Comic Adam Sandler turns tables on critics with Cannes triumph

Critics sniffed when Hollywood funnyman Adam Sandler got invited to Cannes, but his performance in the all-star "The Meyerowitz Stories" drew glowing reviews Sunday -- and even buzz about a best actor prize.

Sandler, often ridiculed for slapstick comedies like "Happy Gilmore" and "Billy Madison", plays the unemployed son of a New York sculptor (Dustin Hoffman) who suffers in the shadow of his successful young brother (Ben Stiller).

The picture by Noah Baumbach ("When We Were Young") garnered enthusiastic applause at a press preview ahead of its red-carpet premiere at the world's top film festival unblocked games online.

Reviewers said Sandler, who has churned out dozens of often critically-savaged box office hits, turned in his best performance since his Golden Globe-nominated part in 2002's "Punch-Drunk Love".

Film industry website The Wrap ran the headline "Wow, Adam Sandler Might Actually Belong in Cannes" while Indiewire said "it remains hugely frustrating how great Adam Sandler can be when he's not making Adam Sandler movies".

The Guardian hailed Sandler as "a formidable screen actor", as the Daily Telegraph's critic Robbie Collin tweeted: "Kind of love that Adam Sandler is so rarely as great as he is in 'The Meyerowitz Stories', because when he is it feels so revelatory."

Sandler looked moved as he was greeted with a cheer by Cannes reporters and thanked Baumbach for an "amazing script".

"It got me so many times, I was misty-eyed, laughing. I just couldn't believe we were going to get to do this movie and show this story. I loved it," he said.

After enduring some good-natured ribbing from Stiller about "Happy Gilmore", Sandler said he knew "The Meyerowitz Stories" was an opportunity he shouldn't pass up.

"It's different for a comedian when you get an offer like this and my first thought is, 'I don't want to let anybody down,'" Sandler said unblock sites in pakistan.

- Hilarious set pieces -

At the rollicking press conference, Stiller joked that he thought the script's "first 30 or 40 pages were kind of slow" until his character appears.

He said he only agreed to take the part when he heard "Dustin Hoffman was auditioning to play the dad," drawing a big laugh from the veteran two-time Oscar winner.

The bittersweet film combines hilarious set pieces with starkly emotional scenes of a dysfunctional family trying to work out its conflicts before its cantankerous patriarch dies.

Hoffman said Baumbach insisted the cast perform his script "word-for-word, whether we like it or not".

"I think not since 'The Graduate' was I required to say every single word, and it pays off because there is a music to his writing," he said, referring to the 1967 movie that made him a star.

"Any of us would work for him for free."

Fellow two-time Oscar winner Emma Thompson, who drew big laughs for her turn as the father's alcoholic fourth wife, called the movie's humour "the deepest bit" about it titanfall xbox.

"It's funny and then it's suddenly terribly moving which for me anyway is the most satisfying form of drama that there is," he said xbox oneya.

"If it's not funny I can't really cope with watching it actually."

"The Meyerowitz Stories" is one of 19 movies vying for the Palme d'Or top prize at Cannes, which runs until May 28.

These Are The Adam Sandler Jokes That Some Native Americans Are Mad About

The controversy over the alleged offensive stereotypes strewn throughout Adam Sandler and Netflix's upcoming western-themed comedy, The Ridiculous Six, saw about a dozen Native American actors walk off the New Mexico set. Now the film’s intentionally crass, incidentally contentious discourse has been revealed by way of a draft of the script.

A report from Defamer delves into a draft of the The Ridiculous Six script dated December 7, 2012 that reveals some of the repulsive repartee at the center of the strife. Here’s a list of the insensitive infractions in question.

1) Sandler’s character, Tommy, aka Three Knives, a white man raised by Native Americans since childhood is married to a woman named Smoking Fox. A recurring joke refers to her "sweet zum-zum."

2) A female character named Beaver’s Breath, is propositioned by a male character, asking, "Hey Beaver’s Breath." To which she responds, "How did you know my name?"

3) A "sexy" female character named No Bra (originally named Sits-on-Face in the 2012 script), is depicted crudely squatting to urinate behind a teepee while stereotypically lighting up a peace pipe.

