I’ll be the first to admit that I was obsessed with Adam Sandler’s comedy movies when I was a kid. Nothing delighted me more than Happy Gilmore slugging Bob Barker. I have an autographed photo of Sandler somewhere in my home. He sent it to me after I wrote him a fan letter as part of a middle school assignment. It’s with that experience that I say Mr. Deeds does not hold up. Millions of viewers, most of them in Latin America, are currently discovering that on HBO Max.
I bet Adam Sandler felt a lot of shared ground with Longfellow Deeds when he approached this comedy project. Mr. Deeds is a remake of Mr. Deeds Goes to Town, a 1936 Frank Capra classic. Both works follow the eponymous Deeds, a humble resident of a small town who inherits a massive financial sum. The windfall draws several tricksters into his orbit. A duplicitous businessman with eyes on controlling Deeds’ company tries to trick him into giving it up. A beautiful reporter pretends to be a poor damsel to gain his confidence and turn him into a laughing stock. The films follow the same basic outline, but the class and presentation vary violently. Sandler grew up in New Hampshire, where Deeds’ fictional hometown appears in this 2002 outing. While Capra remains interested in social issues and thematic details, Sandler only has the one schtick.
Nearly every joke in Mr. Deeds relies on physical violence, gross-out, or absurd stupidity. There isn’t much nuance to speak of, but that’s not to say that there needs to be. The grand history of “normal” middle-class guys making fun of wealthy high-society types goes back generations. It’s arguably just Billy Madison again, but Longfellow Deeds is a slightly less consistent character. Deeds’ most notable character trait is overwhelming kindness, ignoring the four or five scenes in which he or one of his friends does violence for a laugh. Watching it today demonstrates the gradual Flanderization of Sandler as a performer. Twenty years later, the dumb guy who means well but frequently hurts others is only getting worse. Adam Sandler has visibly outgrown that gimmick, usually leaving it behind for his understudies. Maybe the reward for doing the same joke enough times is finally getting to stop.
What are Adam Sandler’s actual talents? I think his greatest gift is his unerring eye for talent. Winona Ryder, John Turturro, Conchata Ferrell, Erick Avari, Jared Harris, and Steve Buscemi deliver solid performances despite the script. Sandler has always surrounded himself with better performers who can do the work he doesn’t seem to put much effort into. Adam Sandler may have moved on to bigger and better things, but his old work still captures attention. Maybe a new generation of kids will be sending him letters this year.
