Big Daddy (1999 film)

Big Daddy
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Dennis Dugan
Screenplay by	Steve Franks Tim Herlihy Adam Sandler
Story by	Steve Franks
Produced by	Sid Ganis Jack Giarraputo
Starring	Adam Sandler Joey Lauren Adams Jon Stewart Rob Schneider Cole Sprouse Dylan Sprouse Leslie Mann
Cinematography	Theo van de Sande
Edited by	Jeff Gourson
Music by	Teddy Castellucci
Production companies	Columbia Pictures Out of the Blue... Entertainment Jack Giarraputo Productions
Distributed by	Sony Pictures Releasing
Release date	June 25, 1999 (1999-06-25)
Running time	93 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$34.2 million[1]
Box office	$234.8 million[1]

Big Daddy is a 1999 American comedy film directed by Dennis Dugan and written by Steve Franks, Tim Herlihy and Adam Sandler. It stars Sandler, Joey Lauren Adams, Jon Stewart, Rob Schneider, Dylan and Cole Sprouse and Leslie Mann. The plot follows Sonny Koufax, a 32-year-old man who gets dumped by his girlfriend for not accepting responsibility. Sonny then tries to be responsible by adopting a five-year-old boy named Julian who appears on his doorstep.

Released on June 25, 1999, the film opened at No. 1 at the box office with a $41.5 million gross in its first weekend. It went on to be the seventh highest-grossing film of 1999, and was Sandler's highest-grosser domestically until Hotel Transylvania 2 (2015).^[2]

Plot[]

In New York City, Sonny Koufax is a 32-year-old slacker who refuses to take the bar exam (despite having received his law degree), works one day a week as a toll booth attendant, and lives off a large compensation payout from a minor accident. His girlfriend Vanessa threatens to break up with him unless he takes more responsibility. His roommate Kevin Gerrity proposes to his podiatrist girlfriend Corinne Maloney before he leaves for China to work on a case for his law firm, and she accepts. Sonny constantly teases Corinne, who strongly dislikes him, about her former job at Hooters.

The next day, Sonny wakes up to find Julian McGrath, a five-year-old abandoned at their apartment. A written explanation states that Julian's mother is no longer able to care for him and that Kevin is his biological father. Sonny contacts Kevin, who is puzzled by the news. In spite of his selfishness and lack of parenting skills, Sonny assures him that he will look after Julian until Kevin returns from China. In order to win Vanessa back, Sonny introduces her to Julian. However, he discovers that she is now dating Sid, an elderly man whom, despite being 36 years her senior, she reveres as more motivated and intelligent and who has a "five-year plan".

Posing as Kevin, Sonny takes Julian to his social worker Arthur Brooks, telling him that Julian should return to his mother. However, Brooks informs Sonny that Julian's mother died of cancer. Sonny then decides to raise Julian his own way. The two develop a strong bond, and Julian helps Sonny find a new girlfriend in Corinne's lawyer sister Layla. Brooks finds a foster home for Julian and leaves messages for Sonny, but is suspicious when Sonny does not answer. At a meeting at Julian's school, Sonny rethinks his parenting methods after hearing a teacher complain about the habits Julian has developed. He turns Julian's behavior around, but then Brooks arrives to find out Sonny impersonated Kevin, and threatens to arrest him if he does not hand over Julian. Sonny complies but contacts Layla to help take legal action.

In court, numerous people, including Corinne, testify on Sonny's behalf and tell the judge he is a suitable father. Julian also testifies and provides information regarding his heritage. Sonny then calls himself to the stand and asks his lawyer father Lenny, visiting from Florida, to question him. Despite Lenny's fervent belief that Sonny is not father material, Sonny convinces Lenny that he will try his best at being a father. Impressed by Sonny's sincerity, Lenny vouches for him. Nonetheless, the unconvinced judge orders Sonny's arrest. Kevin, recalling Julian's testimony about the circumstances of his birth, realizes he is Julian's biological father and refuses to press charges on Sonny. Kevin is granted custody of Julian, and Sonny promises Julian that they still will be best friends. He then passes Julian to Kevin, and the two start to bond.

One year later, Sonny has completely turned his life around: he is a successful lawyer, is married to Layla, and they have a child of their own. Sonny is given a surprise birthday party at a Hooters restaurant, attended by his friends, including Julian, who is happy in his new family with Kevin and Corinne (and often meets up with Sonny for activities, such as basketball). Sonny then encounters Vanessa working as a waitress with Sid working as a cook, revealing that his "five-year plan" did not go as she had hoped. Everyone but a frustrated Vanessa celebrates Sonny's birthday.

Cast[]