4) Will Patch (Will Forte) propositions Sits-on-Face by asking her, "How about after this, we go someplace and I put my peepee in your teepee?"

5) Cicero (Danny Trejo) interacts with Sits-on-Face by calling her "Strawberry Tits," to which she indignantly corrects him, saying "I am Sits-on-Face." Cicero responds, "Well, then I’m Stiff-in-Pants!"

6) There are numerous instances of crudely-punned pseudo Native American names like Five Hairy Moles, One Eyebrow, and Four Pickles.

The report reiterates that this intel was taken from an older script and it is entirely possible that revisions may have mooted some of these scenes. However, some of the examples specifically involving Beaver’s Breath and Sits-on-Face have already been discussed in numerous reports as points of contention. Overall, these scenes paint a broad picture of juvenile japes that might get a snicker, but could understandably come across as patronizing and offensive to the Native American actors who are made to carry out this proliferation of crude cultural misconceptions.

The film, co-written by Adam Sandler and his creative partner Tim Herlihy, has had its share of issues dating back a few years. In fact, The Ridiculous Six was apparently toxic enough that Warner Bros., the studio that backed some of Sandler’s biggest hits, wanted nothing to do with the film. However, the film would eventually serve as a kick-off for the groundbreaking four-picture production deal between Netflix and Sandler. 

While scenes in question are almost comical in their outmoded sensibilities, it’s difficult to determine the course of their intentions. We know that we’re talking about an Adam Sandler film, which makes it a dumb, raucous romp by default. It’s a narrative that Netflix embraced in their recent public defense of Sandler, emphasizing the "ridiculous" aspect of the very title. In that sense, the structure of the stereotypes in the script sound so blatant that it is entirely possible that their idiocy is meant to be the joke itself, and that no specific malice was intended.

Regardless, it should be interesting to see how this production develops, especially considering that The Ridiculous Six could set the tone for Netflix’s return on a huge investment in Sandler.        

Adam Sandler Biography

Actor, comedian, and musician Adam Sandler was a cast member on Saturday Night Live and is the star of such films as Punch-Drunk Love and The Wedding Singer.

Adam Sandler - Silly Goofy Guy (TV-14; 1:06) A colleague describes Sandler's unique style and simplifies the comics routine to a mere few words.

Synopsis

Born on September 9, 1966, in New York City, Adam Sandler was always the class clown but didn't consider becoming a comedian until his brother encouraged him to perform at a Boston Comedy Club. He was a regular on MTV's Remote Control and on NBC's Saturday Night Live before devoting himself to making movies. Sandler is best known for comedy but has also received critical praise for his dramatic work.

Early Career
Actor, comedian, musician. Born on September 9, 1966, in New York City. Raised in Manchester, New Hampshire, as one of seven children, Sandler was always the class clown. However, he never aspired to be a comedian until age 17 when his brother encouraged him to perform at a Boston comedy club.

Sandler continued to perform after he left Boston to attend New York University. After graduation, he became a regular on MTV's game show,Remote Control. In 1989, he starred in his first film, Going Overboard. He was later spotted by Saturday Night Live cast member Dennis Miller who got him a job on the show, which lasted from 1990 to 1995. It was there that Sandler created such characters as Cajun Man, Opera Man and Canteen Boy.

Film Debut

Through juvenile antics and sometimes offensive stunts, Sandler kept loyal fans laughing throughout the '90s. His first title film role came in 1995 withBilly Madison. Numerous films followed, including Happy Gilmore in 1996,The Wedding Singer co-starring Drew Barrymore and The Water Boy in 1998,Big Daddy in 1999, and Little Nicky in 2000.

In 2002, Sandler co-starred with Winona Ryder in Mr. Deeds and the critically acclaimed Punch-Drunk Love opposite Emily Watson. The following year he starred opposite Jack Nicholson in the hit comedy Anger Management. Sandler reteamed with Barrymore for another romantic comedy 50 First Dates (2004), which fared well at the box office. Taking a more dramatic turn, he starred the dramedy Spanglish (2004) as a husband experiencing trouble with his wife (played by Tea Leoni) and developing a relationship to his housekeeper (played by Paz Vega).

