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Big Daddy

year 1999decade 90sdirector Dennis Dugan

93 minutes

Cast

Selected cast credits ·

Adam Sandler Sonny Koufax
Joey Lauren Adams Layla Maloney
Jon Stewart Kevin Gerrity
Allen Covert Phil D’Amato
Josh Mostel Arthur Brooks
Dylan Sprouse Julian McGrath
Cole Sprouse Julian McGrath
Leslie Mann Corinne Maloney
Peter Dante Tommy Grayton
Kristy Swanson Vanessa
Joseph Bologna Lenny Koufax
Steve Buscemi Homeless Guy
Edmund Lyndeck Mr. Herlihy
Steven Brill Ted Castellucci
Jackie Sandler Waitress
Dennis Dugan Trick-or-Treat Giver

Big Daddy | The Rewatchables

host Bill Simmonsguest Joe Househost Sean Fennesseyproducer Craig Horlbeck format Archive rereleasetheme Rewatchables 1999
Explore episodeClose episode

Most Rewatchable Scene

The surprise birthday party / the kangaroo-show argument

In the discussion (5)
Approx. transcript time · 00:29:15Read transcript
  • Sonny spoiling the surprise birthday party and engagement is the first final choice.
  • The McDonald’s breakfast confrontation is funny but shockingly hostile, with Buscemi’s missed sausage sandwich adding to the scene.
  • Sonny sabotaging rollerbladers is an amusing but antisocial slapstick sequence.
  • The argument over playoff hockey versus the kangaroo show is nominated and becomes the other final choice.
  • Sonny sending the child to approach Layla works because she immediately recognizes his tactic.

The most "year the movie came out" thing

Hooters jokes

In the discussion (3)
Approx. transcript time · 00:34:58Read transcript
  • The constant Hooters jokes and shaming of Leslie Mann’s character are the strongest 1999 marker.
  • The child’s cartoon is another dated element.
  • The gay couple’s presentation was both deliberately edgy and comparatively progressive for its moment.

What’s Aged the Best?

In the discussion (6)
Approx. transcript time · 00:36:51Read transcript
  • Acceptance of Sonny’s gay friends holds up better than expected, including the child being taught to accept them.
  • Young Jon Stewart works as Sonny’s friend in a relatively small supporting part; an initial claim that he plays the brother is corrected.
  • Kristy Swanson and Leslie Mann are praised, with Mann the final preferred answer.
  • Mr. Herlihy continues Sandler’s funny pattern of confrontations with combative older men.
  • Sonny’s misguided parenting discovery—options rather than orders—is amusing.
  • The soundtrack captures its era through Sheryl Crow, Garbage, Limp Bizkit, Everlast, Big Audio Dynamite, Styx, Eurythmics, Springsteen, New Radicals and Harvey Danger.

What’s Aged the Worst?

Hooters jokes about Leslie Mann’s character

In the discussion (6)
Approx. transcript time · 00:44:39Read transcript
  • The gay friends remain comparatively progressive, but their portrayal would benefit from greater nuance today.
  • The repeated Hooters jokes at Leslie Mann’s expense are the strongest choice.
  • The child’s television shows divide opinion.
  • The trick-or-treating break-in and taking a man’s watch are excessive.
  • The trial is considered long and boring, though the father’s criticism supplies welcome realism for another view.
  • Sonny’s reassuring courtroom speech to his father is unconvincing.

Apex Mountain

In the discussion (2)
Approx. transcript time · 00:51:39Read transcript
  • The Sprouse twins are proposed as benefiting from the film and their subsequent Disney success.
  • Sandler receives agreement: a major hit caps his comedy streak and positions him to launch his own production company.

Who Won the Movie?

Sonny’s father and the judge / Adam Sandler

In the discussion (2)
Approx. transcript time · 00:57:38Read transcript
  • Sonny’s father is chosen for delivering a realistic judgment of his irresponsibility; the judge is added to that answer.
  • Adam Sandler is chosen for the career and production-company benefits and his unusual ability to sustain audience sympathy.
Podcast choices
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Sonny’s father and the judge