Billy Madison, Happy Gilmore, The Waterboy – Adam Sandler has made a career out of portraying
brash but lovable underdogs. In fact, his early box office success was so
bankable that it paved the way for his own production company, Happy Madison
Productions, in 1999. More than simply earning an extra title card in the
credits, the company became a sheltered cinematic playground for Sandler and
his friends to freely create without overwhelming studio interference.
Financially speaking, the gamble paid off big time. Of the
46 features released over the next twenty years, only four of them were unable
to turn a significant profit (That’s My
Boy, anyone?). Any studio executive worth their pending sexual assault
lawsuit claims would kill for a 91% recoup rate. So how does the idea of
failure even dare to enter the equation?
Pop quiz time: Can you name a female lead from any Happy
Madison Production that was NOT treated like a prize or sexual object?
…
Exactly.
Paul Blart: Mall Cop?
Jayma Mays nailed the role of mall kiosk vendor, but could Paul Blart (or the
viewer) describe any aspects of her character aside from her being “pretty” or
“nice”?
The Ridiculous 6? Julia
Jones is a phenomenal dramatic actress with meaningful roles such as the
redemptive farmer in The Mandalorian and
pained sentient AI in Westworld, but
this stunted flick reduced her character’s entire existence to her sex appeal
as Smoking Fox. You can draw your own conclusions for the quality of this role.
Pixels? Michelle
Monaghan started the movie as a Lieutenant Colonel in charge of the US
military’s weapons’ program, but by the end, she was Sandler’s prize for saving
the world. (Not-so-Fun fact: this movie also features Serena Williams and
Martha Stewart…as sexual trophies won by Peter Dinklage. And don’t even get me
started on the awkwardness of Q*bert!)
Which brings us to 2020’s The Wrong Missy. David Spade plays a stuck-in-a-rut businessman who
sees his whole life flipped upside down when he accidentally invites the wrong
date to join him on his corporate retreat (the free-spirited Lauren Lapkus). Despite
the interesting idea, the entire film drags on like one long cameo conga line
of Sandler’s day players only briefly interrupted by stints of unnecessary and
uninspired sexual exploitation of the female cast. From uninvited intimacy
advice to demanding group sex with an ex-fiancée, there is not a single woman
in the entire film that is not juxtaposed with painfully overt sexual dialogue
or action.
How does this happen? Aren’t we living in the era of
heightened awareness and representation? Well, yes and no.
While Happy Madison Productions shielded Sandler and friends
from studio oversight, it also isolated their creative minds from new ideas and
diverse insights. Of their entire catalog of 46 films, do you know how many
were written by a woman?
One – The House Bunny
featuring Anna Faris (written by Karen McCullah Lutz and Kirsten Smith).
Do you know how many of those 46 title were directed by a
woman?
Zero.
That’s right. Because who knows how to capture a
female-centric story of rejection and self-discovery better than a man?
Now, don’t get me wrong. I understand that Happy Madison is
far more than Mr. Sandler’s influence, but his influence is what makes
everything this company does possible. It is in his name that they continue to produce.
And even though Sandler has evolved as an actor, garnering well-earned
praise for his turns in Uncut Gems
and Reign Over Me, his voice and
creativity have remained stagnant – still facilitating the fantasies of
immature teenage boys everywhere. In his twenties, it was fun. In his thirties,
it was stretching. But in his fifties, it just feels sad and creepy.
So why does it matter what kind of films are created? His
films aren’t for everybody so just go watch something else, right?
Well, this environment of objectification impacts far more
than what you see at the theater. In 2015, the delightfully witty actress Rose
McGowan of Charmed fame was on her
way to audition for a role in one of Happy Madison’s productions when she
received a brief wardrobe note with her script encouraging her to wear a “form
fitting tank top that showed off cleavage (push up bras encouraged). And form
fitting leggings or jeans” (McGowan’s Twitter – link below). While it’s not
uncommon to make wardrobe requests to aid final casting decisions, keep in mind
this was a FIRST READING. McGowan refused to audition, and her agent dropped
her. She was labeled “hard to work with” and struggled to find representation
for a bit – all for refusing to allow herself to be objectified.
And that’s the great failure of Adam Sandler: what’s on the
screen mirrors what’s behind the scenes.
At a certain point, a person’s body of work betrays their
true nature. For example, it’s no secret that Alfred Hitchcock preferred
blondes to an unhealthy extent both on and off the screen. Yet when his
platinum-plumed love interests dared to stand up to the famed director, he took
out his frustrations on his casting choices as “his way of creating perfect
women whom he could control” (Jeff Saporito, Screen Prism’s The Take). On the other hand, the
legendary Cary Grant had it written into his contract that women had to chase
him in his films (instead of the man-chasing-woman romantic standard of the day)
so that he could seem more desirable to the public. Any surprise that Grant
struggled with personal identity, value, and acceptance his whole life?
And finally, the hallmark of an Adam Sandler movie is the objectification
and sexualization of women. From Click
to Grown Ups, a depressing number of
talented actresses have had their human identities reduced to the sum of their
curves for the greedy, guilty pleasure of immature boys masquerading as men. As
horrendous as this practice is for actresses in the moment, it lastingly degrades
femininity for the next generation of filmmakers and audiences.
After nearly thirty years as the brash but lovable underdog,
maybe it’s time for Sandler to mature.
