15 Of The Finest Adam Sandler Movies You Need To See

Quick Facts

Adam Sandler has had a career in film for more than three decades which began with him getting cast in The Bill Cosby Show. Moving on from there, the funny actor has gone on to make films that appeal to audiences from all around the globe. He was born Adam Richard Sandler on the 9th of September, 1966 in Brooklyn, New York and is a descendant of Russian Jews from both sides of his family.

Sandler’s career in entertainment did not just begin with him acting; he was also a comedian who did stand-up comedy. He was at a comedy club in Los Angeles when Dennis Miller, a talk show host discovered him. Miller then recommended him to a producer on Saturday Night Live and in 1990, Adam Sandler started to write and perform on SNL.

Becoming a part of the show opened many doors for the actor and by 1995 when he left the show, he was already a name to reckon with in Hollywood. His production company, Happy Madison Productions has been in existence since 1999 and this has been the means he has produced a majority of the more than 50 films he has starred in. This article gives you a list of the 15 finest Adam Sandler movies you would really love to see.

Finest Adam Sandler Movies You Need To See

1. The Meyerowitz Stories (2017) 

This 2017 Netflix film features an ensemble cast made up of , Emma Thompson, , and . Hoffman is the eccentric artistic patriarch of the family who bemoans the loss of the fame and reputation he built in the New York art’s scene as a revered sculptor and art professor. His sons, Stiller and Sandler struggle to live up to his expectations even as middle-aged men. Adam Sandler’s performance received high praise with some critics claiming he is actually a good actor.

2. The Wedding Singer (1998)

Adam Sandler and have been in three films together with The Wedding Singer – a 1998 film – being their first collaboration. Adam Sandler is a wedding singer who falls in love with a waitress played by Drew Barrymore. Their love is plagued by complications and the film tells the story of how they fought all the odds in their path. The film features a lot of singing and because of this, there is a long album of all the songs on it including those performed by Sandler and the original songs written for the film. The Wedding Singer was made on a budget of $18 million but it made $123 million and is considered one of the best performances of Sandler.

3. Funny People (2009)

Sometimes a movie is only a hit with critics and fails to break even at the Box Office – Funny People is one of such films; made on a budget of $75 million while only managing to rake in $71.6 million. George Simmons, played by Adam Sandler, is a comedian who hears he is dying and decides to make the best of the rest of his short life. This sends him on the path of reconnecting with an ex and taking a young comedian, Ira Wright (played bt ), under his wing. Judd Apatow who wrote and directed Funny People received praise for the work he did on the film and was commended for pairing Sandler and Rogen, as both of them had great chemistry.

4. Happy Gilmore (1996)

Dennis Dugan is one of the directors that Sandler has worked with multiple times and Happy Gilmore is the first film both of them collaborated on. Sandler wrote and played the character of Gilmore who is a shoddy ice-hockey player that discovers he has a knack for playing golf with one of the moves he uses for hockey. The film follows his progress in the game and the struggle he faces as a redneck to fit into the more elitist game of golf.

5. Punch-Drunk Love (2002)

The Adam Sandler’s movies that have received high praise are movies he has acted in that have been written by other people. In Punch-Drunk Love, he is Barry Egan, a lonely man who is the object of ridicule in his family of seven sisters; this ridicule, coupled with the fact that he is single, affects his self-esteem and gives him anxiety. Luckily, he meets a woman who is interested in a relationship with him. The film is a story on the comfort and self-assuredness that comes with being in love.

6. Click (2006)

When Michael Newman gets access to a remote control that has the ability to control real-life events, he starts out by muting his wife during an argument and then goes ahead to do other things with severe consequences. By the time the film ends, he learns that life is all about enjoying moments. Newman is played by Adam Sandler who also produced the film. , , and also featured in the movie.

