Big Daddy (1999 film)

Last updated
Big Daddy
Big Daddy film.jpg
Theatrical release poster
Directed by Dennis Dugan
Screenplay by
Story by Steve Franks
Produced by
Starring
Cinematography Theo van de Sande
Edited by Jeff Gourson
Music by Teddy Castellucci
Production
companies
Distributed by Sony Pictures Releasing
Release date
  • June 25, 1999 (1999-06-25)
Running time
93 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$34.2 million [1]
Box office$234.8 million [1]

Big Daddy is a 1999 American comedy-drama film directed by Dennis Dugan, written by Steve Franks, Tim Herlihy, and Adam Sandler from a story conceived by Franks, and produced by Sid Ganis and Jack Giarraputo. The film stars Sandler, Joey Lauren Adams, Jon Stewart, Rob Schneider, Dylan Sprouse, Cole Sprouse, and Leslie Mann, with Allen Covert and Josh Mostel in supporting roles. The plot follows a 32-year-old man who gets dumped by his girlfriend for not accepting responsibility and then tries to be responsible by adopting a five-year-old boy who appears on his doorstep.

Contents

Produced by Giarraputo's Jack Giarraputo Productions in association with Out of the Blue... Entertainment, Big Daddy was released in the United States on June 25, 1999, by Columbia Pictures. Despite receiving mixed reviews from critics, the film was a success at the box office, grossing $235 million on a $34 million budget and becoming Sandler's highest-grosser domestically until Hotel Transylvania 2 (2015). [2] The film was nominated for five Razzies and Sandler won the Worst Actor category. [3]

Plot

In New York City, Sonny Koufax is a 32-year-old slacker and law school graduate son of known lawyer Lenny Koufax who hasn't taken the bar exam, works one day a week as a toll booth attendant, has his food delivered by his friend Nazo, and lives off a $200,000 compensation from a minor accident which he was involved in two years prior to the events of the film. His girlfriend Vanessa threatens to break up with him unless he takes more responsibility. His roommate Kevin Gerrity proposes to his podiatrist girlfriend Corinne before he leaves for China to work on a case for his law firm and she accepts. Corinne vehemently dislikes Sonny because he constantly teases her about her former job at Hooters when she was in medical school.

The next day, Sonny wakes up to find Julian McGrath, a five-year-old left at their apartment. A note states that his 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. Despite his selfishness and lack of parenting skills, Sonny assures him that he will take care of Julian until Kevin returns from China. To win Vanessa back, Sonny introduces her to Julian. However, he discovers that she is now dating Sid, whom –despite being much older than her –she reveres as more motivated and intelligent with a "five-year plan". After this, Sonny rants about it in a phone call to Lenny, who is shocked and infuriated with Sonny for trying to raise a child, due to his irresponsibility.

Becoming frustrated with parenting, Sonny poses as Kevin and 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 and offers to place Julian into a foster home. Sonny instead decides to raise Julian his own way. They develop a strong bond and Julian 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 he does not respond.

After a meeting at Julian's school Sonny rethinks his parenting methods after Julian's teacher complains about the habits he has developed due to Sonny's influence. He turns Julian's behavior around. Days later, Brooks arrives to find out Sonny impersonated Kevin and threatens to have him arrested by the police officers downstairs if he does not hand over Julian. Sonny complies, but contacts Layla to help take legal action.

In court, Layla, Kevin, and Sonny's lawyer friends Phil and Tommy represent Sonny, while his friends and even Corinne provide positive testimony for Sonny. Julian also testifies and provides information regarding his birth in Toronto, which causes Kevin to silently remember something. Sonny then calls himself to the stand and asks his father to question him. Despite Lenny's fervent belief that he is not father material, Sonny convinces him that he will not fail at being a father. Impressed by Sonny's sincerity, Lenny vouches for him. Nonetheless, Judge Healy [lower-alpha 1] states that Sonny should be incarcerated for defrauding the city. Kevin steps up stating that he refuses to press charges and admits to Corinne about the one-night stand during his and Sonny's trip to Toronto. Judge Healy grants Kevin custody pending a DNA test. Sonny promises Julian that although he cannot be his father, he will always be there for him. He then passes Julian to Kevin and the two start to bond. Sonny still maintains contact with Julian through Kevin, often meeting up with him for activities such as basketball.

