Sandler Gets Serious
Big Daddy is Heartwarming and Hilarious

The last time Adam Sandler appeared on the movie screen, he played a dim-witted waterboy who became a college football star. It was his typical schtick, playing a self-defacing role for laughs. But now Sandler is attempting a different role, bringing laughs and tears, in his new comedy Big Daddy.

I was more than a little skeptical at the idea of Sandler playing a sympathetic role. After seeing him play a geek repeatedly, it seemed hard to imagine him as a role model for anyone. Yet, Big Daddy is a perfect vehicle for Sandler's humor and charm, and allows him to spread his acting wings a little.

Sandler plays Sonny Koufax, a young man who is not exactly ready for responsibility. One day a child enters his life, a young boy named Julian. Julian's mother has dropped him off, sight unseen, hoping the boy's father will take care of him. But it isn't Sonny's child. He belong's to his roommate Kevin (Jon Stewart) who is out of the country on business.

It's no surprise when Sonny begins to discover that there is more to taking care of a child than just babysitting. It's a full-time job with some unpleasant moments. Yet, he is determined to be a better father to Julian than his own father was to him. Soon the story turns away from the slapstick visual (and often gross) humor characteristic of Sandler. It becomes a story of father-son relationships, and tries hard to make a statement.

Although Sandler has yet to make a sequel to any of his movies, each of his movies is a reunion of various friends from previous casts. Adding to the delightful cast of Big Daddy are familiar faces, like Josh Mostel as a social services worker. Saturday Night Live alum, Rob Schneider, played a small role as a villager in Sandler's last movie, The Waterboy, and appears here as a delivery man who is Sonny's best friend. Steve Buscemi pops up as a homeless man who befriends Sonny and Julian.

I'm not predicting any award nominations in Sandler's future, but Big Daddy is a nice story with a nice heartwarming moral. It says some very positive things about family and fatherhood at a time in our country when so many fathers do not want to take responsibility. More important than the message, however, is the fact that Sandler can pull it off. He's not just about silly jokes and sight gags. He has a heart, too.

MY RATING: 8 out of 10.

RATED: PG-13
RUN TIME: 95 min.