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Big Daddy (1999 film)

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Big Daddy
A boy and a man with their backs turned, peeing in a large doorway
Theatrical release poster
Directed byDennis Dugan
Screenplay by
Story bySteve Franks
Produced by
Starring
CinematographyTheo van de Sande
Edited byJeff Gourson
Music byTeddy Castellucci
Production
companies
Distributed bySony 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 film directed by Dennis Dugan and written by Steve Franks, Tim Herlihy and Adam Sandler based on a story by Franks. It stars Sandler, Joey Lauren Adams, Jon Stewart, Rob Schneider, Dylan and Cole Sprouse and Leslie Mann. The plot follows Sonny Koufax, a 32-year-old man who gets dumped by his girlfriend for not accepting responsibility. Sonny then tries to be responsible by adopting a five-year-old boy named Julian who appears on his doorstep.

Released on June 25, 1999, the film opened at No. 1 at the box office with a $41.5 million gross in its first weekend. It went on to be the seventh highest-grossing film of 1999, and was Sandler's highest-grosser domestically until Hotel Transylvania 2 (2015).[2]

Plot

In NYC, Sonny Koufax is a 32-year-old slacker who hasn't taken the bar exam (despite having received his law degree), works one day a week as a toll booth attendant, and lives off a $200,000 compensation from a minor accident. His girlfriend Vanessa threatens to break up with him unless he takes more responsibility. His roommate Kevin Gerrity proposes to his podiatrist girlfriend Corinne Maloney before he leaves for China to work on a case for his law firm, and she accepts. Sonny constantly teases her about her former job at Hooters, so she dislikes him.

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 it until Kevin returns from China. To win Vanessa back, Sonny introduces her to Julian. However, he discovers that she is now dating Sid, an elderly man whom, despite being 36 years her senior, she reveres as more motivated and intelligent, with 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. 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.

At 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, but then Brooks arrives to find out Sonny impersonated Kevin, and threatens to arrest him if he does not 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 good father. Julian also testifies and provides information regarding his heritage. Sonny then calls himself to the stand and asks his lawyer father Lenny, visiting from Florida, 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, the unconvinced judge orders Sonny's arrest. Kevin, realizing he truly is Julian's biological father, refuses to press charges against Sonny. Kevin is granted custody of Julian, and Sonny promises him that he will always be there for him. He then passes Julian to Kevin, and they start to bond.

One year later, Sonny has completely turned his life around: he is a successful lawyer, is married to Layla, and they have a child of their own. Sonny is given a surprise birthday party at a Hooters, attended by his friends, including Julian, who is happy in his new family with Kevin and Corinne (and often meets up with Sonny for activities, such as basketball). Sonny then 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. Everyone but a frustrated Vanessa celebrates Sonny's birthday.

Cast

  • Adam Sandler as Sonny Koufax, an unmotivated slacker who works in a tollbooth, despite having his law degree, and becomes Julian's guardian.
  • Joey Lauren Adams as Layla Maloney, a lawyer, and Corrine's sister. She becomes Sonny's new girlfriend.
  • Jon Stewart as Kevin Gerrity, Sonny's roommate and Julian's biological father, which he realizes was the result of a one-night-stand in Toronto when he and Sonny went to game 6 of the 1993 World Series.
  • Leslie Mann as Corinne Maloney, a podiatrist and Kevin's fiancé. While she was in college, she worked as a waitress at Hooters, where she and Kevin met, and Sonny takes every opportunity to tease her about it.
  • Rob Schneider as Nazo: The delivery guy from Cozy's and Sonny's best friend.
  • Dylan and Cole Sprouse as Julian "Frankenstein" McGrath, the biological son of Kevin who was sent to live with his father after the death of his biological mother.
  • Jonathan Loughran as Mike, a lawyer friend of Sonny's.
  • Allen Covert as Phil D'Amato, a lawyer friend of Sonny's, and Tommy's boyfriend.
  • Peter Dante as Tommy Grayton, a lawyer friend of Sonny's, and Phil's boyfriend.
  • Kristy Swanson as Vanessa, Sonny's ex-girlfriend, a party planner, who seeks an "oriented and focused" man.
  • Joseph Bologna as Lenny Koufax, Sonny's father, who Sonny describes as "one of the most respected lawyers in the state of Florida," and who chastises Sonny for his lack of motivation.
  • Steve Buscemi as a homeless man, who ran away from his father, an Army veteran, and keeps encountering Sonny, who owes him a Sausage McMuffin.
  • Josh Mostel as Arthur Brooks, Julian's social worker.
  • Edmund Lyndeck as Mr. Herlihy, an older drunk regular at Blarney's, who constantly teases Sonny for "fighting like a girl."
  • Geoffrey Horne as Sid, Vanessa's new boyfriend, an elderly man who Vanessa boasts as having a "five-year plan".
  • Jackie Sandler as a waitress at Blarney's, a bar that Sonny frequents.
  • Helen Lloyd Breed as Ms. Foote.
  • Chloé Hult as a teacher.
  • Jared Sandler as Jared.
  • Jillian Sandler as Jillian.
  • Carmen De Lavallade as a judge.
  • Steven Brill as Castellucci, Brooks' legal representative.
  • Harold Olena as Diver Dan

