Billy Madison

Year: 1995
Directed By: Tamra Davis
Written By: Tim Herlihy, Adam Sandler

RYAN’S REVIEW

This movie reminds me of the 90s, of being young and watching it with my brothers and sisters. This was probably one of our favorite movies collectively when were in the pre-teen to early teen years.   When I was younger I thought Adam Sandler was one of the funniest people out there. Things are different today, I don’t even bother seeing his films anymore, in fact I specifically don’t watch them.  In a way it’s because of this movie that I don’t like Adam Sandler.  I think that this film, as well as Happy Gilmore, are great movies and very funny. They are too funny, they led me to believe Adam Sandler had it in him to be funny all the time and that wasn’t the case.  I personally think that his career was all down hill after them, despite how much money he has made.  With few exceptions I think his movies have been obnoxious and stupid.  The Waterboy isn’t bad, The Wedding Singer isn’t the funniest movie but it is a lot of fun all the same, and I think Sandler showed exceptional acting ability in Punch, Drunk, Love. Otherwise I think his career is full of duds, but I know I am in the minority.

Billy Madison is a great movie, Adam Sandler is young and very funny.  He has a few SNL buddies making cameos with Norm MacDonald as a wasted friend and the late great Chris Farley as a crazy bus driver.  Steve Buscemi has worked with Adam Sandler quite often and he has a great part in this movie. We didn’t get enough of Chris Farley before his untimely death in 1997, we must cherish what we do have.  This is a funny movie and at only 90 minutes it is worth your time.

AMBER’S REVIEW

I can recite this whole movie line by line, as most people my age can. I don’t know what it is about this movie, but we all love it and we all think it is hilarious. This movie was in the beginning of the Adam Sandler era, when he was still true to his slapstick version of humor. He has grown a lot since these films around this time era, even venturing out into more serious roles such as Punch Drunk Love.

If you haven’t seen this movie, I don’t know where you have been in the world since the nineties. Everyone I know has seen this movie and loved it. It isn’t an academy award winner, but it should be in every movie lover’s collection.

My Favorite Quotes:

“It’s too damn hot for a penguin to be just walkin’ around. I gotta send you back to the South Pole.”

“Have some more sloppy joes. I made ’em extra sloppy for yous. I know how yous kids like ’em sloppy.”

“Back to school. Back to school, to prove to Dad that I’m not a fool. I got my lunch packed up, my boots tied tight, I hope I don’t get in a fight. Ohhhh, back to school. Back to school. Back to school. Well, here goes nothing.”

“Shampoo is better. I go on first and clean the hair. Conditioner is better. I leave the hair silky and smooth. Oh, really, fool? Really”…………….”Stop Looking at me swan!”

And last but not least, the clown singing. I love this part.

NEXT MOVIE: The Birdcage (1996)

Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls

Year: 1995
Directed By: Steve Oedekirk
Written By: Jack Bernstein

RYAN’S REVIEW

While I suppose you can call the first Ace Ventura movie vaguely serious, the second is much sillier and sometimes seems stupid.  However, I think this one is the funnier movie, the lack of seriousness allows Jim Carrey full range to be as funny as he wants to be with less limitation.  I think this film serves more as a platform for Carrey’s own crazy style of comedy than it does as a traditional film.  That works though, there is nothing wrong with that.  Jim Carrey is a seriously funny guy and a really talented entertainer.  He doesn’t miss a beat in this movie, it is relentlessly funny.  Jim Carrey is a different person these days, he has become a different person in his stardom.  While he is still a fantastic actor he just has a different style, he has evolved.  In this movie we see Jim Carrey as he was when he first burst onto the scene as someone who did something different. He was a new comedian with adult ADD and his comedy seemed to never end, somewhere along the line it was as if someone gave him Ritalin.  He calmed down, and part of that explosive relentless comedian was lost as he showed us he could do more, he showed us range, and that he was more than just a wacky guy.  Jim Carrey has had an excellent career, but sometimes I miss the guy he used to be, the days when he really was Ace Ventura.

This movie is hilarious, it has some of the all time funniest scenes I’ve ever seen.  “So you must be the Monopoly guy,” that scene will always make me laugh, and it barely compares to Ace Ventura being born from that Rhino along the safari trail.  It’s rare, and even was in the mid 90s, that a sequel is made only a year after the original film.  It’s even rarer that a sequel is rushed out and turns out funnier than its predecessor but that is the case with this film.  As I mentioned in my review of the first Ace Ventura, I think Steve Oedekerk is a better director than Tom Shadyac.  I haven’t really liked anything else Shadyac has done besides the first Ace Ventura, but Oedekerk directed, wrote, and starred in a different film that is one of the funniest movies I’ve ever seen.  So I don’t think it’s coincidental that he made a funnier Ace Ventura movie.  I still hope that one day Jim Carrey quits taking whatever medicine is calming him down and we see a third Ace Ventura film.  Great movie totally worth your time, SHAKAKA!!

AMBER’S REVIEW

The sequel. To me, this one is funnier than the second one. It is even more outrageous and Jim Carrey really comes into the role. The hair, the attitude and the outrageous sayings are all better than the first. In this one he travels to Africa to save a bat, an animal he is afraid of, and spends the the movie in search of the animal while interacting with tribal villagers. When I was younger we used to recite the words to the entire film. We loved it so much. To this day I will even use some of the sayings or recite a scene when I am hanging out with my brother. One of our favorites is “Bumble Bee Tuna.”

What are your favorite Ace Ventura lines?