The Funniest Scenes In Adam Sandler Movies Ranked
The 1990s were ripe with irreverent comedies like "Dumb and Dumber," "BASEketball" and "Tommy Boy," among others. Yet, none stand out quite like those featuring Adam Sandler, the beloved "Saturday Night Live" performer whose bizarre sense of humor led to such classics as "Billy Madison," "Happy Gilmore," "The Wedding Singer" and, more recently, a slew of Netflix features like "The Ridiculous 6" and "Hubie Halloween." While a majority of critics largely decry Sandler's work, audiences consistently turn out in droves to see what antics the "Sandman" comes up with next, leading to box office gold for a majority of the actor's films.
Sandler is notorious for infusing his films with goofy slapstick and lowbrow humor. So, no matter the overall quality of a film like, say, "Mr. Deeds," Sandler finds a way to make you laugh — even if it means chucking as many jokes at the wall as possible to see what sticks. Thinking beyond the recurring elements found in nearly every Sandler film, here's a breakdown of the funniest scenes of Sandler's storied career.
12. I Feel Pretty (Anger Management)
"Anger Management" is a largely forgettable motion picture, but the delectable pairing of Adam Sandler and Jack Nicholson does occasionally produce moments of inspired comedy. Not "Happy Gilmore" levels of humor, mind you, but enough to induce a hearty laugh or two.
Perhaps the best of the bunch involves Sandler's anger-adverse Dave Buznik and Nicholson's Dr. Buddy Rydell parking in the middle of a busy bridge (holding up traffic) to engage in a calming rendition of "I Feel Pretty." At first, Dave fails to achieve much enthusiasm, but as the song goes on he warms to the idea and manages to conjure surprisingly decent harmonies with Rydell.
Just the sight of seeing Nicholson merrily blaring the popular "West Side Story" ballad is enough to tickle any viewer. The legendary actor goes for broke with his performance in "Anger Management," and you can clearly tell he's having a ball in this clunky, albeit entertaining 2003 comedy.
11. Do It for the Kids (Just Go With It)
Whoever decided to pair Adam Sandler with Jennifer Aniston deserves a raise. The actors display wonderful onscreen chemistry and conjure enough magic to make even the rudimentary "Just Go With It" work, despite its ridiculous premise and jarring shifts in tone.
The film wants viewers to believe that Sandler is a successful plastic surgeon running a lucrative business where Aniston serves as his office assistant. If that weren't enough, the film also posits that a gorgeous woman (Brooklyn Decker) meets and falls in love with Sandler in less time than it takes to make a lasagna. The problem is, Sandler has a habit of convincing his dates that he's married and/or unavailable so that he can break off any future connections. Except, he really likes Decker and therefore convinces Aniston to portray his ex-wife in exchange for a trip to Hawaii and some cash. Naturally, as the story progresses, Sandler sees the error of his ways and falls for Aniston's "average" girl-next-door. You can probably guess the rest.
Whatever qualms audiences may have about the film as whole are easy to cast aside as a result of Sandler and Aniston's effortless charm. Their comedic talent is on full display in an early scene in which they engage in a casual conversation about dating while performing a breast exam on a patient. Is the bit over the top? Absolutely. Is it hilarious? You betcha.
10. Swimming Scene (You Don't Mess with the Zohan)
"You Don't Mess with the Zohan" presents Adam Sandler as the titular Zohan, a crack Israeli commando whose lust for women and power is matched only by his incredible limberness and ... his desire to become a hair stylist. No, really, that's the plot. Zohan fakes his own death and heads to New York to fulfill his dreams, and it's only a matter of time before his enemies track him down.
Once again uniting Sandler with the likes of Rob Schneider, Nick Swardson, Chris Rock and the always entertaining John Turturro, "Zohan" makes the most of its silly plot and finds humor in the most unlikely of places.
In one notable scene, Turturro's terrorist, dubbed The Phantom, flees the scene of a crime with Zohan in hot pursuit. The villain hops on a jet ski and heads out to open water and is shocked to see his nemesis leaping through the waves behind him like some superhuman merman. The mere sight of a shirtless Sandler bounding out of the ocean is enough to floor any viewer.
9. Parasailing Scene (Blended)
The third time definitely wasn't the charm for Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore, who decided to team up for the comedy "Blended" with less-than-stellar results.
Taking a page from "The Brady Bunch" and "Cheaper By the Dozen," "Blended" follows two families — one led by Sandler's Jim Friedman, the other by Barrymore's Lauren Reynolds — who embark on a trip together to South Africa. There, Jim and Lauren predictably fall in love, uniting the two clans, for better or worse.
