 2012 during the NBA semi-finals between the Celtics and the Sixers, the cast also includes player Kevin Garnett and singer The Weekend. However, Sandler’s performance remains unsurpassed and masterful.