- Master of infantilism Adam Sandler stars as the title character, an overgrown rich kid who wiles away his days poolside, swilling kegs of beer and appreciating fine nudie magazines such as "Drunk Chicks" -- that is, until his father (Darren McGavin) decides to test his mettle as future head of the family business by posing a challenge: retake and pass grades K-12 in 24 weeks or watch control of the business pass to the requisite conniving underling (Bradley Whitford). Forced into action, Billy vows to change his drunken ways. He enrolls in kindergarten, makes new friends, pelts pint-sized kids with playground balls and develops a love interest in a pretty teacher (Bridgitte Wilson). The action culminates in an academic showdown between Billy and the purportedly Harvard-educated underling for the future of the family enterprise -- no small feat for a man fresh out of the first grade. There's gross, moronic, off-color low humor galore in Billy Madison, particularly in one subplot involving a romantically forward elementary school principal (Josh Mostel, son of theater great Zero Mostel) and his secret former life as a professional wrestler; another scene includes the hypertense school bus driver (Chris Farley, in a typical over-the-top cameo) lying in the meadow with a hallucinatory penguin. As one might suspect, Billy Madison is not for every taste; Sandler fans will laugh from start to finish; others beware. ~ Jeremy Beday, Rovi
- Menu
Side #1 --
Scenes
Bonus Features
Deleted Scenes
The Pool, Penguins and Pornography
Billy at Home
Being Billy
School Days
Eric and Principal Anderson
Academic Decathlon and Graduation
Play All
Outtakes
Production Notes
Feature Commentary With Director Tamra Davis: On/Off
Languages
Spoken Language: English 5.1 Dolby Digital
Spoken Language: English 5.1 DTS
Spoken Language: Español 2.0 Dolby Digital
Spoken Language: Français 2.0 Dolby Digital
Feature Commentary With Director Tamra Davis
Captioned for the Hearing Impaired: English
Subtitles: Español
Subtitles: Français
Subtitles: None
Play
- Chapters
Side #1 --
1. That Penguin's Back Again (Main Titles) [5:39]
2. Billy and the Business Associates [8:07]
3. One More Chance [4:33]
4. First Grade [2:43]
5. Dodge Ball [8:09]
6. Second Grade [6:56]
7. Principal Anderson [4:17]
8. A Little Field Trip [10:12]
9. Making the Grades [8:44]
10. The Deal's Off [1:45]
11. Tough Love [3:53]
12. The Opera Montage [2:01]
13. The Academic Decathlon [7:06]
14. Final Jeopardy [3:18]
15. Saved by the Blob [4:35]
16. The Graduate (End Titles) [:48]
- Features
Over 25 minutes of the most awesome deleted scenes
Outrageous outtakes and side-splitting goof-ups
Get the whole hilarious story with exclusive feature commentary from director Tamra Davis
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Directors
Tamra Davis
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Producers
Robert Simonds
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Composers (Music Score)
Randy Edelman
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Editors
Jeffery Wolf
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Screen Writers
Adam Sandler
Tim Herlihy
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Set Designers
Enrico Campana
Others
Art Director - Gordon M. Barnes
Associate Producer - Jack Giarraputo
Camera Operator - Harald Ortenburger
Casting - Deirdre Bowen
Casting - Jaki Brown-Karman
Casting - Todd Thaler
Cinematographer - Victor Hammer
Composer (Music Score) - Randy Edelman
Executive Producer - Fitch Cady
First Assistant Director - David Vaughan
First Assistant Director - Martin Walters
Musical Direction/Supervision - Allan Byer
Musical Direction/Supervision - Ralph Sall
Production Designer - Perry Andelin Blake
Assuming top billing for the first time in this willfully stunted comedy,
Adam Sandler unleashed the soon-familiar persona that would widely divide moviegoers but provide indisputable results at the box office for years to come. Here was born the debate about whether
Sandler is a lowbrow comic genius or a moronic gadfly signifying the end of good taste and intelligence as we know it. For those able to give themselves over to its sophomoric charms,
Billy Madison is a knee-slapping celebration of a spoiled idiot who learns decency from a gaggle of children who wet their pants at recess. Sure,
Sandler is over the top -- in fact, he's so far over it that it's nowhere in sight. But that's the point in this movie, in which
Sandler is essentially the mean-spirited version of
Tom Hanks' character in
"Big", throwing tantrums appropriate to someone of his underdeveloped intellect. It's hard to resist
Sandler when he yells, "You blew it!" in his trademark guttural shout after his eight-year-old friend botches a phone conversation with his crush. The reverse shot shows the young boy grinning in spite of himself, suggesting that children accept
Sandler as he is, a ridiculous but ultimately harmless clown, and perhaps they're the best judges of character. Those who want
Sandler to be something other than an intense, bellowing man-child -- or just wish he would go away -- aren't the intended audience, anyway. Simpatico supporting turns by
Norm McDonald,
Steve Buscemi, and
Chris Farley provide either more giggles for the willing or more ammo for the obstinate. ~ Derek Armstrong, Rovi
