A career worst debut, solving a murder on vacation and saving Halloween. Here's the ranking of Adam Sandler's Netflix original movies.
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00:00A career-worst debut, solving a murder on vacation, and saving Halloween, here's the
00:06ranking of Adam Sandler's Netflix Original Movies.
00:11Adam Sandler's Netflix tenure got off to a rocky start with 2015's The Ridiculous Six,
00:17the worst-reviewed film of his career. Taking its inspiration from The Magnificent Seven,
00:22this comedic western casts Sandler as Tommy Whiteknife Dunson Stockburn, a white man raised
00:28by Native Americans. Much to his surprise, Tommy learns he has five outlaw half-brothers
00:34— happy-go-lucky roughneck Lil' Pete Stockburn, Mexican burro rider Ramón López Stockburn,
00:41saloon pianist Chico Stockburn, mountain man Herm Stockburn, and former bodyguard to Abraham
00:47Lincoln Danny Stockburn.
00:49Together, this merry band of misfits set out to save their father Frank, a dying bank robber
00:55who's been kidnapped by bandits looking for $50,000 in loot he set aside for Tommy's tribe.
01:01According to The Guardian, the production was plagued with controversy as about a dozen
01:06Native American actors walked off the set in protest of its depiction of Apache culture.
01:12Their complaints ranged from characters named Beaver Breath and Never Wears Bra to a scene
01:17involving a Native American woman smoking a peace pipe while squatting and urinating,
01:22as well as the improper positioning of feathers on a teepee.
01:25I had dream about you last night, Whiteknife.
01:28Oh, that's nice.
01:30Not nice dream. And dream you naughty.
01:34Perhaps its most positive review came from Michael Phillips of the Chicago Tribune, who
01:39said it was a long, long way from the worst Sandler movie ever made, but that was about
01:44as kind as it got for the film.
01:46The second Adam Sandler Netflix original was only marginally better received than the first,
01:51whereas The Ridiculous 6 clocked in with an abysmal 0% Rotten Tomatoes score, 2016's
01:57The Do-Over earned a 9% rating from the critical aggregate.
02:01So things were already on the upswing for the Sandman's output at the streaming service.
02:06The film reunites Sandler with his old Saturday Night Live buddy, David Spade, who plays Charlie,
02:11a hapless bank manager living in Florida with his wife and stepkids.
02:15While his wife is cheating on him with her ex-husband, Charlie reunites with his high
02:19school friend Max, played by Sandler, an FBI agent who invites him to party on his
02:23rented yacht.
02:24Max blows up the vessel and fakes their deaths, allowing them to assume new identities, but
02:29their chance for a do-over is met with comedic complications.
02:33The vast majority of critics weren't as forgiving, with David Ehrlich of IndieWire summing it
02:38up by writing,
02:39"...the do-over is atrocious, but it's atrocious in different ways than any of Adam Sandler's
02:44previous comedies.
02:45For years, we've been asking Adam Sandler to try harder.
02:49We've been making a huge mistake."
02:51Although the majority of its reviews were largely negative, many critics lauded 2018's
02:56The Week Of as being more personal than some of Adam Sandler's other Netflix offerings.
03:02Sandler plays Kenny Lustig, a working-class Long Islander struggling to pay for his daughter's
03:07wedding.
03:08Kenny cuts every corner possible to avoid asking the wealthy father of the groom, Kirby,
03:13for help, booking the venue at a cheap hotel, and hiring an adolescent DJ.
03:18Things get out of hand when Kirby shows up and immediately starts feuding with Kenny
03:22over everything, but before long, the two dads are bonding over the shared loss of their
03:27kids.
03:28Jesse Hassinger of The A.V.
03:29Club credited longtime Sandler friend and first-time director Robert Smigel, who voices
03:35Triumph, the insult comic dog, and co-wrote Sandler's You Don't Mess With the Zohan with
03:40elevating the film above the standard Sandler fare.
03:43Yet his opinion was in the minority.
03:45According to The New York Times, Glenn Kenny said,
03:48"...while the movie is ultimately more of the same old, same old, it is at least not
03:53as appallingly sexist and culturally insensitive as The Ridiculous 6."
03:58Sandy Wexler provides Adam Sandler with the opportunity to indulge in one of his favorite
04:03cinematic pastimes, transforming into a wacky character akin to the kinds he used to play
04:08on Saturday Night Live.
04:10While those SNL performances were only sketch length, this 2017 film is stretched out to
04:15131 minutes, testing the patience of many critics who aren't always on the Sandman's
04:20wavelength.
04:21-"Ha ha ha ha ha, that's great."
04:26Wexler is a middling talent agent in 1990s Los Angeles characterized by his nasally voice
04:31and giant spectacles.
04:33He's devoted to his clients, all of whom are hanging on the fringes of the industry, from
04:38ventriloquists to wrestlers to wannabe movie stars.
04:42Sandy meets his newest find, the talented singer Kourtney, while she's performing at
04:46Six Flags, and he instantly signs her.
04:48But Sandy's devotion to his work is put to the test when he falls in love with Kourtney.
04:53Although Brian Tallarico of RogerEbert.com thought Sandler's third Netflix title was
04:58better than The Ridiculous 6 or The Do-Over, he also pointed out that it was more of a
05:02case for how bad the first two films were.
05:05Still, he admitted that the film had its positive aspects, including Sandler's performance,
05:10which he likened to his work in Punch-Drunk Love and Funny People.
05:13Tallarico added,
05:14"-There's a halfway decent and interesting 90-minute dramedy buried in this 131-minute
05:20film."
