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Big Daddy |
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Despite fierce summer competition, the
comedy Big Daddy scored
$41.5 million opening weekend. Why? Adam
Sandler. Fans of sophomoric humor have
made him a superstar. Here he conducts a
clinic on how to corrupt a minor, then tries to
redeem his character's irresponsible behavior
with drippy moralizing.
Living comfortably on a six-figure
insurance settlement, 32-year-old Sonny
Koufax (Sandler) is a career slacker. But when
his lack of ambition threatens to cost him his
girl, Sonny sets out to prove his maturity by
adopting 5-year-old Julian. He teaches the boy
to use profanity, urinate in public, fire a
slingshot, play poker, scam supermarket
discounts and trip rollerbladers for laughs.
Some role model. After Sonny allows Julian to
eat 30 packets of ketchup, you're forced to
wonder if the child wouldn't be better off with
social services.
Sonny's pathetic parenting isn't without
conscience. He's occasionally warm and
caring. He tells kids to avoid drugs and
alcohol. After failing in his permissiveness,
he's willing to work to undo the damage.
Big Daddy also shows the
consequences of a one-night stand and
supports owning up to mistakes.
That said, this mean-spirited movie is
loaded with profanity and anatomical
humor. Also, Sonny wakes up beside a barely
clad woman, and his gay law school chums
are openly affectionate (Sandler plays the
"tolerant" friend). Add obscene gestures, a
joke about gay porn and Sonny's combustible
temper (violent threats and outbursts) and
parents have reason to keep kids away from
this inept father figure. Even Roger Ebert
called the film "creepy and unwholesome."
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