Dramatic Roles

Sandler has continued to vary his work from broad comedies to more weighty material. Remaking 1974 comedy The Longest Yard (2005), he played a convict who organizes a football game between the inmates and the guards - a role originated by Burt Reynolds. Reynolds also appeared in the remake along with comedian Chris Rock and singer Nelly. The next year, Sandler played an architect who discovers a remote control that gives the power to fast-forward or rewind his own life in Click (2006). He took on the role of a man who lost his family in the September 11th terrorist attacks in Reign Over Me (2007). Through an accidental meeting with an old friend (played by Don Cheadle), Sandler's character began to rebuild his shattered life. Sandler earned some positive reviews for his performance with Variety calling him "compelling" and "excellent."

Return to Comedy
Returning to the over-the-top comedy he is most famous for, Sandler produced and starred in I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry (2007). He played a straight firefighter who pretends to be in a gay relationship with a widowed firefighter (played by Kevin James) so that his friend can receive domestic partner benefits for himself and his children.

For his next venture, Sandler played an Israeli commando who fakes his own death to move to America to pursue his dream of becoming a hair dresser inYou Don't Mess With the Zohan (2008). He also produced and co-wrote the film. Continuing to work behind the scenes, Sandler served as a producerThe House Bunny (2008), the sorority house comedy starring Anna Faris.

In his next release, Bedtime Stories (2008), Sandler played a man who tells his niece and nephew bedtime stories, which suddenly begin to come true. The film also features Keri Russell as his love interest, and the remaining cast includes Teresa Palmer, Guy Pearce, Lucy Lawless, and Russell Brand. Sandler also starred in the 2009 summer comedy, Funny People, which was directed by Judd Apatow.

Sandler enjoyed great success with the 2010 comedy Grown Ups co-starring Salma Hayek, Kevin James and Chris Rock. He wrote the script for the movie as well. Seemingly bullet-proof at the box office, he raked in more than $26 million for the first weekend of Jack and Jill (2011)—a remarkable feat for a movie widely maligned by critics. The following year, Sandler lent his voice to the animated film Hotel Transylvania.

Outside Acting

In addition to his acting, Sandler has made several comedy albums. His first was the Grammy-nominated They're All Gonna Laugh At You (1993), which became an instant hit and expanded his fan base among young people through offensive songs and sketches. His most recent release was 2004'sShhh . . . Don't Tell.

Sandler has been married to actress Jackie Titone since June 2003. The couple has two daughters: Sadie and Sunny.

Adam Sandler’s Disturbing Racial Tourism: A Dozen Native American Actors Storm Off Set in Protest

Navajo Nation actors stormed off the set of Sandler’s film The Ridiculous Six over perceived racial insensitivities, e.g. characters named Wears No Bra and Beaver’s Breath.

Jokes about race are tricky, especially in an era where all communication, from Twitter to the privacy of your own home, is being monitored by the PC police, ready to pounce on anything that bears even the slightest whiff of would-be impropriety.

If all the hullabaloo over newly minted Daily Show host Trevor Noah’s Twitter timeline taught us anything, it’s that when riffing on race, you’d better bring your A-game. If the barbs are sharp, they’ll fly, but if they’re lazy and cheap, it comes off as, well, a wee bit racist/sexist/you name it.

I grew up a fan of Adam Sandler’s puerile brand of comedy. Every so often, a Billy Madison quote will involuntarily come hurtling out of my mouth. But in recent years, Sandler Inc. has taken its show on the road and set its comedy sights not on self-flagellation, but fish-out-of-water tales of extreme ignorance abroad—all, apparently, so that Sandler can vacation with friends and family.

“Yes,” Sandler responded to Jimmy Kimmel’s query of whether his movies are just excuses for paid vacations. “I have done that since 50 First Dates. It was written in another place. I said, ‘Imagine if we did it in Hawaii, how great that movie would be.’ And they said, ‘Yeah, that’s a very artistic idea.’ I’ve been doing that ever since.”

Good work if you can get it. Where the problems arise is that, unlike 50 First Dates, whose biggest cultural peccadillo was portraying Rob Schneider as a goofy coconut bra-sporting Hawaiian, Sandler’s “satire” has begun to focus more and more on cultural “satire,” which doesn’t exactly mesh well with Sandler’s simplistic comedy stylings.