7. 50 First Dates (2004)

50 First Dates is the second film Drew Barrymore starred in alongside Adam Sandler. In this film, Barrymore is Lucy, a woman who is suffering from short-term memory because of a car accident she had. Sandler, on the other hand, is a womanizing marine vet who takes it upon himself to find ways to spend every day with Lucy although she can’t remember him by the time the next day comes. The film gets its name from the numerous attempts of Sandler’s character to make Lucy fall in love with him every day.  The film was originally supposed to be a drama but Sandler re-wrote aspects of the film and made it less somber.

8. Billy Madison (1995)

This Adam Sandler movie was released in 1995 and it features the actor in the titular role. Billy Madison is a spoilt child who brings his wealthy father shame constantly; this leads his father to disinherit him only agreeing to reinstate him if Billy is able to go through all the twelve grades in school in two weeks. If he does not do this, the family business will go to the company’s vice president, Eric Gordon (portrayed by Bradley Whitford), who is an unprincipled person. Billy Madison is a coming of age story that is steeped in comedy and this somewhat takes away the gravity of the events in the film. Critics had a mixed reaction to the film, regardless it was a success at the Box Office.

9. The Longest Yard (2005)

This Adam Sandler movie is a remake of a 1974 film with the same name. Here, Sandler is Paul Crewe who used to play football and gets convicted of a crime that was never proven to be true. While in prison, he decides to mobilize the other inmates and they have a game of football against the guards. who played the role of Paul Crew in the original film also had a role as Coach Nate Scarborough in the 2005 remake.

10. Anger Management (2003)

This movie spawned the creation of the television show of the same name. Sandler is David Buznik who has anger issues stemming from a childhood incident. His office is also highly triggering and the relationship he has with his girlfriend, Linda, played by is threatened by the presence of an ex that has refused to leave her. plays Dr. Buddy Rydell, a therapist who is supposed to help David with his anger issues, but uses unconventional methods which only anger David some more. Buznik eventually gets better and learns to express his anger in healthier ways.

11. Hotel Transylvania Series

Adam Sandler has also applied his talents to animated films and one of the characters he has played is Count Dracula in the animated movie, Hotel Transylvania. The film was a hit with younger audiences and made $358.4 million on a budget of $85 million. Its success led to the making of two sequels and a television show. The film also features the talents of , , , , , and . For his performance, Adam Sandler won a Kid’s Choice Award.

12. Reign Over Me (2007)

In 2001, America suffered a great loss with the Twin Towers coming down, and the hundreds of people who lost their loved ones in that event had a hard time recovering. Reign Over Me has as its premise this event with Adam Sandler as Dr. Charlie Fineman who loses his wife and daughters during the terrorist attack. This film is an acknowledgment of the healing that can be found in friendships. Sandler and his co-star received praise for their performances and the film’s use of a video game as one of its thematic devices has also been praised.

13. Murder Mystery (2019)

Happy Madison Productions which is Adam Sandler’s production company has signed a four-film deal with the streaming platform, Netflix and Murder Mystery, which had in its lead roles, Adam Sandler and Jennifer Aniston, is the first of the four films. They are a couple on vacation who became the prime suspects in a double murder. As they try to piece together the mystery of who the real killer is, more bodies pile up.

14. Spanglish (2004)

This is one of the few Adam Sandler’s movies that does not rely on his comedic strength and his acting is able to shine through. In Spanglish, he is the diminutive John Clasky who is bullied by his wife and struggles to have a hold on his family. This film is a lesson on the importance of healthy familial ties especially between mothers and their daughters. The film failed to make a profit at the Box Office but this is one of Sandler’s highly praised roles.

15. The Waterboy (1998)

An overprotective mother and her 31-year old fearful son are at the helm of this sports comedy, with Kathy Bates as Helen Boucher, the mother of a timid Bobby played by Adam Sandler. This film was written and produced by Sandler and it was a hit at the Box Office. It received mostly mixed reviews from critics with some bashing its reliance on New Orleans lingo as crude and offensive while some praised its cheerful tone.

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