Billy Madison

As Adam Sandler has been a big money maker for close to a decade now, it's easy to forget exactly what movie it was that really broke him out to the general public. While some would claim that The Waterboy was his true breakout, anyone who is a fan of Sandler knows that it was his first true starring role that broke him into mainstream acceptance.

In Billy Madison, Sandler plays the title character, the son of a millionaire (billionaire?) hotel owner who is looking to retire and turn the company over to his only son. Billy is a spoiled rich kid, getting drunk out by the pool with his two friends. Hell, in the first 15 minutes of the movie, he sings a song about suntan lotion protecting him from UV rays ("smiley!"), hops on his golf cart when he realizes it's "nudie magazine day," and goes on to chase a non-existant giant penguin ("come here Mr Penguin!") in said golf cart as well, finally collapsing in front of his father's business associates ("leg!").

After making a buffoon of himself at his father's dinner, Billy learns that his father ( has decided to hand the company over to the sniveling executive vice president Eric instead of himself. Eric and Billy can't stand each other, and this sets up the main point of the "plot."

Billy bets Eric and his father that he can complete grades 1-12 in about 6 months (2 weeks for each grade). If he succeeds, he takes over the company. If he loses, however, Eric will in fact take over Madison Hotels and take control of the 61,000 employees it holds.

Billy's trip through the early grades are shown in detail, while about 2/3 of the way through the movie, a collage is shown with Billy passing each grade and throwing a party. The elementary grades are key to the movie, as this is where Billy makes new friends (including Ernie, who he helps out of a wet jam in the one scene of the entire movie with any heart), deals with the city's family of bullies ("O'Doyle rules!"), and falls in love with his third grade teacher, Miss Veronica Vaughn (Bridgette Wilson).

The ending comes down to a game show style showdown between Billy and Eric, after some extenuating circumstances screws up Billy's chance at finishing the bet fair and square.

While Billy Madison (the film) is no doubt stupid, it is also extremely funny, with some of the more classic lines Sandler has ever spoken in any of his movies (i.e. "Stop looking at me swan!" and "He called the sh*t poop!"). This isn't British comedy, so if you're looking for something with a brain, look elsewhere. And not to be overlooked is the good performance turned in by the late Chris Farley, who plays a maniacal school bus driver.

I've found that I can enjoy Billy Madison no matter how many times I watch it, unlike some other Sandler movies that got stale after just a couple of times (namely The Waterboy and Big Daddy). This is appropriate for 10 year olds and up, as there really isn't anything all THAT bad going on, just some profanity. The DVD doesn't have much in the line of special features (theatrical trailer, scene selection, SNORE!), but it's also so cheap that it's well worth your money. I don't think Sandler has made a better comedy than this one.