Which brings us to the events of Thursday afternoon. A dozen Native American cast members decided to walk off the New Mexico set of Sandler’s latest film, The Ridiculous Six, in protest over perceived cultural insensitivities.

The film, a spoof of The Magnificent Seven, was co-written by Sandler, directed by Frank Coraci, and produced by his company Happy Madison for Netflix. It also stars Will Forte, Taylor Lautner, Steve Buscemi, Nick Nolte, Rob Schneider, Whitney Cummings, Luke Wilson, and… Vanilla Ice.
According to Loren Anthony, a member of the Navajo Nation and one of the cast members who walked off the set, they were hired last week and arrived on set this Monday. They were hired to play Apache characters, and soon noticed a number of red flags during filming.

“I'm Navajo and the Apache people are our cousin tribe, so we respect their culture,” Anthony tells The Daily Beast. “The wardrobe was totally not Apache, it was Comanche. The props on set weren’t Apache either, and were disrespectful as far as the placement of feathers on the teepee. As time went on, we got wind of what the story was about, and it was very disrespectful to our indigenous women—and all women in general. It was very demeaning, so we decided to walk.”

Among the offenses were “a main character who has the name Beaver’s Breath, and all adults know what a ‘beaver’ is,’” says Anthony. “And the name for the other Native American lady was Wears No Bra. The dialogue was also very disrespectful,” Anthony adds, including an alleged scenario involving an Apache woman squatting and peeing while puffing on a peace pipe, as well as “black guys with bronzer on” portraying Native Americans.

Anthony says that the film had hired a cultural adviser, Bruce, to monitor any potential inaccuracies or cultural missteps pertaining to the Apache characters, but his complaints were brushed aside, and it was Bruce who led the walk-off.

“They didn’t try to reconcile or justify anything or make anything better for us,” Anthony says, when asked if Sandler or the filmmakers tried to talk them out of leaving. “They didn’t want to change anything in the script and said they’d put a lot of money into it so far, so they didn’t feel like we were a priority. We had a cultural adviser who served as a consultant, and he’d constantly be letting the director and writers know what was wrong as far as cultural taboos, but they didn’t listen to him, so he felt disrespected and decided to walk off. One of the directors said, ‘If you don’t like it, you can leave.’ And then we all walked off.”

Anthony says that there will be even more cast members walking off the set today in protest because the filmmakers and Sandler still refuse to make any changes to the script. They also took video of the incident.

Among the offenses were “a main character who has the name Beaver’s Breath, and all adults know what a ‘beaver’ is,’” says Anthony. “And the name for the other Native American lady was Wears No Bra.”

A spokesman for Netflix, the company distributing the picture as part of Sandler’s four-picture production deal inked last fall, issued the following statement to The Daily Beast:

“The movie has ridiculous in the title for a reason: because it is ridiculous. It is a broad satire of Western movies and the stereotypes they popularized, featuring a diverse cast that is not only part of—but in on—the joke.”

This is not the first time a Sandler flick has been accused of racial insensitivity. In years past, the Sandler canon has been littered with thinly-drawn stereotypes to draw cheap laughs, like the aforementioned Hawaiian Ula in 50 First Dates or the Mexican gardener Felipe in Jack & Jill, and things began getting pretty problematic with last year’s critically mauled catastrophe Blended, featuring Sandler and Drew Barrymore getting up to some hijinks at a South African resort.

5 Tragedies Weirdly Predicted By Adam Sandler

We love Adam Sandler’s ‘SNL’ characters and his movies ‘Billy Madison,’ ‘The Wedding Singer,’ and ‘Big Daddy,’ but did you know that the Sandman has also bizarrely predicted some of the most devastating events in recent history? Here are just a handful of the tragedies foreseen by the world-famous comedian.

1. Waco Siege

Via Wn.com/Ibtimes.com

In the wake of the 1993 tragedy, which involved Branch Davidian leader David Koresh and 75 other people perishing during an FBI raid on the cult’s compound, few knew that a young Adam Sandler had predicted the incident in his stand-up act. Tapes now reveal Sandler would often spend several minutes on stage repeatedly uttering the phrase, “Something’s coming to Waco. Something dark.”

