Two Very Different Adam Sandler Films Are Riding High In The Netflix Top 10
When Adam Sandler made his television debut as Stud Boy and the Trivia Delinquent on MTV's influential game show "Remote Control," he did not exude an all-ages appeal. He was an unassuming goofball: funny, yes, but in a dorky way that augured a career as, at best, a supporting comedic performer. If he played his cards right, he could have Gilbert Gottfried's movie and television career.
Like Gottfried, Sandler became a Not Ready for Prime Time Player on "Saturday Night Live." Unlike Gottfried, he didn't get canned after his first season. By the early 1990s, he was one of the show's breakout stars. He built on his success via a pair of platinum comedy albums ("They're All Gonna Laugh at You" and "What the Hell Happened to Me?"), and proved he could carry a movie with 1995's "Billy Madison." The critics loathed him, but teens and twentysomethings dug his unrepentantly juvenile humor. At this point, he was Pauly Shore with talent (and a host of equally talented friends/collaborators like Tim Herlihy, Robert Smigel, and Judd Apatow).
And just when it looked like he was plateauing with the big-budget disappointment "Little Nicky," he earned critics' grudging admiration with his superb performance in Paul Thomas Anderson's "Punch-Drunk Love." Then he went four-quadrant with the animated Hanukkah comedy "Eight Crazy Nights." It wasn't a hit, but when Sandler played to the family audience a decade later with "Hotel Transylvania," he wound up with a billion-dollar cartoon franchise.
Adam Sandler was, in one form or fashion, for everyone. And he currently has three top-10 Netflix hits that bear this out.
Adam Sandler is the four-quadrant king of Netflix
Sandler's Happy Madison Productions has been making films and stand-up specials for Netflix since 2016, so it's not surprising that, according to Netflix's metrics, he's one of their most reliable stars. It's also not a shock to see that he's scoring big time with two very different audiences. In theory.
Sandler's golfing romp "Happy Gilmore" is currently holding down the number six spot on the streamer's top 10. Just below it at number seven is "Hotel Transylvania," while "Hotel Transylvania 2" is ranked at number nine. "Happy Gilmore," with its skirting-the-edge-of-the-PG-13-rating humor is ostensibly for older audiences, but as someone who watched "Caddyshack" dozens of times before I turned 10, I guarantee you that kids are sneaking viewings of "Happy Gilmore" when their parents' are preoccupied. Sandler berating a golf ball for failing to fall into the cup is hilarious regardless of your age.
As for "Hotel Transylvania," it's Sandler and his buddies voicing famous monsters. It's not for me, but, judging from the box office, it's very much for families. If I ever mess around and start one of those, maybe I'll see the appeal.
It's worth noting that there's renewed interest in "Happy Gilmore" due to Christopher "Shooter McGavin" McDonald's revelation that he's read the script for the long-awaited sequel. Though there's been no official announcement about "Happy Gilmore 2" from Sandler's camp, it sounds like it's happening; ergo, Netflix subscribers have an excuse to watch the film for the 38th time.