Tag: Al Pacino

In Judd Apatow's long and boring 2009 vanity project Funny People, Adam Sandler plays a successful comedian who made his fortune with a series of terrible and gimmicky comedies (a wizard has turned Adam Sandler into a baby! Only Justin Long can look after him!). In 2011, Funny People has come true.

Yes, Adam Sandler's career has finally caught up with Rob Schneider's. I never thought I'd see the day!

Making terrible movies is nothing new for Adam Sandler, but I think that Jack and Jill has to be a new low. It has to be, because I refuse to accept that he has made a movie worse than this one. I don't make a habit of watching Adam Sandler movies and was burnt terribly by his last non-Apatow vehicle that I saw, so I'll just keep on believing what I choose to believe.

Is there any way that Jack and Jill can be good? Adam Sandler plays himself and his twin sister, living in an idyllic and totally unsympathetic capitalist dystopia. Every single problem that the Sandlers face in this trailer can only be experienced by a stupidly rich person: "I hope my sister doesn't ruin my pool by riding on a jet ski!” "I can't believe Al Pacino is hitting on me court side at a Lakers game!” Even their apparent reconciliation, awkwardly shoe-horned  in the midst of the trailer, comes in the form of Double Dutch skipping on the $1.2 billion USD largest passenger ship ever built.

I know that the millions of families who go and see this movie will personally identify with the sickening bourgeoisie antics of Adam Sandler and Adam Sandler! If anyone recalls Macaulay Culkin's Richie Rich from 1994, the entire concept was that Richie had so much money that he had no idea how to relate to society. A more "modern” example like Russell Brand's remake of Arthur covers similar material, denouncing wealth while revelling in it.

The nightmare that the Sandlers live in with Katie Holmes is presented as if it is a wonderful life that can only be spoiled by outside influence. Humanity is presented as destructive to the American way of life, which is the right to own more than you could ever possibly need while systematically ignoring your family.

Of course, "none of this would matter” (it would) if the movie looked funny at all. It doesn't. It has no capacity for laughs, existing only to bring further shame to Al Pacino, who I understand has made some good movies in his time … but that was so long ago I can't remember. I can't picture Katie Holmes and Adam Sandler having anything approaching chemistry, and the cute adopted child cribbed from Easy A is more than a little on the nose. I can't wait for this movie to make billions and reinforce my total lack of confidence in the universe.

I've got one thing to say to you, Adam Sandler: Don't Bring Me Down!