Adam Sandler Ranked

Welcome to "Ranked", a weekly series where I rank a franchise or filmography from worst to best and hand out assorted related superlatives. This week, I'm profiling the work of Adam Sandler-whose latest project "Happy Gilmore 2" begins streaming on Netflix tomorrow. 

Adam Sandler's Filmography Ranked:

40.Jack and Jill (D-)

39.Zookeeper (D)

38.Coneheads (D)

37.The Cobbler (D)

36.Anger Management (D+)

35.You Don't Mess with the Zohan (C-)

34.Click (C-)

33.I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry (C-)

32.Murder Mystery 2 (C)

31.Hubie Halloween (C)

30.You Are So Not Invited to My Bat Mitzvah (C)

29.Airheads (C)

28.Punch-Drunk Love (C)

27.Spanglish (C)

26.Pixels (C)

25.Grown Ups 2 (C)

24.Eight Crazy Nights (C+)

23.Bulletproof (C+)

22.Murder Mystery (B-)

21.Hotel Transylvania 2 (B-)

20.Hotel Transylvania (B-) 

19.The Week Of (B-)

18.The Do-Over (B-)

17.Grown Ups (B-)

16.Little Nicky (B-)

15.Just Go with It (B-)

14.Blended (B)

13.Mr. Deeds (B)

12.Reign Over Me (B)

11.50 First Dates (B)

10.The Wedding Singer (B)

9.Hustle (B)

8.That's My Boy (B)

7.The Waterboy (B+)

6.Funny People (B+)

5.The Longest Yard (B+)

4.Big Daddy (B+)

3.Billy Madison (B+)

2.Happy Gilmore (A)

1.Uncut Gems (A)

Top Dog: Uncut Gems (2019)

After seeing it again in IMAX last year, Uncut Gems has been solidified as a masterpiece to me. The Safdie Brothers-in what sadly could be their final work as a duo-created a chaotic, scuzzy character study about an NYC jeweler (Sandler) whose lengthy history of reckless gambling and taking advantage of everyone around him finally catches up with him as he scrambles to pay back his loan shark brother-in-law (Eric Bogosian) the $100,000 he owes him. Sandler is unreal as a fast-talking hustler piece of shit desperately trying to wiggle his way out of the biggest jam he's ever been in; the gradual escalation of the stakes is a masterclass in building tension and the ending is the type of unforgettable triumph that every filmmaker should be aiming to close their films out on.     

Bottom Feeder: Jack and Jill (2011)

Any issues, of which there are many, with the content of Jack and Jill have been discussed at great length by people that are far more articulate and intelligent than me, so I'm going to bypass addressing them here beyond this sentence. What I will talk about is how brutally unfunny it is. Sandler has had his share of movie misfires over the years, but nothing else even comes close to matching the absurdly high whiff rate of Jack & Jill. The Al Pacino Dunkin' Donuts bit that goes viral every so often is the only remotely funny thing in the entire movie! It's equally embarrassing and head-scratching that a veteran professional comedian was behind something so devoid of laughs.    

Most Underrated: Funny People (2009)

I just revisited this one a couple weeks ago after not seeing since it first came out on home video in November 2009 and to be completely honest, I was somewhat taken aback by how much I enjoyed it. While it's a bit shaggier than Judd Apatow's finest hours as a filmmaker, there's still a lot of laughs, heart and humanity to be found in its story of a superstar comedian-turned-actor (Sandler) who suddenly gets introspective about his life when he receives a terminal cancer diagnosis. Sandler does reliably great work as a man who think he has it all until he's suddenly facing death and realizes he has nothing besides money and fame, Seth Rogen is similarly great as the young comedian Sandler's character brings on his assistant/jokewriter after a chance encounter at a comedy club and Eric Bana-who shows up in the latter half of the film as the brash husband of Sandler's long lost love (Leslie Mann) that he's seeking to make amends with 10+ years after they broke up-shows that comedy is a sharp tool in his acting arsenal that has been underutilized during his career.   

Most Overrated: Punch Drunk-Love (2002)

After being really impressed with Licorice Pizza, I thought I'd maybe had a breakthrough with the work of Paul Thomas Anderson. Punch Drunk-Love was the first PTA film I saw post-Licorice Pizza and it didn't take long for me to realize that no such breakthrough had occurred. Sure, it's distinctly weird and well-acted, but it's also brutally slow and uninteresting. We'll see in a couple months if One Battle After Another becomes the second PTA film I enjoy.