Billy Madison (1995)

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Downloaded the shit out of

64%
Overall Rating

Ranked #1,195
...out of 20,875 movies

Genres: Comedy Farce Gross-Out Comedy

Billy Madison is a 27 year-old man whose father Brian is the head of a major hotel chain. Even though he is groomed to replace his father who is about to retire, Billy is extremely immature and unmotivated in life. When Brian considers making Eric Gordon (whom Billy despises) his new replacement, Billy decides to prove to his father that he is capable of taking over. He must repeat grade school all over again (2 weeks for each grade) in order to take over the hotel empire. The further Billy progresses, the more Eric tries to derail Billy. --IMDb

Review by Nirrad
Added: March 2, 2008

If you were to ask me to name one person that has had a long string of successful and memorable movies, I would give you the name Adam Sandler. Love him or hate him, he has made movies that people love and quote all the time. What really surprised me was his transition to more serious roles. Movies like Punch-Drunk Love and Reign Over Me proved that he is more versatile than many of us believed. But we're going to focus on the old school comedian Adam Sandler from the mid nineties.

After leaving Saturday Night Live, it was only time until he started to focus on his movie career, and he wasted no time jumping into that department. During the same year he finished up with SNL, he released a movie called Billy Madison. The movie of course is centered around the troubled "child" of a millionaire whose family owns a chain of hotels across the country. Billy (Adam Sandler) takes this for granted, and does nothing with his life other than sit by the pool with his friends and get drunk until they pass out. Unfortunately for Billy, his father Brian Madison (Darren McGavin) decides that Billy is not responsible to inherit the family fortune and take over the company. Outraged by the news Billy comes up with a plan to work his way through grades 1-12 within a few months to prove that he is not an idiot and take over the company. His Father agrees, and Billy is off to school. During his journey through elementary school, a young 3rd grade teacher Veronica (Bridgette Wilson) catches the attention of Billy. He then tries his hardest to win over her heart no matter how many times she turns him down and calls him an idiot. During this whole process, one of Billy's father's right hand men Eric (Bradley Whitford) wants Billy to fail so that he can take the company over instead. So in order to make him fail, he tries to sabotage Billy's plan and even eventually compete with him in the end. Will Billy pass all the grades and inherit the company? Or will Eric come out as the superior victor. Well by now, I think you know what the end result is.

This was the beginning of Sandler's run of comedic films, and considered one of Adam's best and funniest movies to date. I'm with the ones who think it is one of his best. The film itself is no masterpiece, but goddamn is it funny. Here we get the Adam Sandler that many of us love. He's vulgar, and the movie has many scenes that are totally random and make no sense, but in a good way ala Family Guy. A lot of the scenes were improvised, and you can definitely tell in some scenes, and I personally love it when actors do that. The scenes between Billy and Veronica are really interesting, and in some cases just down right hilarious. Not to mention that Bridgette is extremely hot in this movie.

Bradley even gives a hilarious performance by just the way he talks and his overall presence. My hat goes off to any actor who can possibly embarrass themselves in such a film, even stooping as low as making faces at a dinner table like we all did when we were kids. Oh, and I can't forget the late, great Chris Farley as the psychotic bus driver. Everything this man says in all of his scenes is just hilarious and completely steals the show whenever he's on screen. He will me missed.

Not everything is perfect in Billy Madison though. Some scenes are just downright stupid, or very boring and tedious. An example of this would be the beginning when he's chasing the imaginary penguin around the yard trying to catch him. They could have done without that, because every time I watched it I cringe. There's even a musical number about halfway through the film that some people might find funny, but I just can't accept it.

This is considered a classic by many people, along with Happy Gilmore. This is the Adam Sandler that love and miss. As I said before, it's one of his funniest movies and you owe it to yourself to at least check it out whether by rental or on TV. I personally wish he would at least make a few more films like this one before the end of his career.

8/10.

#1: bluemeanie - added March 3, 2008 at 12:14am
If you were to ask me to name one person that has had a long string of successful and memorable movies, I would give you the name Adam Sandler.

Then that is sad for you. I would give you the names...Peter Sellers...Jimmy Stewart...James Cagney...Al Pacino...Robert DeNiro...Paul Newman...Robert Redford...Marlon Brando...Jack Nicholson...Daniel Day Lewis...Tom Wilkinson...I could go on and on and on...

ADAM SANDLER? That might be the most ridiculous statement of 2008, hands down.

#2: Luminaire - added March 3, 2008 at 12:18am
Your writing skills are at a 5th grade level.

#3: Luminaire - added March 3, 2008 at 12:22am
Someone needs to revoke his ability to write reviews for saying something like that.

#4: Nirrad - added March 3, 2008 at 12:48am
OK, it may not be the first name that I would choose. But I do like the lineup he had after this movie. I liked Happy Gilmore, Big Daddy...etc. I would have to agree that the actors you mentioned do have a better string of movies. Just ignore the first paragraph then.

#5: Edd - added March 3, 2008 at 9:49am
I award you no points, and may god have mercy on your soul.

