Big Daddy (1999 film)


Big Daddy is a 1999 American comedy film directed by Dennis Dugan and starring Adam Sandler, Joey Lauren Adams, Jon Stewart, Rob Schneider, Cole Sprouse, Dylan Sprouse, and Leslie Mann. The film was produced by Robert Simonds and released on June 25, 1999, by Sony Pictures Releasing's Columbia Pictures label, where it opened #1 at the box office with a $41,536,370 first weekend. It was Sandler's last film before starting his production company, Happy Madison Productions, his first film distributed by Columbia Pictures, and his highest-grossing film domestically until Hotel Transylvania 2.

Plot

In New York City, Sonny Koufax is a 32-year-old slacker who refuses to take the bar exam, works one day a week as a toll booth attendant, and lives off a large compensation payout from a minor accident. His girlfriend Vanessa threatens to break up with him unless he grows up. His roommate Kevin Gerrity proposes to his podiatrist girlfriend Corinne Maloney before he leaves for China to work at his law firm, and she accepts. Sonny constantly teases Corinne, especially about her former job at Hooters.
The next day, Sonny wakes up to find a five-year-old boy named Julian McGrath abandoned at their apartment. A written explanation states that Julian's mother is no longer able to care for him and that Kevin is his biological father. Sonny contacts Kevin who is puzzled by the news, but Sonny assures him that he will look after Julian until Kevin returns from China. In order to win Vanessa back, Sonny introduces her to Julian. However, he discovers that she is now dating Sid, an elderly man who is more motivated and intelligent and has a "five-year plan."
Posing as Kevin, Sonny takes Julian to his social worker Arthur Brooks, telling him that Julian should return to his mother. However, Brooks informs Sonny that Julian's mother died of cancer. Sonny then decides to raise Julian his own way. The two develop a strong fatherly-son bond. As such, the boy renames himself "Frankenstein" and also helps Sonny find a new girlfriend in Corinne's lawyer sister Layla. Brooks finds a foster home for Julian and leaves messages for Sonny, but is suspicious when Sonny does not answer. At a meeting at Julian's school, the teacher is shocked by the terrible habits Sonny has allowed Julian to develop, causing Sonny to rethink his parenting methods. He turns Julian's behavior around, but then Brooks arrives to find out Sonny impersonated Kevin, and threatens to arrest him if he doesn't hand over Julian. Sonny complies, but contacts Layla to help take legal action.
In court, numerous people including Corinne testify on Sonny's behalf and tell the judge he is a suitable father. Julian also testifies and provides information regarding his heritage. Sonny then calls himself to the stand and asks his Florida lawyer father Lenny to question him. Despite Lenny's fervent belief that Sonny is not father material, Sonny convinces Lenny that he will try his best at being a father. Impressed by Sonny's sincerity, Lenny vouches for him. Nonetheless, the unconvinced judge orders Sonny's arrest. Kevin, having pieced the necessary information together, confesses to being Julian's biological father and insists they drop the charges. Sonny remains friends with Julian and hands him off to Kevin, watching them bond.
One year later, Sonny has turned his life around: he is a successful lawyer, is married to Layla, and they have a child of their own. At Sonny's surprise birthday party at a Hooters restaurant, attended by Kevin, Corinne, Julian and others, Sonny sees Vanessa working as a waitress with Sid working as a cook, revealing his "five-year-plan" has gone awry. Everyone but Vanessa celebrates Sonny's birthday.

Cast

Critical response

On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 39% based on 94 reviews, and an average rating of 4.9/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "Adam Sandler acquits himself admirably, but his charm isn't enough to make up for Big Daddy's jarring shifts between crude humor and mawkish sentimentality." On Metacritic the film has a weighted average score of 41 out of 100, based on reviews from 26 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". Audiences surveyed by CinemaScore gave the film a grade B+.
Nathan Rabin of The A.V. Club called it "Sandler's best movie" noting that "Sandler possesses an innocence that makes the mean-spiritedness inherent in much of his work surprisingly palatable." Robert Koehler of Variety called it "a step forward for Adam Sandler, as well as a strategy to expand his audience. While the loyal male-teen aud core will not be disappointed with the spate of gags just for them, story contains solid date-movie material."
Kenneth Turan of the Los Angeles Times said: "There's no doubt Sandler is talented, but if he persists in believing that, like Elvis, his presence alone covers a multitude of omissions and inconsistencies, he will squander his gift and make a series of forgettable films in the process."
Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times gave the film one-and-a-half out of four stars, describing the main character as "seriously disturbed" and the story as "predictable", although he did praise Joey Lauren Adams's character as "entertaining".

Accolades

Soundtrack

The film won a BMI Film Music Award. The soundtrack included the following:
;Track listing
  1. "Sweet Child o' Mine" by Sheryl Crow
  2. "When I Grow Up" by Garbage
  3. "Peace Out" by Adam Sandler
  4. "Just Like This" by Limp Bizkit
  5. "Only Love Can Break Your Heart" by Everlast
  6. "Ga Ga" by Melanie C
  7. "What Is Life" by George Harrison, covered in movie by Shawn Mullins
  8. "The Kiss" by Adam Sandler
  9. "Instant Pleasure" by Rufus Wainwright
  10. "Ooh La La" by The Wiseguys
  11. "Sid" by Adam Sandler
  12. "If I Can't Have You" by Yvonne Elliman
  13. "Smelly Kid" by Adam Sandler
  14. "Passin' Me By" by The Pharcyde
  15. "Rush" by Big Audio Dynamite
  16. "Hooters" by Allen Covert
  17. "Babe" by Styx
  18. "Overtime" by Adam Sandler
  19. "The Kangaroo Song" by Tim Herlihy
  20. "The Best of Times" by Styx
;Other songs used in the film
;Songs from the theatrical trailer not in the film