Tonto pero no tanto

This was on TV last night, and I watched it on the strength of the reviews here at imdb.com. I am AMAZED that so many people liked this pustulent, fetid, rancid discharge of a film. Its lack of comedy is only equalled by its immaturity and pointlessness. There is no acting, no humour, and a plot so thin I can only wonder how it survives holding the weight of its own rancid patheticness. I was literally slack jawed with shock at how bad this film is. I was frustrated with sorrow for the people who actually liked this - one reviewer says that he / she was laughing out loud. At what? How films like this ever get released? How Adam Sandler still has a career after this moronic turd of a film? Just awful. Dont say I did not warn you. By the way, this is only the 2nd review I have written on imdb.com. Generally I feel little need to, as previous posters sum up (generally) the pros and cons of a film very well, but I feel in this case, the public should be warned. I cannot BELIEVE there are so many good reviews for this film, and the truth needs to be told. I am actually offended that this rubbish got greenlighted, made and released, where actual (would be) decent films never see production.

Shocking.

Billy Madison is a 1995 comedy and is Adam Sandlers first big hit in a feature film. It's about an underachiever who goes back to school grades k-12 on a bet and if he graduates he'll get to take over his father's company upon retirement.

It's a very silly and ridiculous movie, but I've always thought it was quite funny. Sandler amps up the goofiness to the point that you'd think he knew he wasn't going to get another film so he just went all out. The story is decent, the cast is good, and the overall end result is a fun flick that won't win any awards, but will tickle your funny bone for an hour and a half.

If you haven't seen this before and like silly humor, I would recommend checking it out.

This is one of those lucky cases where the opening sequence of a movie gives you an excellent idea of what you are in for.

If you do not enjoy Billy's sunblock song, or the bit with the penguin, then you must turn off the movie and stop being such a nag about it.

But for those of us who happen to enjoy movies that are silly and stupid, this is one of the best ones out there.

If you want to see a movie that is fun, puts you in a good mood, and never gets old, then see Billy Madison. All of you Sandler haters will think this is stupid, but everyone who likes Adam Sandler, or doesn't mind humor that is kind of stupid will love Billy Madison.

This is one of Adam Sandler's first movies, and it's one of his best also. This is a movie that I've seen so many times, but I still enjoy it every time. This is good to watch when you're in a bad mood, or if you're stressed out, because it will perk you up quicker than any coffee you can name. Other movies that put you in a good mood are Happy Gilmore, Beavis and Butthead Do America, South Park: Bigger, Longer, and Uncut, and Tommy Boy.

Overall, Billy Madison has a somewhat stupid sense of humor, but it does make you laugh, and it's such an entertaining movie. If you haven't seen this yet, see it now and see what all the laughing is about.

Adam Sandler plays Billy Madison, the son of a wealthy businessman, who is about to hand over the reigns of his company to a greedy businessman. So, in a last effort to have the company handed to himself, Billy enters a bet, that if he can make it all the way through school over again, the company is his. But he cannot flunk school this time around.

We can expect what ensues.

Basically, the film has a decent premise. It may be thrown together a bit sloppy at times, but overall it is good. The thing that is bad about this movie, is the characters, the dialogue, and the film's progress.

There are some laughs in the beginning, but I didn't find the addition of Norm MacDonald very funny, nor did I think it great how the teacher who hates Billy is suddenly, for no reason whatsoever, willing to take off her clothes for him.

There are some great cameos in this movie, especially the always-enjoyable Steve Buscemi. Unfortunately, his short appearance cannot make up for the bad flow, dialogue and character progression in Billy Madison.

Sure, the film has its laugh-out-loud moments, but not enough, and when it all comes down to it, the film has a half-baked, sentimental ending thrown in to enthuse the easily-pleased, and never really focuses on all the laughs it could have achieved throughout its scenes. It seems to take the lowest amount of jokes considering, and look at them as "look how many jokes we have," instead of "look how many more jokes we could have had."

In the end, what could have been an interesting and lively comedy resorts to typical Sandler fare, and nothing more.

My summary: worth seeing, but not great.

2.5/5 stars -

John Ulmer