2. The Death Of Princess Diana

Via Supertran.net / Express.co.uk

The infamous 1997 car crash that claimed the life of Diana, Princess of Wales shocked the world, but hardcore Sandler fans immediately made the connection to one seemingly out-of-place scene from 1996’s Happy Gilmore, in which Sandler looks directly into the camera and says, “Our Queen’s eldest, the beautiful flower, will wilt under a Parisian bridge.”

3. BP Oil Spill

Via Celebritywatchdog.com / Cbsnews.com

In 2010, a massive oil rig explosion resulted in the discharge of nearly 5 million barrels of petroleum into the Gulf of Mexico, as was strangely foretold on a 2005 episode of Late Night With Conan O’Brien, when guest Adam Sandler’s T-shirt simply read, “BP OIL SPILL IN FIVE YEARS.”

4. 2010 Haitian Earthquake

Via Trailers.apple.com / News.nationalpost.com

The U.N. estimates that 222,570 people were killed and 300,572 injured during this tragedy, which are only slightly off from Sandler’s Funny People estimates of 220,000 deaths and 400,000 injuries.

5. Malaysia Airlines Flight 370

Via Youtube via jimbo21cmb / Wikipedia

Most recently, the case of the missing Malaysian passenger flight on March 8, 2014 almost too perfectly echoed the lines from a 1993 Saturday Night Live “Opera Man” sketch: “A missing plane-ah / It’s from Malaysia / Make me insane-ah / This will all make sense in due time.”

Clearly, Adam has a knack for divining when bad things will happen! We can’t wait to see which of his predictions will occur next. Until then, we’re left with his chilling words from ‘You Don’t Mess With The Zohan’: “Water shall overtake the eastern seaboard. Man, woman, child, and animal. All will drown.”

The Three Types Of Adam Sandler Movies

Adam Sandler in a scene from the film “Billy Madison” (1995).

UNIVERSAL PICTURES / GETTY IMAGES

This may come as a shock to some of you, but Adam Sandler does not make very good movies. Sandler is taking heat this week after several Native American actors walked off the set of “The Ridiculous Six” because of racist and misogynistic jokes in the film.

But see, nobody’s really going, “I’m shocked an Adam Sandler movie was full of cheap, unoriginal jokes that punched down and play into antiquated stereotypes.” And that’s because Sandler, for the past two decades, has been one of the most consistent producers of that kind of content.

But how truly consistent is he? Riffing on my Will Ferrell analysis, I used Rotten Tomatoes and OpusData to find the critical reception and box office performance, respectively, of every film Sandler has been in and then looked at the group of movies in which Sandler played a lead role or was in the lead ensemble. Three basic groups of Sandler movies emerged:

The Paydays

“What I’m talking about is no more involved than cosigning a loan or joining a gym.”

—I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry

Films: “The Waterboy” (1998); “Big Daddy” (1999); “Mr. Deeds” (2002); “Anger Management” (2003); “50 First Dates” (2004); “The Longest Yard” (2005); “Click” (2006); “I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry” (2007); “You Don’t Mess With the Zohan” (2008); “Bedtime Stories” (2008); “Grown Ups” (2010); “Just Go With It” (2011); “Hotel Transylvania” (2012); “Grown Ups 2” (2013).

Sandler does not make art. Sandler manufactures product. There’s nothing inherently wrong with that. He’s not deceiving anyone. Ever since he became a leading man in comedy, you could take an Adam Sandler movie poster anywhere in the world, and anyone regardless of culture could probably give you a decent summary of the contents of the film.¹

Sandler, in these films, is basically store-brand cereal. Putting the credit “Adam Sandler” on a poster with a picture of Adam Sandler on it is using the same marketing strategy as putting “Corn Flakes” on the box of store-brand cereal that has a picture of corn flakes on it. Neither the store brand cereal nor the Sandler picture are improving the overall quality of American consumption. They’re each providing a baseline, predictable product that will perform consistently and make money for its producer. Your grocery store is not trying to score a surprise hit of the summer with generic Corn Flakes. Neither is Sandler. As long as the films make $200 million to $300 million on a $50 million to $85 million budget, everyone is happy. And you buy it because it’s cheap and will shut the kids up for a few goddamn minutes.

