Adam Sandler Is Responsible For One Of The Worst Movies Ever Made

Perry Andelin Blake's 2002 film "The Master of Disguise" seems like it might have worked on paper. The film was co-written by Dana Carvey, and it was meant to provide a showcase for his exceptional skills at imitation and at inventing broad, outlandish characters. Carvey has plied his talents to great effect via his years on "Saturday Night Live" (he won an Emmy in 1993), and he had starred in hit films via the two "Wayne's World" movies from about a decade earlier. Carvey would play the heir to a family of spies, each known for their camouflage abilities and their skill at imitating other people. Carvey, then, would have an organic reason to do impersonations of some celebrities, as well as put on weird, "funny" disguises.

But it was not to be. "The Master of Disguise" was a lousy, unfunny showcase for Carvey, and it was savagely panned by critics. Roger Ebert gave the film one star, writing that "The movie is like a party guest who thinks he is funny and is wrong." The film has a notorious 1% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, and it's a marvel that it made any money at all (it earned $43.4 million on a $16 million budget). There has been no re-litigation of the film, and it now has a reputation as one of the most horrid movies ever made. 

And, wouldn't you know it, the film is Adam Sandler's fault. Brent Spiner plays the film's villain, the evil Devlin Bowman, and even he had nothing kind to say about it. In a 2023 interview with the Inside of You podcast (handily transcribed by Movieweb), Spiner noted that Sandler, the film's producer, kind of forced the movie into being, hiring an inexperienced director after everyone else had turned it down. 

A brief intermission for another Ebert bon mot: On "Ebert & Roeper," the critic elucidated on "The Master of Disguise" by saying that "I wouldn't even recommend it if you cut it up and made it into ukulele picks." What a cut-up. 

We should also pause to note that Carvey really is a talented comedian and impersonator. His imitations of both George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush are spot-on, and he gets to imitate the latter in "Master of Disguise." Carvey writing an impersonation showcase wasn't a bad idea in and of itself. The film's director, Perry Andelin Blake, had never helmed a feature before, having only worked as a production designer on multiple Adam Sandler films. Blake had overseen films like "Eight Crazy Nights," "Little Nicky," "Big Daddy," "The Waterboy," "Happy Gilmore," and "Billy Madison." He was tight with Sandler. 

And he was a last-ditch hire, it seems. By Brent Spiner's recollection, Blake was far down the list of possible directors. Spiner cites the director's lack of experience as one of the primary reasons the film didn't work. Sandler, the film's producer, had to 

"You know what happened with that film? Dana wrote the film, and Adam Sandler produced it, and you know Adam has this group of people who work with him all the time, his crew. And he kind of looked around and he says, 'Who wants to direct this movie?' And no one raised their hand. So, he said to the D.P., 'You want to do this movie?' And he said no. And so, finally, the art director said, 'I'll direct the movie.' And so [Adam said], 'Okay, you'll direct the movie.'" 

And so it was decided.

And, by Spiner's recollection, it was actually an easy, light set to work on. It seems that Blake, for his inexperience, was good with actors, with Spiner certainly liked. He noted: 

"The art director of all of Adam's films directed 'The Master of Disguise,' and I have to say, he directed very much like any wonderful director you've ever worked with. It was like, you know, he had ideas, he would say, 'Let's try it again.' It was great."

The result, however, was — to listen to critics — 80 minutes of utter misery. The film, in fact, only ran about 65 minutes, but included credits and an extended blooper reel that added a hefty 15 minutes to the runtime. Every critic hated it. Some compared it — unfavorably — to "Deuce Bigelow, Male Gigolo." Mike Nelson, head writer and host of "Mystery Science Theater 3000," once called "The Master of Disguise" one of the worst comedies he had ever seen, and that guy has seen some of the worst movies in existence. The worst comedy, Nelson said, was the Adam Sandler film "Little Nicky." 

Sandler, we should all stop to ponder, is behind some of the most miserable movies you would ever hope to witness. Although hits, his films are generally abysmal. "That's My Boy" is so bad it will give you hives. Really, he's responsible for many of the worst films ever made. Sandler produces some of the lowest-common-denominator comedies that Hollywood has ever touched. His films celebrate bullying and revel in cheap '80s nostalgia. Sandler is, by all descriptions, one of the kindest, most generous people you could ever hope to meet. But, golly, some of his films suck.