Big Daddy

Sandler in Big Daddy plays a loafing, almost lawyer (he hasn't bothered to take the final exam). He's living the Modern American Dream. He's a rich slob.

He's Sonny Koufax and shares that groovy New York loft we see in these films with a fellow called Kevin (Jon Stewart). Kevin is unexpectedly delivered a son, five year old Julian (played by twins Cole and Dylan Sprouse) and circumstances contrive, as they do in the movies, for Sonny to try out the daddy lifestyle.

He does this not because he feels minimally sorry for the child, but mainly so he can win back his wavering girlfriend Vanessa (Kristy Swanson) who's sick of Sonny being utterly selfish.

He figures that if he adopts this ready made son, well, then he won't have to go through that tiresome baby business.

Sonny's not a nice man. His favourite sport is to go down to central park and trip up skaters with branches off trees so that they crash violently in front of him.

When he and Dylan later get tossed from a restaurant he and the boy urinate on the restaurant's front wall. This is supposed to be funny and I suppose it is, but it's also nasty.

Dylan follows his new Dad's example but is made to be as cute as possible, even when he's tripping up skaters, which helps to soften Sandler's image in the film. But still, Sonny never redeems himself, well not as much as I would have liked.

Sonny is almost totally self centered. Adam Sandler has a huge following, although I despair at an audience who find films like Happy Gilmore, Billy Madison, The Waterboy and Airheads to be supremely entertaining.

I can only surmise that these people choose to choose dim witted door mats to be role models.

The Wedding Singer and now Big Daddy are different. They at least reveal Adam Sandler characters who's intelligence is measurable, in The Wedding Singer he's even likeable, but would you invite Big Daddy home to meet your mother?

Should this matter? Am I being churlish if I complain about characters giving bad examples. After all some of the most satisfying creen characters are out and out villains.

The difference here is that Sonny Koufax is something of an everyman. His behaviour is portayed as being reasonable even if it isn't. He's the fellow on the next block and he just doesn't care. There's no remorse at all.

The shame of it is that many in our community will accept Sonny's morals as being fair, as being a reasonable reaction to the business and social environment within which they find themselves enveloped.

Why be fair and loving, accept responsibility, even for your children, if it seems that your community doesn't give a damn for you unless you rip off an insurance company or clamber violently up the blood and bone human ladder.