Rodney Dangerfield didn't get no respect/does comedian/actor Adam Sandler deserve any

[banquo's_bumble_puppy]

Rodney Dangerfield didn't get no respect/does comedian/actor Adam Sandler deserve any? Everything is a matter of taste I guess.

[redshifter]

Maybe I'm being a bit judgemental, but the bits n' pieces of his movies I've seen, I found him very unfunny.

[parallaxicality]

It's not really an easy poll to answer. He's not funny but he does seem to have a character that at least Paul Thomas Anderson was able to channel into something constructive in Punch Drunk Love

[Fazor]

Does Adam Sandler get my respect? He was able to find a way to play to his strengths and turn that into a very successful, very well paying career. So yes.

Do I like Sandler movies? No -- even the "old stuff" that people love, like Billy Madison or Happy Gilmore kinda just annoy me. The newer stuff is horrid.

Do I like Adam Sandler? Well, I've never met him, so I don't know. He seems like he'd be too high strung for me, I prefer to be around people that are more laid back. Though the zany sense of humor would fit my odd sense of humor. Still, he's a celebrity. I have no idea what he's like as a person who isn't putting on an act.

[Swift]

Maybe I'm being a bit judgemental, but the bits n' pieces of his movies I've seen, I found him very unfunny.

Yep. It isn't a question of respect or not, I just don't think he is funny or entertaining.

[Luckmeister]

I thought he was at his best on SNL and I didn't like his stuff then.

[NEOWatcher]

He gets on my nerves.
But; someone getting on someone else's nerves does not imply respect or not. It's just a personality clash.

I respect that he's been able to make a successful career for himself and not end up in the news like those other celebrities that get on my nerves.

[DoggerDan]

Depends on what he tries to do. He's a poor slapstick comedian. But I really enjoyed him in the remake of The Longest Yard, and that movie he made with Drew Barrymore was pretty good.

[pzkpfw]

Depends on what he tries to do. He's a poor slapstick comedian. But I really enjoyed him in the remake of The Longest Yard, and that movie he made with Drew Barrymore was pretty good.

50 First Dates?

(Yeah, I quite liked it (as something to watch for light entertainment "for free" one night on T.V.). He makes for a likeable character in light comedy-dramas. In the straight-out comedies I find his style too over the top.)

[Buttercup]

A bit of Sandler goes a long way. I have liked a couple of his films, especially The Wedding Singer (and Drew Barrymore!). But (supposedly) he admitted he "toned things down" for his role in that film ... which is probably why it's one of his more well-liked.

I do remember him as "Opera Man" on SNL, and one time shrilly singing "Mascara! Mascara!" and pouring watery black ink from his lower eyelids with a photo of Tammy Faye Bakker in the background.

Otherwise, he's definitely not the first comedian who comes to mind on my "like list" by a longshot.

[Jim]

He can do a good job in some roles (eg, 50 First Dates) when he controls himself. But, in most roles I've seen, he goes way too far. I think that's the way the part is written, but he takes it even farther.

For that, I place him with Will Ferrell. Both men can actually act, but they just can't control themselves long enough / often enough. They're too much into playing That Character They've Developed.

(Sandler's Hannukah song is very entertaining.)

[Swift]

For that, I place him with Will Ferrell. Both men can actually act, but they just can't control themselves long enough / often enough. They're too much into playing That Character They've Developed.

I would agree they are similar, and with both of them I've wondered if they can only play that character, or have chosen to only play that character. I'm honestly not sure (nor do I care all that much). If I had to guess, I'd say Ferrell is a slightly better actor with slightly more range than Sandler.

I find the Ferrell character mildly amusing, for short periods of time, and in certain movies. I find the Sandler character pretty much just annoying, even back to the SNL days.

(Sandler's Hannukah song is very entertaining.)

I'd say it is mildly entertaining. Hearing it about once a year is more than enough. It is just a list of famous Jews and really isn't all the clever, even as satire. I'd say it is just about the pinnacle of Sandler's brilliant commentary on life and everything .

[novaderrik]

he was pretty moderately ok in Funny People where he got to play a slightly different character than normal..

[Enzp]

I was informed there was an election here, and I needed to vote. So I did.

I don't find him amusing. I tend to expect a certain level of clever in humor if it is to capture my attention. So I prefer Airplane to Police Academy.

Adam Sandler lacks any range as a performer, in my view. The characters he did on SNL all sounded the same, he did the same facial experessions and used the same vocal inflection for most of them. Utterly formula, utterly predictable humor.

[HenrikOlsen]

I may be in the minority, but I think part of the problem with Sandler is that he's been pigeonholed as a comedian while actually being more talented as an actor but without having had much of a chance to show it.

