Adam Sandler = Jackie Chan

Watched Anger Management yesterday, and thought it was a blast.

Lots of people hate Adam Sandler. They find him puerile, aggressive, repetitive and unfunny. They find his movies schmaltzy, cliched, predictably plotted and sentimental. I used to believe these people. I used to believe them, and expect every Adam Sandler film to be crap. I watched Wedding Singer, and kinda enjoyed it. Then Happy Gilmore, and laughed. I watched Water Boy and thought it was rubbish, while still laughing. I watched Big Daddy and Little Nicky and found myself gigging throughout. Yesterday I watched Anger Management and enjoyed it much more that those people would allow me too.

Sandler film are akin to Jackie Chan movies. In an academic sense, Chan films are also predicable and often jokes are crass and the movie acted with cardboard characters. The plot always involves a lowly Chan rising up to beat the powerful bad guys. Good guys always wins. No-one really gets hurt. His movies (Hong Kong movies at any rate) always have the same cast (Samo Hung, Yuen Biao, Maggie Cheung...) and same producers. Always the same, just like the majority of Sandler's movies.

They both make feel good movies. Both make movies that everyone can enjoy. Both make movies with great set pieces that are often less than the whole. No-one goes into a Jackie Chan film expecting him to play a heroin addict or wife beater. They expect stunts and comedy. No-one ever criticizes him for doing that.

So why criticize Adam Sandler? That is what people should expect from an Adam Sandler movie. Sandler to shout, some over the top cartoon violence, makes penis and fart gags and gets the girl in the end. Expect to laugh and expect to forget about it the next day.

A character actor brings something new to every movie role (see Nicholson, De Niro, Spacy). Stars brings the same thing to every movie role. Sandler and Chan are bona fide stars.