One year later, a more mature and responsible Sonny is now a successful lawyer. He is given a surprise birthday party at Hooters by his friends with Kevin, Corinne, and Julian in attendance. It is shown that he is now is married to Layla and they have a baby. With Nazo sticking around for a short time due to his other deliveries, Sonny encounters Vanessa working there as a waitress with Sid working as a cook, revealing that his "five-year plan" did not go as she had hoped. Sonny's friends and Layla celebrate Sonny's birthday.

Cast

In addition, Carmen De Lavallade appears as the judge [lower-alpha 1] during the custody hearing, Geoffrey Horne appears as Vanessa's current boyfriend Sid, while other Adam Sandler film repeat regulars include Edmund Lyndeck as an elderly bar patron named Mr. Herlihy who claims that Sonny "fights like a girl", Steven Brill as lawyer Ted Castellucci who assists Brooks at the custody hearing, Sandler's wife Jackie Sandler as a waitress at the bar Sonny frequents and his niece and nephew Jillian and Jared Sandler as two people named Jillian and Jared. Dennis Dugan has an uncredited appearance as a reluctant trick-or-treat giver.

Production

Principal photography took place in New York from September 24 to December 21, 1998. Pete Davidson auditioned for a role. [4] The script was originally titled Guy Gets Kid and was considered for Chris Farley. [5]

Reception

Critical response

On Rotten Tomatoes, Big Daddy has an approval rating of 39% based on 93 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." [6] 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". [7] Audiences surveyed by CinemaScore gave the film a grade B+. [8]

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." [9] 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[ience] core will not be disappointed with the spate of gags just for them, story contains solid date-movie material." [10]

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." [11] 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". [12]

Director Paul Thomas Anderson is a noted fan of the film, considering it one of his favorites. [13]

Accolades

YearAwardCategoryResult
2000 Blockbuster Entertainment Awards Favorite Actor - Comedy: Adam Sandler Won
2000Favorite Supporting Actor - Comedy: Dylan and Cole Sprouse Nominated
2000Favorite Supporting Actress - Comedy: Joey Lauren Adams Nominated
2000 BMI Film & TV Awards Teddy Castellucci Won
2000 GLAAD Media Awards Outstanding FilmNominated
2000 Golden Raspberry Awards [3] Worst PictureNominated
2000Worst Director: Dennis Dugan Nominated
2000Worst Actor: Adam SandlerWon
2000Worst Supporting Actor: Rob Schneider Nominated
2000Worst Screenplay: Steve Franks, Tim Herlihy & Adam SandlerNominated
2000 Kids' Choice Awards Favorite MovieWon
2000Favourite Movie Actor - Adam SandlerWon
2000 MTV Movie & TV Awards Best Comedic Performance - Adam SandlerWon
2000Best Male Performance - Adam SandlerNominated
2000Best On-Screen Duo - Adam Sandler, Dylan and Cole Sprouse Nominated
2000 People's Choice Awards Favorite Comedy Motion PictureWon
2000 Stinkers Bad Movie Awards Most Painfully Unfunny ComedyNominated
2000Worst Screenplay for a Film Grossing Over $100MNominated
2000Worst Performance by a Child in a Feature Role: Dylan and Cole Sprouse Nominated
1999 Teen Choice Awards Film - Movie of the SummerWon
2000 Young Artist Awards Best Performance in a Feature Film - Young Actor Age Ten or Under:Dylan and Cole Sprouse Nominated
1999 YoungStar Awards Best Performance by a Young Actor in a Comedy Film: Dylan and Cole Sprouse Nominated

Soundtrack

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svgStar empty.svg [14]
dowsepositive [15]
EW B- [16]