[BigDon]

I may be in the minority, but I think part of the problem with Sandler is that he's been pigeonholed as a comedian while actually being more talented as an actor but without having had much of a chance to show it.

Henrik ol' bean, your statement would carry more weight if Mr. Sandler himself didn't think he was a comdedian. Sort of kills that whole "pigeonholing" concept.

No, what says it best was the fake movie poster for that film where he plays his own twin sister:

Adam Sandler, now he's just "mucking" with us!

Seriously I honestly think Mr. Sandler is pulling what some said was Caligula's motivation for doing his deeds.

Just to see what people will put up with before they call him on it.

[HenrikOlsen]

People are entirely capable of pigeonholing themselves too.
That he himself believes he's a comedian doesn't make it more true.

[BigDon]

Oh yeah?!

(That's all I got.)

[Trebuchet]

I don't watch movies and thus have never seen Mr. Sandler in one. I've seen lots of clips on TV, none of which seemed to be too impressive. I do, however remember a reviewer saying something to the effect of:

Adam Sandler can be a pretty good actor...as long as he's not in an Adam Sandler movie.

[Noclevername]

Is there any way to answer the poll with both the second and third options?

[Buttercup]

I may be in the minority, but I think part of the problem with Sandler is that he's been pigeonholed as a comedian while actually being more talented as an actor but without having had much of a chance to show it.

...and I recall a time when I figured Tom Hanks could never be a serious actor.

Impossible to know exactly what goes on; whether Sandler's situation is his own doing or he's stifled by The Powers That Be.

But somehow I can't see Sandler as an actor on Hanks' level.

[danscope]

Someone writes a "good" script just for Adam Sandler, ....well yes, we would see him in a better light. He certainly has talent and a work ethic. He's come a long ways from his days on MTV's 'Remote Control' . (The early years) .

[Celestial Mechanic]

Just today I read a bit of commentary about how Adam Sandler has stimulated reviewers to the highest creativity in their criticism of his movies. It has me wondering, whose movies are worse: Adam Sandler's or Pauly Shore's? Hmmm ... .

[Swift]

Just today I read a bit of commentary about how Adam Sandler has stimulated reviewers to the highest creativity in their criticism of his movies. It has me wondering, whose movies are worse: Adam Sandler's or Pauly Shore's? Hmmm ... .

Sort of like asking would you rather be beaten to death with a 10 pound sledgehammer or a 10 pound steel rod.

[nosbig5]

Oh, but the kids love him!

[danscope]

You see..... the kids subconciously want to stay kids, and when they see Sandler in action, it gives that subconcious
a little hope that they won't grow up to be stuffed shirts. They hide those feelings, but that's what drives their sense of
'funny' and tickles the rebelious side of their subconcious ego. That's why we like Bill Murray. You can still see the little kid inside there.

[nosbig5]

Yea, but Bill Murray is still funny. Is that because he was my "coming of age" Adam Sandler, because he was in the right time and place for me? Or maybe I relate better to Murray's kid-ness than to a little mini-Sandler that makes me want to drop-kick him off of my lawn.

[Swift]

Yea, but Bill Murray is still funny. Is that because he was my "coming of age" Adam Sandler, because he was in the right time and place for me? Or maybe I relate better to Murray's kid-ness than to a little mini-Sandler that makes me want to drop-kick him off of my lawn.

Actually, I would say that Bill Murray is just a better actor and comedian. He can be genuinely fun, he has done a variety of different roles, and he can be a serious actor too (see for example "Lost in Translation" for many facets of this).

[Tog]

The biggest problem I have with Adam Sandler's movies is that he's essentially a sketch comedian doing a 90 minute bit. I've seen him in things I've liked, but those have all been things where he's more "normal" as opposed to a character that needed a stupid voice to carry it.

I think the same thing about Will Farrel. he can be good, he just chooses not to be. Actually, the following people all have one thing in common:
Adam Sandler
Ben Stiller
Jack Black
Will Farrel
Pauly Shore
And even the late Rodney Dangerfield.
They could all be really good as long as their name wasn't at the top of the movie poster. If any of them had control of the movie, it went bad fast.

Adam Sandler does have a few songs I really like.

As for respect? He gets in front of the world and does things to make most of the world ridicule him. Then he does it again. I doubt he's too stupid to understand the criticism, so he's probably strong enough to take it. I also don't recall him ever being hospitalized for "exhaustion" like a lot of other celebs that get on my nerves. If he can do what he does and stay scandal free, I'd say that deserves some respect, even it's not for his craft (such as it is).

I don't think I'd want to be at a party with him though.

[HenrikOlsen]

You know what, I've just realized that I've had a couple of neurons crossed this entire thread.
Everything I've said was about Ben Stiller, not Adam Sandler.