"Billy Madison" - The most Sandler Adam Sandler's has been.

Despite being a somewhat underrated actor in film circles, I've had a lot of appreciation for Adam Sandler since I was a kid, a comedy actor with a very particular (and simple) style but who generally has no problem entertaining me. Movies like Grown Ups and Click are a perfect example of this, mixing laughs with a couple of emotional moments and proving that cinema doesn't always have to be artistically dense to be worthwhile.

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In fact, Sandler himself has shown a great ability to function outside of comedy, with brilliant films like Claw or Uncut Gems that allow him to shine in much more complex and introspective roles.

However, today I'd like to talk to you about a very different project, with one of his first forays onto the big screen in 1995 after his time on SNL: Billy Madison.

And I must admit that I am a little disappointed with this flick, considering that I was fully prepared to enjoy it but ended up with a boring product that has not only aged poorly, but I doubt that at the time it was genuinely entertaining.

The premise is simple: Billy is the heir to one of the largest hotel chains in the world, and in order to take over this empire he must legitimately complete all the school courses he skipped in his childhood/adolescence.

Of course, Billy is a rather immature man, blinded by his own privileges and who exists in a bubble far removed from harsh reality. To get through all these school courses, Billy will not only have to study history, math, and English, but he will also have to learn to be a functioning member of society.

In essence, we are faced with an absurdist comedy that has a simple and direct starting point that in the end is nothing more than an excuse to string together a series of gags and jokes that can be more or less funny, however, despite how disconcerting some very specific moments are, it is quite predictable what course the story will take from the moment we find out that Billy Madison must return to school.

It is a very nineties film and this makes the nostalgia factor play in its favor, in fact, the most notable part of the entire film is the audiovisual aspect, the music, the direction, and in general the aesthetic identity of it.

Although it is nice to see a young Sandler doing his thing (especially when he is surrounded by other great actors like Steve Buscemi or Norm Macdonald), I prefer his less histrionic and mature performances, although it is all a matter of taste.

This score was taken from my Letterboxd account.