Cajun Man. Opera Man. Pedro. These and other sketch comedy characters created for NBC’s Saturday Night Live rocketed Adam Sandler to fame. But in an attempt to parlay his small-screen popularity into superstardom, this recent SNL alumnus has graduated to films and albums of particularly poor taste.
Adam Sandler assaulted sensibilities in his first big-screen role as Billy Madison, a rude, mean-spirited, sexually obsessed, alcoholic slacker. Whether belting down daiquiris or racing to the mailbox on “nudie magazine day,” Sandler’s Madison fluctuates between muttering puerile gibberish and erupting into vicious outbursts. Add profanity, homosexual references, flaming bags of manure and a study session where Billy’s shapely tutor rewards his correct responses by taking off her clothes. Bad news. Worse yet, the majority of the movie’s cast is made up of young children.Billy Madison communicates the following messages: “Self-destructive and anti-social behavior is good for a laugh,” and “the jerk gets the girl.” Not a healthy model for young viewers.
