Iconic imagery comes in many forms: the ‘Ride of the Valkyries’ in Apocalypse Now, Willem Dafoe’s demise in Platoon, even Captain America’s stand against Thanos in Avengers: Endgame. But what about Adam Sandler and Cole Sprouse pissing against a wall in Big Daddy?
Since the fan-favourite comedy in 1999, the pair’s careers have gone in strange directions. Sprouse became a child star in the Suite Life shows and found later fame on Riverdale, while Sandler is soon to appear in Uncut Gems, a departure from his usual goofball comedies of the millennium.
Two decades later, they had a father-son reunion at the Los Angeles premiere of Uncut Gems on Wednesday, December 11.
Big Daddy saw Sonny Koufax (Sandler), a lazy law student, become the de facto father of Julian ‘Frankenstein’ McGrath (Sprouse) after he’s unceremoniously dropped at his door.
Also starring his twin brother Dylan, 27, in their big-screen debut, the film would go on to make more than $230 million at the box office despite a lukewarm critical reception (currently, it’s sitting at 40% on Rotten Tomatoes).
Recalling working on the film, Sandler told ET:
I remember the boys. I remember Cole and Dylan being great little boys. When I see them now, I’m baffled at how they grew into handsome b*stards.
Dennis Dugan’s comedy came at the height of Sandler’s fame, especially after Billy Madison and Happy Gilmore. Now at the age of 53, he’s sinking his teeth into a much different role that’s set to channel the actor’s dramatic talents.
Check out the trailer for Uncut Gems below:
The synopsis for Uncut Gems reads:
From acclaimed filmmakers Josh and Benny Safdie comes an electrifying crime thriller about Howard Ratner (Adam Sandler), a charismatic New York City jeweller always on the lookout for the next big score.
When he makes a series of high-stakes bets that could lead to the windfall of a lifetime, Howard must perform a precarious high-wire act, balancing business, family, and encroaching adversaries on all sides, in his relentless pursuit of the ultimate win.
Sandler has been attracting sizeable Oscar hype for his performance, with the Observer’s Oliver Jones writing: ‘The fullest expression of Sandler and his singular talents that we have witnessed in his sometimes confounding and often infuriating 30-plus-year career.’
Rolling Stone’s Peter Travers wrote:
As a Manhattan jeweller and gambling addict caught in a vise of his own making, Adam Sandler proves he can act with the best of them, meeting every challenge the incendiary Safdie brothers throw at him to give the audience the ride of its life.
While already released in the US, the film is set for a limited cinema stint in the UK in January next year before dropping on Netflix soon after – however, no exact date has been confirmed yet.
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After graduating from Glasgow Caledonian University with an NCTJ and BCTJ-accredited Multimedia Journalism degree, Cameron ventured into the world of print journalism at The National, while also working as a freelance film journalist on the side, becoming an accredited Rotten Tomatoes critic in the process. He’s now left his Scottish homelands and took up residence at UNILAD as a journalist.