The film won a BMI Film Music Award. [17] The soundtrack included the following:

Track listing
  1. "Sweet Child o' Mine" by Sheryl Crow (Guns N' Roses cover)
  2. "When I Grow Up" by Garbage
  3. "Peace Out" by Adam Sandler (a sound clip from a scene in the movie)
  4. "Just Like This" by Limp Bizkit
  5. "Only Love Can Break Your Heart" by Everlast (a Neil Young cover)
  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 (a sound clip from a scene in the movie)
  9. "Instant Pleasure" by Rufus Wainwright
  10. "Ooh La La" by The Wiseguys
  11. "Sid" by Adam Sandler (a sound clip from a scene in the movie)
  12. "If I Can't Have You" by Yvonne Elliman
  13. "Smelly Kid" by Adam Sandler (a sound clip from a scene in the movie)
  14. "Passin' Me By" by The Pharcyde (a sound clip from a scene in the movie)
  15. "Rush" by Big Audio Dynamite
  16. "Hooters" by Allen Covert (a sound clip from a scene in the movie)
  17. "Babe" by Styx
  18. "Overtime" by Adam Sandler (a sound clip from a scene in the movie)
  19. "The Kangaroo Song" by Tim Herlihy (made specifically for the movie)
  20. "The Best of Times" by Styx (only a portion of the song)
Other songs used in the film
Songs from the theatrical trailer not in the film

Notes

  1. 1 2 Despite the name on her bench stating "M. Healy", she is just credited as "Judge".
  2. ↑ Cozy Soup 'n' Burger is a real restaurant near Washington Square Park in New York's Greenwich Village neighborhood. It is thanked in the closing credits for having "the Best BLT (and sense of humor) in New York".

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References

  1. 1 2 "Big Daddy (1999)". Box Office Mojo . Archived from the original on 21 February 2010. Retrieved 2010-03-13.
  2. ↑ "Adam Sandler Movie Box Office Results". www.boxofficemojo.com. Retrieved 2018-02-11.
  3. 1 2 "1999 RAZZIE Nominees & "Winners"". Golden Raspberry Foundation. Archived from the original on December 6, 2012.
  4. ↑ "Pete Davidson Says He Auditioned for 'Big Daddy' in 1999". 6 May 2019.
  5. ↑ https://www.esquire.com/entertainment/movies/a36632/tim-herlihy-adam-sandler-movies-stories/
  6. ↑ "Big Daddy Movie Reviews". Rotten Tomatoes . Archived from the original on 22 March 2010. Retrieved 2010-03-13.
  7. ↑ "Big Daddy reviews". Metacritic . CBS Interactive . Retrieved 2010-03-13.
  8. ↑ BIG DADDY (1999) Archived 2018-02-06 at the Wayback Machine CinemaScore
  9. ↑ Rabin, Nathan (June 25, 1999). "Big Daddy". The A.V. Club . Retrieved January 22, 2020.
  10. ↑ Koehler, Robert (June 18, 1999). "Big Daddy". Variety . Retrieved January 22, 2020.
  11. ↑ Turan, Kenneth (June 25, 1999). "Big Daddy: Father Knows Best?". Los Angeles Times . Archived from the original on February 27, 2003. Retrieved January 22, 2020.
  12. ↑ Ebert, Roger (June 25, 1999). "Big Daddy movie review & film summary (1999)". RogerEbert.com . Retrieved January 22, 2020.
  13. ↑ Evangelista, Chris (2018-01-01). "Paul Thomas Anderson Loves 'Big Daddy', And More Facts We Learned From A New Interview". /Film . Retrieved 2022-08-20.
  14. ↑ "Big Daddy - Original Soundtrack - Songs, Reviews, Credits - AllMusic". AllMusic.
  15. ↑ "big daddy - soundtrack review". www.dowse.com.
  16. ↑ "Big Daddy". Entertainment Weekly .
  17. ↑ "BMI Honors Top Film and TV Composers". 15 May 2000.
  18. ↑ sweet child
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