05:21Jesse Hassinger of The A.V. Club was more positive, writing,
05:24"-This is all still Sandler shtick, replete with endless running gags, but it's also surprisingly
05:30endearing and often quite funny."
05:33Murder Mystery was among the most popular Netflix originals ever made, bringing in 83
05:38million viewers and inspiring an upcoming sequel.
05:42The 2019 film was one of Adam Sandler's best-reviewed outings on the streamer, and one of the best
05:47of his vacation movies, a.k.a. movies the Sandman made as an excuse to visit an exotic
05:52locale with his friends and make a few million while there.
05:56Sandler plays Nick Spitz, a New York City police officer taking a long-delayed European
06:00vacation with his wife, hairdresser Audrey, played by Jennifer Aniston.
06:05While on the plane, they meet dashing aristocrat Charles Cavendish, who invites them to party
06:10on the luxury yacht owned by his wealthy uncle, Malcolm Quinns.
06:14Quinns, who is engaged to Charles' ex-fiancée, is found murdered by his own dagger, and Nick
06:20and Audrey are framed for the crime.
06:22Although he had issues with Sandler's character, Richard Lawson of Vanity Fair called the film
06:27a cheery enough diversion.
06:29Leah Greenblatt of Entertainment Weekly wrote,
06:32Aniston and Sandler relax into their roles as if their only stake in mystery is to enjoy
06:37the free trip to Italy and have fun running down cobblestones.
06:42Critically speaking, Adam Sandler's Netflix output has only gotten better with each subsequent
06:47release.
06:48One of his latest, 2020's Hubie Halloween, got decent reviews relative to how the Sandman's
06:53movies are usually received.
06:55Hubie Dubois is one of Sandler's signature adult man-children, in line with those he
06:59played in Billy Madison and The Waterboy.
07:02He's a sweet-natured simpleton who's constantly ridiculed by his neighbors and the local sheriff,
07:07Sergeant Steve Downey.
07:08As the official Halloween helper of Salem, Massachusetts, he keeps an eye out for teenagers
07:12attempting pranks, only to find himself the butt of many cruel jokes from kids and adults
07:17alike.
07:18But things get really spooky on October 31st, as escaped lunatic Richie Hartman and possible
07:24werewolf Walter Lambert wreak havoc on the town.
07:27In the end, Hubie comes to the rescue, and along the way he finds romance with Sergeant
07:32Downey's ex-wife, Violet Valentine.
07:35Released at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, Hubie Halloween proved to be the perfect October
07:39surprise for viewers stuck in their living rooms, holding the top spot on Netflix for
07:4410 days straight.
07:45Critics were also generally surprised as well with the movie, with John DeFore of The Hollywood
07:50Reporter writing,
07:51"...those choosing to stay at home instead of trick-or-treating during this year of unfunny
07:55horrors could do much worse than this."
07:58Whether it's attending Lakers games with his Anger Management co-star Jack Nicholson, or
08:03gaining the admiration of Shaquille O'Neal for his prowess with the ball, Adam Sandler
08:07has long had an affinity for basketball.
08:09He even played a gambling addict who bets it all on a crucial NBA match in uncut gems.
08:15His love of the game is evident in every frame of 2022's Hustle, one of his best-reviewed
08:20Netflix originals.
08:22Sandler plays Stanley Sugarman, a world-weary talent scout for the Philadelphia 76ers, whose
08:27search for the perfect basketball player has taken a toll on his personal life.
08:31While in Spain, he meets Bo Cruz, whose troubled past has kept him from playing professionally.
08:36Impressed with his streetballing skills, Stanley brings Bo to the U.S., and the two men find
08:41redemption through their shared love of the game.
08:43Do you want to be in the NBA?
08:45Yes!
08:46Well, let's make that happen.
08:50Critics praised the film's authenticity of its basketball world, as well as Sandler's
08:54performance.
08:55The actor has at times been accused of phoning in performances, but Hustle provided a breath
08:59of fresh air for critics, with Peter Travers of ABC saying,
09:03"...Sandler again shows what he can do when fully committed to a role."
09:08Whether it's in his signature outrageous comedies or more auteur-driven dramas, Adam Sandler
09:13has cornered the market on playing adult men stuck in a state of arrested development.
09:17Much like Paul Thomas Anderson's punch-drunk love, Noah Baumbach's The Meyerowitz Stories
09:23burrows beneath Sandler's on-screen persona to examine the deep emotional damage at its
09:28core.
09:29This provided him with one of his very best roles and perhaps his best Netflix original,
09:33albeit one not produced by Happy Madison.
09:36He plays Danny Meyerowitz, a talented musician stuck under the shadow of his domineering
09:41father, sculptor Harold Meyerowitz.
09:43Danny moves in with his dad and his newest wife, alcoholic hippie Maureen, after his
09:47marriage breaks up and his daughter starts her first year at NYU film school.
09:52A retrospective of Harold's work reunites Danny with his siblings, financial planner
09:56Matthew and Xerox employee Jean.
09:59But when their father suffers a health scare, the emotionally estranged children are suddenly
10:03confronted with the various ways Harold has stunted their growth.
10:07The Meyerowitz Stories earned raves from critics, particularly for its rich ensemble, with Odie
10:12Henderson of RogerEbert.com writing,
10:15"...Sandler finds the perfect line between tragedy and comedy for Danny.
10:19He still does his hollering, angry man-child schtick, but here it stems organically from
10:23the character and is never used as a comedic crutch."