Billy Madison: Um Herdeiro Bobalhão

Very much a movie of it's time. Watching it now, if you didn't watch it in 1995 or thereabouts, is probably going to leave you shaking your head.

Look, all I can say is that Adam Sandler was king of juvenile humour back then, and that it was a different time. Yes, there are some jokes that would never make it to the screen today, and some of the scenes made me cringe a little. Billy Madison is spectacularly dumb, but it's fun in a 1990's comedy sort of way, which is a whole different realm.

Adam Sandler plays the titular character who is basically a lazy slob, but needs to graduate elementary and high school to take over the family's hotel chain. Standing in his way is the villain of the moment, played hammily by Bradley Whitford. So many dumb jokes you can't help but laugh, and the expected cameos from Sandler's buddies - Steve Buscemi and Chris Farley in this instance.

Looking at some of the reviews here reinforces the fact that there are certain people that like different types of humor. If stupid humor makes you laugh, this is your comedy. If you like stale British cerebral humor, maybe you should stay far away from this. I'm sure we all have our favorite and unfavorite comedians. I happen to like Sandler because he is immaturely funny. I think Dave Chapelle's show is pretty damn funny too. I never thought Sam Kinison was funny (the screaming is annoying) nor do I care for Chris Tucker.

I saw Billy Madison at the theater, a friend and myself and the 8 other guys randomly scattered around the seating area found this to be pretty damn hilarious. I laughed at about 8 different scenes and that is a lot for me for any one movie. I still laugh at a few of the scenes when I see repeats and yes I have it on video.

Those of you who dislike this movie are more than likely too old and stuck on your Bob Hope type era comedians and refuse to admit any others. Sandler isn't the greatest comedian who ever lived but his shtick was fresh and original when this movie came out. I have a video of him back when he did stand up and the guy is brilliant.

Again, people who get easily annoyed and upset with the stupid type humor steer clear of this movie and save yourself the aggravation that these sad negative reviewers subjected themselves to.

Out of all of Adam Sandler's comedic efforts, Billy Madison still stands as his most profoundly weird and dare I say, surreal.

Many of Sandler's worst comedies, such as Jack and Jill and Grown Ups are comedies that fail due to how horrifically lazy and uninspired they are. From their premises to their jokes and gags and their overall execution, those movies just have nothing to offer in terms of inspired humor or even just surface-level entertainment. Billy Madison may be absurdly idiotic and juvenile, but the movie isn't lazy or uninspired.

Many of the jokes and gags in this film are supremely strange, such as Billy making a call to an old schoolmate he used to bully and apologizing to him, then later on, that same guy comes back at the end of the film to save Billy from the film's antagonist, Eric, by shooting him in the ass with a sniper rifle. This movie does genuinely feel like an inspired piece of alternative comedy that totally works for me.

And the film manages to avoid what many of the worst Sandler comedies indulge in, which is trying to trick the audience with moments of phony sentimentality as a way to convince them into believing that the film has an emotional core. Billy Madison knows exactly what kind of movie it is and it makes no apologies for how stupid or ridiculous it gets and I both respect and appreciate that.

Billy Madison is a childish, bizarre, and kind of dark comedic film at times which is what makes it unique from most of Sandler's other films. It's an acquired taste for sure, this movie certainly wouldn't turn any Sandler haters into believers. But in comparison to most of Sandler's other comedies, Billy Madison is one that stands out.

"Hey Billy, who would you rather bone, Meg Ryan or Jack Nicholson?"

"Jack Nicholson now, or 1974?"

"'74"

"Meg Ryan."

What can I possibly say? This is no "Citizen Kane," but this is one of the movies that sticks out in my mind the most. It's a twisted, crude, tasteless comedy but never ceases to bring out extreme laughter, even after I've seen it approximately 200 times--give or take. I just cannot get tired of this movie! There are things in this movie that cannot be understood, like every Sandler flick. What the hell was the deal with the penguin? However, it's a memorable moment. There are so many memorable quotes from the film. It's one of those movies I can quote line per line off the top of my head.

Here's a share of my favorite quotes:

(singing) "Suntan lotion is good for me. You protect me. Tee-hee-hee."

"O'Doyle rules!"

"It's too damn hot for a penguin to be just walkin' around. I gotta send him back to the South Pole."

"You're giving the company to Eric? He is a bad, bad man."

Adam Sandler has that brand of comic genius in which you don't know what you're laughing at, but it's damn funny! You can't help it! I can't rant and rave about anything artistically brilliant about "Billy Madison." Yet it's one of my favorite movies of all time.

It's funny, it's original, it's Sandler! Nuff said.

My score: 8 (out of 10)

So there are a lot of bad reviews for this movie and although we don't all have to agree with the same thing, I feel some reviews were made out of spite. Is it a stupid movie? Yes. Is it immature? Yes. Did some of the reviews take this too seriously? Yes. It's a movie about a man-child who goes back to school in the hope of getting grades so he can own and run his fathers business. There is a cast of children. Why did anyone try to take this seriously??? Look it's not the funniest movie ever and it's really silly in places but it's enjoyable and harmless enough. There are some random but funny acts and some strange scenes but all in all it's not that bad. I first watched this 26 years ago and I still giggle at some of the stupidity. Especially a random song.....