Production

Principal Photography took place in New York from September 24 to December 21, 1998.

Reception

Critical response

On Rotten Tomatoes, Big Daddy 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."[3] 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".[4] Audiences surveyed by CinemaScore gave the film a grade B+.[5]

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."[6] 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."[7]

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."[8] 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".[9]

Director Paul Thomas Anderson is a noted fan of the film, considering it among his all-time favorites.[citation needed]

Accolades

Year Award Category Result
2000 Blockbuster Entertainment Awards Favorite Actor - Comedy: Adam Sandler Won
2000 Favorite Supporting Actor - Comedy: Dylan and Cole Sprouse Nominated
2000 Favorite Supporting Actress - Comedy: Joey Lauren Adams Nominated
2000 BMI Film & TV Awards Teddy Castellucci Won
2000 GLAAD Media Awards Outstanding Film Nominated
2000 Golden Raspberry Awards Worst Picture Nominated
2000 Worst Director: Dennis Dugan Nominated
2000 Worst Actor: Adam Sandler Won
2000 Worst Supporting Actor: Rob Schneider Nominated
2000 Worst Screenplay: Steve Franks, Tim Herlihy & Adam Sandler Nominated
2000 Kids' Choice Awards Favorite Movie Won
2000 Favourite Movie Actor - Adam Sandler Won
2000 MTV Movie & TV Awards Best Comedic Performance - Adam Sandler Won
2000 Best Male Performance - Adam Sandler Nominated
2000 Best On-Screen Duo - Adam Sandler, Dylan and Cole Sprouse Nominated
2000 People's Choice Awards Favorite Comedy Motion Picture Won
2000 Stinkers Bad Movie Awards Most Painfully Unfunny Comedy Nominated
2000 Worst Screenplay for a Film Grossing Over $100M Nominated
2000 Worst Performance by a Child in a Feature Role: Dylan and Cole Sprouse Nominated
1999 Teen Choice Awards Film - Movie of the Summer Won
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[10]
dowsepositive[11]
EWB-[12]

The film won a BMI Film Music Award.[13] 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

References

  1. ^ a b "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. ^ "Big Daddy Movie Reviews". Rotten Tomatoes. Archived from the original on 22 March 2010. Retrieved 2010-03-13.
  4. ^ "Big Daddy reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved 2010-03-13.
  5. ^ BIG DADDY (1999) Archived 2018-02-06 at the Wayback Machine CinemaScore
  6. ^ Rabin, Nathan (June 25, 1999). "Big Daddy". The A.V. Club. Retrieved January 22, 2020.
  7. ^ Koehler, Robert (June 18, 1999). "Big Daddy". Variety. Retrieved January 22, 2020.
  8. ^ 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.
  9. ^ Ebert, Roger (June 25, 1999). "Big Daddy movie review & film summary (1999)". RogerEbert.com. Retrieved January 22, 2020.
  10. ^ "Big Daddy - Original Soundtrack - Songs, Reviews, Credits - AllMusic". AllMusic.
  11. ^ "big daddy - soundtrack review". www.dowse.com.
  12. ^ "Big Daddy".
  13. ^ "BMI Honors Top Film and TV Composers". 15 May 2000.
  14. ^ sweet child
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