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The Pineapples

“Remember, you have to shove a pineapple up Hitler’s ass at 4 p.m.“

—Little Nicky

Films: “Airheads” (1994); “Bulletproof” (1996); “Little Nicky” (2000); “Eight Crazy Nights” (2002); “That’s My Boy” (2012), “Jack and Jill” (2011); “Blended” (2014).

Sometimes a Sandler movie fails. A Sandler movie does not fail because it’s bad — most Sandler movies are bad. A Sandler movie fails when it doesn’t make money. Some have suggested that Sandler movies are going downhill, but his movies were never on a hill to begin with. Sandler’s movies exist on a sprawling plain deep beneath the sea, ignorant of heights or valleys, only hoping to hit oil. These are the movies that did not hit.

And that’s the worst possible thing that can happen for an Adam Sandler movie.

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He’s Trying

“What exactly are we celebrating here?”

—Funny People

Films: “Billy Madison” (1995); “Happy Gilmore” (1996); “The Wedding Singer” (1998); “Punch-Drunk Love” (2002); “Spanglish” (2004); “Reign Over Me” (2007); “Funny People” (2009).

How did Sandler get to this point — making movies that don’t have to be good in order to “succeed”? The answer seems to lie in this eclectic set of seven films that fall into two rough sub-categories.

The first are the films that brought Sandler to prominence: “Billy Madison,” “Happy Gilmore” and “The Wedding Singer.” There’s a reason that his production company is named Happy Madison. Sandler was young and hungry, and his schtick was still relatively fresh — or at least it wasn’t 20 years old. When you watch the films, you can sense it: Sandler is trying. They are not necessarily great films, but they’re solid comedies. Some of the actors in these movies come from outside Sandler’s group of friends. There’s often an element of pathos in them. Sandler’s love interest is not several decades his junior.

In the other four films, Sandler has a lot of help. Sure, you could call “Spanglish” an Adam Sandler movie, but you could just as easily call it a James Brooks movie, or call “Punch-Drunk Love” a Paul Thomas Anderson or Philip Seymour Hoffman film, or call “Reign Over Me” a Don Cheadle-anchored movie, or call “Funny People” a Judd Apatow flick. Sandler is unselfish in these films.

Can Sandler be good? These flashes of collaborative brilliance suggest that the answer is “maybe.”

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Sandler is a prisoner of his own device. The collaborative instincts responsible for his best work are not found in the vast majority of the products he produces. He surrounds himself with sycophants and Kevin James.

I’m not shocked that Sandler is churning out some racist, misogynistic schlock. Nobody is particularly surprised. After all, we’ve been buying it for years.

Adam Sandler Has Finally Found the Limits of 'Satire'

A group of cast and crew members walked off the set of the comedian's latest film, The Ridiculous 6, after objecting to the comedian's treatment of Native Americans.
Does Adam Sandler have an expiration date? Does his particular brand of slapstick—humor that's infused with a wan self-deprecation, that manages to be simultaneously silly and sociopathic, that once found Sandler punching Bob Barker in the face while informing him that "the price is wrong, bitch"—hold up? Is Sandler's own price now, finally, wrong?

Recent events would suggest yes. Late last week, in the course of filming Sandler's newest project, the made-for-Netflix Western spoof The Ridiculous 6, a Native-American cultural advisor and several performers and extras walked off the set in protest. (Sample characters: Beaver Breath, No Bra, Sits-on-Face. Sample line: "Say honey: how about after this, we go someplace and I put my peepee in your teepee?") As Allison Young, a Navajo actress who quit after being asked to do a scene"requiring her to fall down drunk, surrounded by jeering white men who rouse her by dousing her with more alcohol" told the Indian Country Media Network, “We talked to the producers about our concerns. They just told us, ‘If you guys are so sensitive, you should leave.’”

Leave they did. In response to which Netflix gave an explanation that is so predictable as to be a cliche: “The movie has ridiculous in the title for a reason: because it is ridiculous. It is a broad satire of Western movies and the stereotypes they popularized, featuring a diverse cast that is not only part of—but in on—the joke.”

