After several years as a
Saturday Night Live writer and cast member (from 1990 to 1995
* That's from the middle of season 16 to the end of season 20
), he went on to star in several Hollywood feature films that grossed over US$100 million at the box office and remains as a major box office draw. He is best known for his comedic roles, though he has
ventured into more dramatic territory.
His characters usually fall under the
Jerk with a Heart of Gold, but also with a healthy dose of
Man Child with a serious need to grow up. Realizing that he can only take that role so far, he has sought to expand his range into a couple of dramas. Otherwise he takes much of the
Deadpan Snarker behavior but adds some more complex motivation behind it.
Responsible for Happy Madison production, and often plays a music fan. Expect '70's and 80's music (like
Led Zeppelin) to be not only part of the soundtrack, but
part of the spoken dialog in some way, shape or form.
Enjoys something of a reputation as "
one of the nicest celebrities in
Real Life".
In 2012, he earned the distinct "honor" of creating a film that swept the 2011
Razzie Awards ceremony, with 2011's
Jack and Jill becoming the first film in the show's history to "win" in every category.
Selected filmography:
The following tropes tend to be illustrated by Sandler, his characters, or the movies in which he is the star:
- Beware the Nice Ones
- Cloudcuckoolander
- Dysfunction Junction
- Funny Foreigner
- Hey, It's That Guy!: His films tend to have a huge number of cameos from Sandler's SNL friends, sports figures, musicians, and other various pop culture icons.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold
- This Loser Is You
- Product Placement: To the point that most of his movies shown on TV have to be censored to remove the brand names for legal reasons
- Production Posse: The films he makes at Happy Madison can have a lower cast/crew turnaround than a Coen Brothers movie. For instance, he often works with director Dennis Dugan and Peter Segal and actors David Spade, Rob Schneider, Nick Swardson, Chris Rock, Kevin James, Chris Farley (while he was alive), Steve Buscemi, Kevin Nealon, and Tim Meadows.
- Slapstick
- Ugly Guy, Hot Wife
- Unsympathetic Comedy Protagonist
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