Adam Sandler

Comedian Adam Sandler’s films exhibit a gentle surrealism that is part adolescent wish fulfillment and part mid-life wistfulness. A typical Adam Sandler movie will display equal amounts of raunchy humor and personal growth. Adam Sandler was a “Saturday Night Live” cast member who began to stand out on the show for his wide array of funny voices and characters, as well as his cleverly crafted comic song spoofs. Unlike most SNL cast members, Sandler launched his career independent of the show through a series of comedy CD’s that capitalized on the medium’s resurgence in the era of the Jerky Boys.

The raunchy Sandler tapes immediately won him a large fan base hungry for humor that delivered the goods. While not always in good taste, the tapes featured collaborations with many SNL cast members. Sandler chose to create skits and sketches rather than fill the recordings with standup material, and the result was a collection of several volumes that contain masterfully crafted pieces that make brilliant use of Foley artists and other tools of the medium. While parents across the nation were horrified at the content of the recordings, they reveal a sophisticated sense of the absurd.

His movies have adapted the coming-of-age comedy format of such greats as Michael J. Fox and John Cusack—with the added twist of the individual coming of age being in his twenties and thirties rather than a teenager. Despite the criticisms of family-minded viewers, the fact remains that most Adam Sandler films revolve around the themes of making peace with one’s parents and family history, as well as growing into adult roles such married life or fatherhood. These heavy themes are balanced against non-stop laughs, and a self-aware feel-good movie plot often related to professional achievement, such as in Big Daddy or Happy Gilmore.

Adam Sandler is finding praise for his work in more adult-oriented films such as Punchdrunk Love and is happily married with a child. He was born in New York and grew up in several New England states.