#6: bluemeanie - added March 3, 2008 at 10:58am
Yeah...his string of films after BILLY MADISON was quite impressive...I would call it the 'Greatest String of Films Any Actor Has Given'. Let's not forget the glory of films such as "The Waterboy", "Bullet Proof" and "Little Nicky". Shit, you probably think "Going Overboard" is a masterpiece.

#7: Nirrad - added March 3, 2008 at 12:16pm
Never seen Going Overboard, and never will. Swing and a miss.

#8: Tristan - added March 3, 2008 at 12:20pm
Meanie, he just said that Adam Sandler had a string of successful films. He didn't say he was the best actor ever. You just listed the greatest actors of the last century, and expect that to make a point? Like them or not, Sandler's movies are very successful. I don't know one person who hasn't seen pretty much everything he's done. If you were a teenager in the 90's, you watched Adam Sandler movies. I'm not saying they're great, but they were entertaining. So your little list of actors was about as pointless as this whole conversation. At least Edd's got the right idea.

#9: bluemeanie - added March 3, 2008 at 12:28pm
Meanie, he just said that Adam Sandler had a string of successful films. He didn't say he was the best actor ever. You just listed the greatest actors of the last century, and expect that to make a point? Like them or not, Sandler's movies are very successful. I don't know one person who hasn't seen pretty much everything he's done. If you were a teenager in the 90's, you watched Adam Sandler movies. I'm not saying they're great, but they were entertaining. So your little list of actors was about as pointless as this whole conversation. At least Edd's got the right idea.

No...he said that when he thinks of an actor with a string of successful films, Adam Sandler is the one he thinks of. I find it laughable that, out of all the actors out there (many of which I named), the one that comes to mind is Adam Sandler. I grew up in the 90's and I didn't watch every Adam Sandler film. I hated them with a passion. So, that disproves that whole little point of yours. So, are you saying that if someone were to ask you to name an actor with a list of successful and memorable films, you would name ADAM SANDLER? Really?

#10: bluemeanie - added March 3, 2008 at 12:29pm
And let's not forget that this quote of his was made on the review for BILLY MADISON -- one of Sandler's absolute WORST films.

#11: Nirrad - added March 3, 2008 at 12:32pm
Jesus Christ. Don't take it literally. I would give you that name just for this occasion because it's s review for an Adam Sandler movie. But yes, his movies were successful in the box office. So you're getting nowhere, and relax on the flaming bullshit.

#12: Nirrad - added March 3, 2008 at 12:33pm
One of his worse films? It's not the best by any means. But nearly everyone I talked to has said "His earlier stuff is better". Thats not including his more serious roles.

#13: Tristan - added March 3, 2008 at 12:35pm
If someone asked me who a successful actor was, the first name that jumped to mind wouldn't be Adam Sandler. For the purpose of this review however, Darrin pointing out that Adam Sandler was successful was 100% accurate, and completely called for.

#14: bluemeanie - added March 3, 2008 at 12:48pm
You, sir, are ass end wrong...because not just 'successful' was used, but the word 'memorable'...

If you were to ask me to name one person that has had a long string of successful and memorable movies, I would give you the name Adam Sandler.

Both SUCCESSFUL and MEMORABLE. I guess we'll just have to agree to disagree.

#15: bluemeanie - added March 3, 2008 at 12:49pm
This is considered a classic by many people

THAT IS AN EVEN FUNNIER PIECE OF THE REVIEW!!!

#16: Nirrad - added March 3, 2008 at 12:51pm
Well I find them worth being remembered, and you clearly remember them. So I would say that the opening is correct.

#17: Nirrad - added March 3, 2008 at 12:53pm
Noe when you think of classic, are you comparing it to films like Godfather, Jaws or even Citizen Kane? Because when I used classic, I'm not comparing it to those films. It's one of Sandlers calssic films. and I would like to say again, people have mentioned this. You're digging too deep into this man.

#18: Ramone - added March 3, 2008 at 1:18pm
Sometimes its better to take the high road my friends. Too many cooks spoil the broth. L

#19: Tristan - added March 3, 2008 at 1:21pm
Shut up, you old queen. LB LB

#20: Mr. Mistoffelees - added March 3, 2008 at 4:37pm
I have to be honest, aside from Chris Farley and a couple of specific scenes I didn't find this movie to be that funny. I kind of cringe whenever he makes that stupid face in the scene with the penguin, and overall his early work reminds me of Jim Carrey's: when he doesn't try so hard he's much funnier. For Carrey this is evident in Ace Ventura, I feel that he is much better not overacting or being too grandiose with his actions or script.

#21: Crispy - added March 3, 2008 at 5:58pm
Carrey sucks. Sandler sucks. He got lucky twice with Gilmore and Wedding Singer, but even those were iffy at times.

#22: Edd - added March 4, 2008 at 11:27am
I've always said that Billy Madison and Happy Gilmore were the greatest of his films. Everything else is sub-par.

#23: bluemeanie - added March 4, 2008 at 12:26pm
I wish I were digging too deep. I wish I were.