First, of course, members of that "diverse cast" walking off set in protest would seem to suggest that they are not, in fact, in on the joke. Second, though, there's the claim that Ridiculous 6 is a "broad satire of Western movies." Which brings us back to the half-life of Sandler's comedy. Is Ridiculous 6 abiding by, or violating, Poe's Law? Has Sandler earned the right to claim, as Netflix does on his behalf, the moral amnesty of satire?

Has Sandler earned the right to claim, as Netflix does on his behalf, the moral amnesty of satire?

Sandler's films—the fart-joke-studded comedies, at any rate, that he's best known for—are, of course, ridiculous. But slapstick and satire are extremely different things. With the Ridiculous 6 controversy, the Sandlerian approach to the world—comedy that is smug and self-deprecating at once, comedy that both celebrates underdogs and revels in the cruelties flung at the them, comedy that is accountable to nothing but itself—is attempting to claim the mantle of cultural criticism. Here is a collection of juvenile jokes, the stuff of the tween boys and locker rooms, colliding with a trend that is sometimes derided as "p.c. culture," but that can also be understood more broadly as empathy culture. Here is Sandler's ethic of whimsical sociopathy being forced to reckon with the occasionally inconvenient fact that movies operate society.

The films of Sandler's "ridiculous" genre do, indeed, violate Poe's law. But that's not because they're offensive. It's because they're insipid. Billy Madison andHappy Gilmore and Grown Ups and Jack and Jill ... these films give no indication that they are self-aware or remotely critical of the subjects they take on. They may deal, if tangentially, with serious topics—race (Blended) and gay marriage (I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry) and, um, the Arab-Israeli conflict (You Don't Mess With the Zohan)—but they lack evidence of the intellectual infrastructure that is a basic requirement of satire.

Compare Sandler's stuff to the work of, say, Louis C.K., whose jokes take on sexism and entitlement and complicated ideas of privilege and the lack of it. Or to the work of Key and Peele or Sarah Silverman or Nick Kroll or Chelsea Peretti or pretty much any other comedian who's ascendant right now. Their films and shows and sets resonate with the culture. The questions society grapples with collectively—matters of race and gender and class—seem to guide them. There's a sense of animating generosity in their work, even when it involves fart jokes.

Sandler's films lack any evidence they're bolstered by the intellectual infrastructure that satire requires.

And then here is Adam Sandler, making a movie whose costumes don't bother to distinguish between the Apache and the Comanche and whose script involves the direction, "Sits-on-Face squats down behind the teepee and pees, while lighting up a peace pipe."

Last year, the Vulture film critic Bilge Ebiri claimed that Sandler "might be the most important comedian of his generation," attributing the importance in large part to "the Sandler persona’s simmering, nuclear self-hate." As an actor, Ebiri noted, Sandler "plays both the shtick and the heart at the same level of non-commitment"—a tendency that "might be annoying to some (okay, many ... fine, most) critics, but it could be the key to Sandler’s appeal. Maybe it’s what makes him more like the average American."

Maybe. The problem is that the indolent sense of self-loathing extends, in Sandler's films, beyond the characters he plays. The loathing here is equal-opportunity. Fat jokes. Asian jokes. Women jokes. Everyone is a target; and the impression this gives is not of Sandler as a kind of omnivorous satirist, but rather of Sandler as someone who is willfully unthinking about his mockery of other people. As the Chicago Tribune's Michael Phillips put it, "People of color, to say nothing of women, who have been marginalized, patronized or humiliated by a stupid joke in an Adam Sandler movie over the last few years constitute the biggest club in modern Hollywood. And until last week, that club was one of the least heralded, if only because its members have been putting up with the demeaning treatment for a century."

They aren't anymore. And that's a good thing for filmmaking, even if it's less of a good thing for the making of Ridiculous 6. Sandler's comedy is based, above everything else, on entitlement. Even his slapstickiest characters suggest that the sheer fact of wanting—a woman, an inheritance, a trophy—is enough to entitle them to the objects of their desire. They are privileged, like Sandler himself, but they do the worst thing one can do with privilege: They take it for granted. Netflix's defense of its collaboration with Sandler is similar in its blithe self-absorption: The whole project is proposing to avenge a group of people who have long found themselves on the receiving end of Hollywood's mockery by way of jokes about peepees and teepees. The filmmakers are defining "satire" according to the people telling the jokes—rather than the people who are meant to be doing the laughing.