• Adam Sandler as Sonny Koufax, an unmotivated slacker who works in a tollbooth, despite having his law degree, and becomes Julian's guardian.
• Joey Lauren Adams as Layla Maloney, a lawyer, and Corrine's sister. She becomes Sonny's new girlfriend.
• Jon Stewart as Kevin Gerrity, Sonny's roommate and Julian's biological father, which he realizes was the result of a one-night-stand in Toronto when he and Sonny went to game 6 of the 1993 World Series.
• Leslie Mann as Corinne Maloney, a podiatrist and Kevin's fiancé. While she was in college, she worked as a waitress at Hooters, where she and Kevin met, and Sonny takes every opportunity to tease her about it.
• Rob Schneider as Nazo: The delivery guy from Cozy's and Sonny's best friend.
• Dylan and Cole Sprouse as Julian "Frankenstein" McGrath, the biological son of Kevin who was sent to live with his father after the death of his biological mother.
• Jonathan Loughran as Mike, a lawyer friend of Sonny's.
• Allen Covert as Phil D'Amato, a lawyer friend of Sonny's, and Tommy's boyfriend.
• Peter Dante as Tommy Grayton, a lawyer friend of Sonny's, and Phil's boyfriend.
• Kristy Swanson as Vanessa, Sonny's ex-girlfriend, a party planner, who seeks an "oriented and focused" man.
• Joseph Bologna as Lenny Koufax, Sonny's father, who Sonny describes as "one of the most respected lawyers in the state of Florida," and who chastises Sonny for his lack of motivation.
• Steve Buscemi as a homeless man, who ran away from his father, an Army veteran, and keeps encountering Sonny, who owes him a Sausage McMuffin.
• Josh Mostel as Arthur Brooks, Julian's social worker.
• Edmund Lyndeck as Mr. Herlihy, an older drunk regular at Blarney's, who constantly teases Sonny for "fighting like a girl."
• Geoffrey Horne as Sid, Vanessa's new boyfriend, an elderly man who Vanessa boasts as having a "five-year plan".
• Jackie Sandler as a waitress at Blarney's, a bar that Sonny frequents.
• Helen Lloyd Breed as Ms. Foote.
• Chloé Hult as a teacher.
• Jared Sandler as Jared.
• Jillian Sandler as Jillian.
• Carmen De Lavallade as a judge.
• Steven Brill as Castellucci, Brooks' legal representative.
• Dennis Dugan as trick or treat giver (uncredited cameo)

Production[]

Principal Photography took place in New York from September 24 to December 21, 1998.

Reception[]

Critical response[]

On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 39% based on 94 reviews, and an average rating of 4.9/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "Adam Sandler acquits himself admirably, but his charm isn't enough to make up for Big Daddy's jarring shifts between crude humor and mawkish sentimentality."^[3] On Metacritic the film has a weighted average score of 41 out of 100, based on reviews from 26 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".^[4] Audiences surveyed by CinemaScore gave the film a grade B+.^[5]

Nathan Rabin of The A.V. Club called it "Sandler's best movie" noting that "Sandler possesses an innocence that makes the mean-spiritedness inherent in much of his work surprisingly palatable."^[6] Robert Koehler of Variety called it "a step forward for Adam Sandler, as well as a strategy to expand his audience. While the loyal male-teen aud[ience] core will not be disappointed with the spate of gags just for them, story contains solid date-movie material."^[7]

Kenneth Turan of the Los Angeles Times said: "There's no doubt Sandler is talented, but if he persists in believing that, like Elvis, his presence alone covers a multitude of omissions and inconsistencies, he will squander his gift and make a series of forgettable films in the process."^[8] Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times gave the film one-and-a-half out of four stars, describing the main character as "seriously disturbed" and the story as "predictable", although he did praise Joey Lauren Adams's character as "entertaining".^[9]

Director Paul Thomas Anderson is a noted fan of the film, considering it among his all-time favorites.

Accolades[]

Soundtrack[]

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[10]
dowse	positive[11]
EW	B-[12]

The film won a BMI Film Music Award.^[13] The soundtrack included the following:

Track listing

1. "Sweet Child o' Mine" by Sheryl Crow (Guns N' Roses cover)
2. "When I Grow Up" by Garbage
3. "Peace Out" by Adam Sandler (a sound clip from a scene in the movie)
4. "Just Like This" by Limp Bizkit
5. "Only Love Can Break Your Heart" by Everlast (a Neil Young cover)
6. "Ga Ga" by Melanie C
7. "What Is Life" by George Harrison, covered in movie by Shawn Mullins
8. "The Kiss" by Adam Sandler (a sound clip from a scene in the movie)
9. "Instant Pleasure" by Rufus Wainwright
10. "Ooh La La" by The Wiseguys
11. "Sid" by Adam Sandler (a sound clip from a scene in the movie)
12. "If I Can't Have You" by Yvonne Elliman
13. "Smelly Kid" by Adam Sandler (a sound clip from a scene in the movie)
14. "Passin' Me By" by The Pharcyde (a sound clip from a scene in the movie)
15. "Rush" by Big Audio Dynamite
16. "Hooters" by Allen Covert (a sound clip from a scene in the movie)
17. "Babe" by Styx
18. "Overtime" by Adam Sandler (a sound clip from a scene in the movie)
19. "The Kangaroo Song" by Tim Herlihy (made specifically for the movie)
20. "The Best of Times" by Styx (only a portion of the song)

Other songs used in the film

• "Dancing in the Moonlight" by The CrownSayers (originally done by King Harvest)
• "Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)" by Eurythmics
• "Sweet Child o' Mine" a re-recorded version taken from a live version played by Guns N' Roses mixed with a recording with the 1999 Guns N' Roses lineup.^[14]
• "Jump" by Van Halen background music on the answering machine message in Sonny's apartment
• "Growin' Up" by Bruce Springsteen
• "Save It For Later" by Harvey Danger (originally by The English Beat)
• "Blue Collar Man (Long Nights)" by Styx
• "Night's Interlude" by Nightmares on Wax (Song played during opening credits)
• "Fooled Around and Fell in Love" by Elvin Bishop

Songs from the theatrical trailer not in the film

• "Doo Wa Ditty (Blow That Thing)" by Zapp and Roger
• "You Get What You Give" by New Radicals

References[]

External links[]

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Big Daddy

• Big Daddy at IMDb
• Big Daddy at Box Office Mojo
• Big Daddy at Rotten Tomatoes
• Big Daddy at Metacritic