I Am The Media...: From Goofball to Gentleman: Adam Sandler

There are many comedians, who go out into world just to make their audience laugh. Some comedians have found ways to reinvent themselves in order to gain new fans. Other comedians make a great first impact and use that to establish their success. Unforunately, there are some comedians, who die out when their time has run out. Luckily for Adam Sandler, he'll never have to worry about that. For the people who grew up in my generation, I think we'll always remember Adam Sandler as the comedian, who grew up with us.

If we rewind the clock back 14 years, Adam Sandler was going back to school and telling everybody, "you ain't cool unless you pee your pants." Billy Madison was the film that kicked off Sandler's post SNL career, although critics would tear apart Sandler and the film. Nowadays, Sandler has still left a bad taste in the mouths of many critics, but he has come a long way since. He's currently starring in Judd Apatow's Funny People, which comes out tomorrow and from the looks of the previews, it looks like he gives a good performance at the least. Funny People, which is about an established comedian (Sandler), who decides to take an amateur comedian (Seth Rogen) under his wing after learning that he has a terminal illness. The film also contain a love triangle between Sandler, Leslie Mann, and Eric Bana, which will win the Sandler fans over if the comedy portion falls flat.

Funny People is not the only film, where we have seen Sandler's growth as a mature funny man and actor. The earliest example, in my opinion, is the Wedding Singer, which remains one of my favorite Sandler movies. Sandler's later films, including Click, 50 First Dates, The Longest Yard, Punch Drunk Love and Reign Over Me, display his growth as an entertainer. Even You Don't Mess With The Zohan, which contains many immature, crude jokes, handles the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict really well. Whether he is being goofy or playing the down on his luck guy, or Operaman or playing The Hanukkah Song, Adam Sandler has always been one to make me laugh. And for that, all I have to say is thank you for growing up with me and may you make us laugh for many, many years.