Verdict
Summary
A truly stupid comedy that endeared itself into the pop culture lexicon if you grew up in the ’90s, I avoided watching Billy Madison until now for this review, which made for an interesting viewing experience. I watched it with my wife, who quoted every line, but I marveled at how terrible the movie is, and I’m admittedly not a fan of Adam Sandler (I’ve only seen a few of his movies, never having seen his biggest and most famous films, including this one until now), which only reinforced my opinion that Sandler is one of the most overrated “funny guys” who managed to sustain a very successful fan base and career in movies. I didn’t laugh once during this movie, but I guess I can understand and appreciate the film’s – and Sandler’s -childish appeal if you grew up with his movies.
Plot:
An immature heir to a hotel empire must go back to school – kindergarten to high school – in order to inherit his birthright.
Review:
Billy Madison (Adam Sandler in the film that would pretty much launch his solo-starring movie career) is an immature boy living in a man’s body, and he also happens to be the heir of a hotel empire, his father being Brian Madison (Darren McGavin) of the Madison Hotel chain. Brian will disinherit Billy and hand over the empire to a sniveling underling (played by the always villainous Bradley Whitford) if Billy won’t prove his mettle and worth. A deal is struck: Billy will go back to school – from kindergarten all the way through high school – and graduate each class (two weeks for each class) on an accelerated program to show that he’s a smart, educated and dependable man … and then inherit his father’s business. But Billy is such an immature brat with a one-track mind to get laid with one of his teachers (played by Bridgette Wilson) that he almost derails his chances at graduating before he has the chance to prove that he can actually accomplish this hair-brained scheme.
A truly stupid comedy that endeared itself into the pop culture lexicon if you grew up in the ’90s, I avoided watching Billy Madison until now for this review, which made for an interesting viewing experience. I watched it with my wife, who quoted every line, but I marveled at how terrible the movie is, and I’m admittedly not a fan of Adam Sandler (I’ve only seen a few of his movies, never having seen his biggest and most famous films, including this one until now), which only reinforced my opinion that Sandler is one of the most overrated “funny guys” who managed to sustain a very successful fan base and career in movies. I didn’t laugh once during this movie, but I guess I can understand and appreciate the film’s – and Sandler’s -childish appeal if you grew up with his movies. Luckily, for me, he came up and became famous during my late teens and I simply knew that he wasn’t my cup of tea and stuck with more evolved humor and comedic films of the era. That said, watching this with someone who really loved it is like eating someone else’s comfort food and just not really finding satisfaction in it. Tamra Davis directed it.
Kino Lorber’s new 4K Ultra HD / Blu-ray is out now, and likely looks better than it every has on home video in a new HDR master from a 4K scan of the 35mm negative. It comes with two audio commentaries, deleted scenes, outtakes, the trailer, and a slipcover.
