Mr. DeedsOne of
Frank Capra's best-loved stories gets a modernized and wildly slapstick reinterpretation in this
omantic comedy starring
Adam Sandler. When Preston Blake (
Harve Presnell), a remarkably wealthy media magnate, dies with neither a wife nor children, the question on the lips of most of his associates is who will inherit the estate. The surprising answer turns out to be Longfellow Deeds (
Adam Sandler), a cheerful but half-bright proprietor of a small-town pizzeria, as well as part-time greeting card poet, who was a distant relative of Blake. In order to claim his 40-billion-dollar inheritance, Deeds heads to New York City, where Blake's former associates, Chuck Cedar (
Peter Gallagher) and Cecil Anderson (
Erick Avari), introduce him to the city while trying to figure out how to get their hands on his new fortune. Meanwhile, Mac McGrath (
Jared Harris), the producer of a sleazy tabloid television show, wants to get the inside scoop on Deeds, and comes up with perfect way to get it: he sends beautiful but unscrupulous reporter Babe Bennett (
Winona Ryder) to sweep Deeds off his feet while she's wired for sound. Convincing Deeds that she's from a small town just like himself, Bennett quickly wins his heart, but while his affection is sincere, hers is not. He also displays a curious eagerness to defend her good name with his fists which quickly gets him in trouble. Meanwhile, as Deeds becomes the new laughing stock of New York thanks to Bennett's stories, Deeds decides it's time he did something big with his money, while Cedar and Anderson think they've finally found a way to take control of Deeds' holdings. Mr. Deeds also features supporting performances from
John Turturro,
Steve Buscemi, and
Conchata Ferrell.
John McEnroe and
Rev. Al Sharpton make cameo appearances as themselves. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
Big DaddyProspective parents everywhere, meet the world's least likely paternal role model:
Adam Sandler! In Big Daddy,
Sandler plays 30-year-old bachelor Sonny Koufax, a carefree slob who has never much taken to adult responsibilities; he works one day a week as a tollbooth collector, and spends the remainder of his time living off of a $200,000 reward he collected from an auto accident. All told, the life suits him just fine. However, as his old buddies start getting married and drifting away, Sonny realizes that if he doesn't do something soon, he could end up all alone for the rest of his life. When his most recent girlfriend, Vanessa (
Kristy Swanson), indicates that she needs some time off because she's sick of being with a man who can't act like a grown-up, he decides that it's time to take drastic action to win her back. Conveniently enough, a little boy named Julian (Cole Sprouse and
Dylan Sprouse) turns up on his doorstep, claiming that he's the biological son of Sonny's roommate and friend from law school, Kevin (
Jon Stewart). The kid tells Sonny that he's from Buffalo, New York; Kevin has never been to Buffalo, New York, but no matter - Sonny foresees, in Julian, an opportunity to convince Vanessa that he can face adult responsibilities. He thus takes charge of the little boy over a long Columbus Day weekend, pretending to be Kevin. However, the plan doesn't work as expected, and the authorities hone in on a discovery of Sonny's real identity. Meanwhile, Sonny finds himself genuinely drawn to the tyke. Also supporting
Sandler in Big Daddy are
Joey Lauren Adams,
Josh Mostel and
Rob Schneider. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