While the thin premise is mostly deserving of an eye roll, there's still a handful of moments that tickle funny bones. Notably, the scene in which Lauren gets suckered into parasailing off the back of a Jeep, which allows her to see the African countryside from a high elevation. The only problem is, the vehicle unexpectedly runs out of gas, which leaves Lauren descending rapidly towards Earth. Jim encourages her to kick her legs really fast (you know, like she's running), but is at a loss for words when a rhino steps directly into her landing path. Lauren spreads her legs to avoid the beast's horn, hilariously prompting one of the kids to shout, "Oh no, her vagina!"
Luckily, Lauren lands safe and sound, but her parachute catches Jim by surprise, violently knocking the poor guy to the ground.
8. Hubie Crashes His Bike (Hubie Halloween)
"Hubie Halloween" may not be the best of Adam Sandler's oeuvre, but that doesn't mean the comedy doesn't deliver the spooky goods. In this made-for-Netflix flick, Sandler stars as Halloween obsessed Hubie, a jittery geek no one in the Massachusetts town of Salem respects. Following a series of mysterious disappearances, Hubie loads up his super thermos (it makes soup and has a grappling hook, among other notable features) and sets out to catch the person responsible.
As typical, "Hubie Halloween" features a romantic subplot between the titular hero and the beautiful Violet Valentine (Julie Bowen, returning to the Sandler stable for the first time since "Happy Gilmore"). Hubie is at a loss on how to approach Violet and often makes a fool of himself whenever she pops up. In one scene, for example, Hubie spots Violet while riding his bicycle through town and becomes distracted long enough to crash into a parked vehicle.
The gag is funny enough, but Sandler takes it all one step further, hiding among some animatronic Halloween decorations, performing a variation of the robot. Sandler's comic timing is incredible and arguably the only reason this simple bit of slapstick works as well as it does.
7. Medulla Oblongata (The Waterboy)
In the late '90s, Sandler could do no wrong. The comedian rose to fame with "Billy Madison," "Happy Gilmore" and "The Wedding Singer," and all but cemented his status as the king of comedy with the goofy but undeniably entertaining "The Waterboy."
In the film, Sandler plays Bobby Boucher, a simple-minded southern man with a propensity for losing his cool whenever someone pokes fun at his mama (Kathy Bates) — think "Forest Gump" meets "American Psycho," albeit with less blood. Thankfully, a college football coach (played by Henry Winkler) figures out a way to channel Bobby's aggression into something more productive — as a linebacker on his squad, where he's free to beat up anyone that rubs him the wrong way.
The premise alone is clever enough to ensure plenty of comedy, but the funniest bit in the film — and one of the best of Sandler's career — occurs early on when Bobby tackles a Colonel Sanders-esque teacher in front of a classroom full of stunned students. It's the first time we see Bobby's anger really come to the surface, resulting in a violent tackle that leaves the poor teacher bruised and battered through the rest of the movie.
6. Scuba Steve! (Big Daddy)
"Big Daddy" marked Sandler's first foray into semi-dramatic territory, even if the film features many of the actor's notable goofy trademarks. The Sandman stars as Sonny Koufax, a good guy who lives his life as far away from responsibility as he possibly can. After his girlfriend dumps him for an older man (who supposedly offers more security), Sonny adopts 5-year old Julian (played by twins Dylan and Cole Sprouse) in an effort to win her back. Unfortunately, the tactic doesn't work, and Sonny must learn to abandon his previous ways and raise the kid on his own.
The funniest gags of "Big Daddy" revolve around Sonny struggling to adapt to life with a child. Clearly an amateur, he lays down newspapers to cover up messes, jumps in front of cars to keep the boy from crying and shouts at McDonald's employees when they refuse to produce a Happy Meal. At one point, following some spilled milk, Sonny tries to comfort Julian and accidentally steps on one of his toys — a Scuba Steve action figure that prompts him to scream, "Ow, Scuba Steve — damn you!"
It's such a random, unexpected outburst of anger — and the type of comedy only Sandler could produce — it's hard not to laugh.
5. Mugging Scene (50 First Dates)
Sandler and Barrymore's second pairing resulted in the sweet romantic comedy "50 First Dates," a love story revolving around a woman's battle with memory loss and the man who attempts to gain her affection. The two actors once again exhibited solid chemistry, and while the film is less than the sum of its parts, many of those parts are quite hilarious.
Perhaps the funniest scene in the film occurs during a montage in which Sandler's character, Henry Roth, pulls out all the tricks just to meet up with Lucy Whitmore (Barrymore). Since Lucy can't ever remember Henry once her brain resets the next day, he can basically do whatever he wants without fear of hampering future encounters. As such, he stages a mock robbery with his buddy Ula (Rob Schneider) in the hopes Lucy will pull over, offer assistance and strike up a conversation.
