Wolff rating: FAIR
Plot summary: Loutish son of wealthy hotel magnate has to complete every grade in school in rapid succession to secure his father's empire.
Biased, pithy comments: I knew it was an Adam Sandler feature when I came in, but that didn't mean I wasn't disappointed anyhow. The production notes on the DVD basically admit that (at least at this point in his career) Sandler is more a modestly-talented sketch artist than someone who could carry an entire feature, and so they wrote the plot such that no matter what he did (down to carrying on in gibberish for no particular reason early on) the picture would continue to go from one end to the other. Even so, there are a few bits that don't make any sense whatsoever (including why he couldn't just take a high school equivalency exam instead) and even as it's a fantasy, you keep shaking your head as one limp plot device supports another. There are definitely some quotables for drunken freshman fratboy wannabes out there, and if you think Sandler's hilarious, you'll get a whole lot of him. I did laugh now and then at his drunken fantasy of the penguin (just because it was so strange). Veteran SNL sidekicks can sometimes add a giggle (poor dead Chris Farley has some of the best). Overall, though, this isn't Sandler's best work. It's not clear any movie set around Sandler in 1995 could have been good, though, so you got what you paid for. Me, I paid for that one hot scene where Bridgette Wilson (Sonja in ``Mortal Kombat'' for those of you taking notes) is asking high school history questions---it hurt when I knew the answers and Sandler didn't. Sigh.
Other Notes: I watched this and ``Adventures in Babysitting'' on the same day, and Bradley Whitford plays an asshole in both of them, even though they're nearly 10 years apart. He's quite typecast. Watch for Buscemi, who steals the show through a cameo.
How many times I have seen it: x1
Starring: Adam Sandler, Darren McGavin, Bridgette Wilson, Bradley Whitford, Josh Mostel.
Directed by: Tamra Davis