It’s hard
for me to get angry about the steady stream of puerile, unfunny flicks that
arrive each year courtesy of Adam Sandler’s Happy Madison productions. These
movies simply aren’t worthy of notice much less ire, and I think if they’d go
ahead and eliminate the middleman by sending them straight to cable and calling
them Comedy Central original movies (since that’s the only shelf life any of
these films ever have), nobody would care.
today’s news item, for example. In a shocking development, Columbia Pictures
has signed for a new, as yet untitled Happy Madison flick that will feature
David Spade and Chris Rock as heads of rival families battling for the same
camping spot in a park over the course of a weekend. The script is to be
written by the tandem of Spade and his former SNL co-writer Fred Wolf, who
previously wrote Joe Dirt and Dickie Roberts together.
theatrical release, this film will probably get a lot of ridicule and scorn
before it even makes it to theaters. And most likely, it’ll be bad enough to
live up to the hate. But who expects different from any of these guys? Spade
and Rock have consistently shown zero interest in anything challenging for some
time now. Sandler knows the Happy Madison formula is a cheap, but profitable one.
None of these guys are in this business because they love film or they’re
driven to elevate the art. They’re here to make product that makes money, and
they’ll do it in any medium that will have them. And if nothing else, these
films keep Rob Schneider from having to rob old women at gunpoint.
ex-SNL people who go on to do good work, and I’d prefer to save my scorn for
those guys when they disappoint me and make dreck. But getting mad at Sandler,
Spade, and Rock for making unfunny movies? You might as well punch cold air for
sticking around between November and March of each year.