Lucy does indeed pull over, but proves a little too prepared to assist in the situation. The young woman brandishes a baseball bat and proceeds to violently hit Ula, who scampers away cursing in pain. Not satisfied, Lucy then decides to run the injured man down to rough him up some more for good measure while a bewildered Henry watches in astonishment from afar.
Sharp-eyed fans might remember that Sandler used essentially the same gag in "Mr. Deeds," but it works better here.
4. Angry Song (The Wedding Singer)
After his first batch of hits, Sandler was all the rage. While audiences loved him for his outrageous comedies, however, it was "The Wedding Singer" (and an inspired pairing with Drew Barrymore) that splashed a much needed dose of sweetness atop the Sandman's rage antics.
"Wedding Singer" features Sandler at his most lovable and charismatic, portraying kind (albeit financially inept) wedding singer Robbie Hart, who agrees to help Barrymore's Julie prepare for her wedding following his own relationship fiasco. At one point, Robbie, still harboring a grudge against his former fiancé, steps onto a stage to perform a song he wrote about his predicament. What starts out as a sweet song quickly devolves into an angry tirade, replete with F-bombs and lots and lots of yelling.
For Barrymore's character, the moment offers a deeper insight into Robbie's character, and serves as the de facto moment she falls for him. For audiences, the bit is a hilarious example of Sandler's comedic capabilities. As icing on the cake, comedian Jon Lovitz (portraying a rival wedding singer) watches the scene play out from behind a curtain and offers this humorous zinger: "He's losing his mind, and I'm reaping all the benefits."
3. Bob Barker Fight (Happy Gilmore)
"Happy Gilmore" has enough memorable moments to match any great comedy, but the scene that always splits everyone's sides is the bit in which the titular Happy gets into a fistfight with longtime "Price is Right" host Bob Barker.
The brawl occurs after Happy is paired with the gameshow host for a round of celebrity golf and allows his temper to get the best of him. Bob, who can't abide losing, snaps, "This guy sucks" after one particularly poor round, prompting Happy to lose his cool. The Sandman delivers the first blow and the pair fight and tumble down a hill. As the situation escalates, Happy knocks Barker to the ground and declares, "The price is wrong, b***h!" Barker's eyes suddenly flash open and the 70-year old fights back, tossing a flurry of hooks until Happy crumbles to the ground. He kicks Happy in the face and snaps, "Now you've had enough ... b***h."
Happy vs Barker remains one of the funniest gags in Sandler's career. In fact, the scene was featured prominently in many of the "Happy Gilmore" trailers, bringing in a big audience for the young comedian's off-the-wall humor.
2. Dead Foot (Mr. Deeds)
"Mr. Deeds" is mostly hit or miss as a comedy, but the delectable pairing of Adam Sandler and Winona Ryder provides enough sweet romance to keep the movie engaging. As does a stellar supporting cast, including Steve Buscemi and John Turturro in minor but memorable roles.
Turturro, in particular, has a blast portraying a "very sneaky" butler who whisks around the house in near silence. He always arrives to cater to Deeds' beck and call. During their first encounter, Deeds removes his shoe to show off his dead foot — the result of a childhood bout with frostbite. The black appendage initially freaks Turturro out, but Deeds calms him by assuring the butler he can't feel a thing. To prove his point, Deeds practically orders his butler to hit his foot with a fire poker. At first, Turturro's character lightly taps Sandler, but, when prompted, becomes a little too overzealous to the point where he aggressively stabs Deeds, who screams out in pain.
"You're sick," Deeds shouts over and over as the butler recoils in terror. "I'm just kidding, pal," he eventually says with a laugh.
"You really had me going there," the freaked out butler replies.
"Anyways," Deeds continues, "I gotta talk to Cedar and Anderson to find out what I'm supposed to be doing today. So, could you take that out of my foot, I'm kind of nailed to the ground here."
1. The Puppy that Lost its Way (Billy Madison)
The funniest scene from any Sandler film occurs in "Billy Madison." During the grand finale, Billy engages in a showdown with the villainous Eric Gordon (Bradley Whitford) to prove how much he's learned during his time at school. Following some light physical, baking and writing activities, the last challenge pits the pair in a "Jeopardy!" styled match where they must select a category ("My wife, the whore," for example) and answer a question related to that subject.
Billy is forced to discuss how the industrial revolution changed the modern novel and decides to use his knowledge of the children's book, "The Puppy That Lost Its Way," as a base point. After he finishes his long-winded sermon, which draws an enormous applause from friends and family, the host of the program (longtime "Saturday Night Live" writer James Downey, who plats the principal) offers this deadpan response:
"Mr. Madison, what you have just said is one of the most insanely idiotic things I've ever heard. At no point in your rambling, incoherent response were you close to anything that could be considered a rational thought. Everyone in this room is now dumber for having listened to it. I award you no points, and may God have mercy on your soul."