Barry Egan
Played by: Adam Sandler
A sweet-natured but socially inept small entrepreneur. He deals with a lot of mental problems and social anxiety caused by his sisters but that all changes when he means Lena.
- Apologises a Lot: Barry, and frequently when he's not even done anything wrong.
- Bad Liar: Barry. And he tells a lot of them (specifically when he has done something embarrassing).
- Berserk Button:
- Barry goes into a rage whenever anyone, usually his sisters, bring up the time he threw the hammer through the door.
- It gets pushed again when Lena is injured in a car accident by Dean's thugs—only this time Barry channels his anger into fending them off.
- Beware the Nice Ones: Barry is fundamentally a really sweet-natured and caring person but he is capable of some truly frightening displays of rage and aggression.
- Classical Anti-Hero: Barry is lonely, socially awkward, plagued with self-doubt, and gets horribly upset at the drop of a hat. Through the events of the film, he works towards overcoming these issues while fending off a gang of con artists.
- Deconstructed Character Archetype: A borderline-Psychopathic Manchild as played by Adam Sandler for most of his career isn't a cool fratboy to be friends with In-Universe, or even someone that is funny to behold — he's outright terrifying and at best still makes one bellow out a "what the FUCK is wrong with you?!?"
- Freudian Excuse: His mental problems and severe anxiety comes from having ''seven overbearing sisters''.
- Nice Guy: All his mental issues aside, Barry is a sweet-natured and caring person.
- The Power of Love: Enables Barry to become a total badass.
- Psychopathic Manchild: Barry is far from a bad person but it is clear that he has unresolved emotional problems that cause him to lose his temper. One of the movie's primary themes is demonstrating that in real life, this kind of typical early Adam Sandler character would make you fear for your life.
- Took a Level in Badass: Barry in his second run-in with the Mattress Man's gang. Lena getting injured might have something to do with it.
Lena Leonard
A kind-hearted woman turns Barry's life around.
Played by: Emily Watson
- Cannot Spit It Out: Lena has to take the initiative. A lot.
- Florence Nightingale Effect: Part of why Lena seems so besotted with Barry is that he's so helpless. Lampshaded by the soundtrack with the song "He Needs Me."
- Nice Girl: Lena is extremely kind, nice, and loving.
Dean
Played by: Philip Seymour Hoffman
Also known as The Mattress Man. He is the Big Bad of the film.- Big Bad: Dean "The Mattress Man" Trumbell arguably acts as one for Barry, with his threats and attempted extortion of Barry jeopardizing his relationship with Lena and providing much of the tension in the movie.
- Bullying a Dragon:
- The Mattress Man threatens Barry over the phone, AFTER knowing Barry has dealt with the brothers single-handedly, clearly not expecting to ever have to confront him in person. He does.
- Dirty Coward: Dean, the Mattress Man, is very full of himself over the phone and when he has his mooks around. When Barry has him cornered, he reveals himself to be a slimy, pathetic coward.
- Evil Counterpart: He has serious anger issues just like Barry.
- Hypocrite: He calls Barry a "pervert" which is hypocritical for a guy who runs a call-girl service, the one that Barry called in the first place.
- Jerkass
- Paper Tiger: Dean, the Mattress Man. He's tough and threatening when surrounded by and working through his mooks, and even keeps his smirk as he's acceding to Barry's demands to leave him alone. But when he decides to get the last word in, and Barry doesn't react well, he basically folds:Dean: Now get the fuck outta here, pervert!
Barry: (starts to walk towards Dean, pointing at him) Didn't I warn you?! - Smug Snake: The Mattress Man. Likewise, the Four Blonde Brothers have insufferable smirks whenever they deal with Barry, and even when assaulting him it's clear they don't take him seriously. They painfully learn what a mistake this is.
Elizabeth
Played by: Mary Lynn Rajskub
Barry's overbearing sister who puts a lot of pressure on him. Walter
A dentist and Barry's brother-in-law.
- Nice Guy: He doesn't get mad when Barry smashes his windows. He is also more than happy to give Barry a number for a psychiatrist.
