Happy Madison Productions, Adam Sandler’s shingle, has been responsible for a lot of nepotistic casting, with nearly the entire Sandler family having been in one of his films. Judy Sandler, his mom, popped up in Big Daddy and Happy Gilmore, his dad was in Eight Crazy Nights, his wife Jackie was in Big Daddy, 50 First Dates, Just Go With It, and even by herself in non-Happy Madison works like Duplex. His younger daughter Sunny has been in a ton of movies, but starred recently in You’re So Not Invited To My Bat Mitzvah, and was a voice in Leo. Sadie Sandler, who stars in Roommates, has appeared in over 25 films, including a ton of Happy Madison films. Basically, if you have arrived at Roommates and have chosen to make this film your legacy casting hill to die on, go home, you’re drunk.
Aside from his family, Sandler routinely uses the same roster of actors, like Rob Schneider, Kevin James, Chris Rock, David Spade, Steve Buscemi,and even Drew Barrymore, who has been Sandler’s love interest in three films. some critics have attacked Rommates, becaus the film, which uses a young, college aged cast, features a slew of children of famous actors, like Chris Rock, Eddie Murphy, and Laura Dern, without actually acknowledging how small their roles are, and how aside from Sadie Sandler, few make a meaningful contribution to cinema.
It’s something Adam Sandler has been doing forever, and now is not the time to charge into battle. the Neppo Baby conversation is tired, as we look at generational talent, including recent Oscar Nominee Kate Hudson, Marty Supreme’s Odessa Azoin, Hacks star Hannah Einbinder, or even talent like the aforementioned Laura Dern, Jamie lee Curtis, Michael Douglas, or Shrinking’s Damon Wayans Jr. This is not a purely Happy Madison effect, nor is it something that is brought up everytime an actor who has a parent in the industry already is in the conversation.
So, leaving the “Neppo Baby” conversation at the door. It’s a Sadie Sandler film. If you’re really that bored, I suggest you check out the current final season of The Boys starring Jack Quaid. Oh, wait.
Sandler plays Devan, whose Mom (Natasha Lyonne) and Dad (Steve Buscemi) are getting her ready for college. She’s leaving her younger brother Alex (Aiden Langford) behind, and headed off wondering if college will be any different. It very much is, as she meets she meets Celeste (Chloe East), who is a bold, self-assured, popular girl that is the opposite of Devan. At first, they actually click, but Celeste continues to do things that Devan feels are disrespectful, and encroach on her space. Instead of ever talking it out, she bottles it up, until it turns into a no holds barred fight to the near death. All of this is actually told as a story by an unnecessary narrator, to two girls who are fighting at the beginning of the film. the movie did not need them.
Devan is clearly bright. Her teacher takes notice of her for simply reading the syllabus, and she has a crush on her TA. This could really have been developed into something, both her career path, and her budding relationship, but the logical direction of either is given as a sacrificial lamb to the chaos ensuing in the messy final act.
Sadie Sandler is actually really good here, but the film gives most of the really great material to Chloe East, who plays Celeste perfectly. At first, she has the perfect edgy vibe so you aren’t sure where her character is headed, then the script smartly throws her a series of micro aggressions that the audience will debate as to how big of a deal they are, or when they would confront Celeste. Then, the script throws her a few genuine moments. I loved when Celeste went back to Devan’s hometown, and perfectly clocked a group of mean girls, who looked prime to harass Devan, and completely outdid all of them.
While the film has some bright moments, and did make me laugh, it suffers from a collision of a third act that betrays any work it has done to suggest a path forward for the girls, and becomes a disappointing slew of decisions that ends in a broken, fractured ending, like going against the grain is an achievable mic drop. That would be fine, fi earned. Looking at something like 500 Days Of Summer, which doesn’t necessarily give an easy ending, it does give viewers a natural one that doesn’t betray the story or characters, which is why the film continues to resonate.
The problem being of course, that we have had a bit of a clunky road to get here, where they are being used as an example to two other girls, and Devan should be learning how to communicate. Celeste should be surprising us with a deeper personality. There are themes the film is moving toward, but decides to change direction, and choose an option not on the table. Honestly, the girls would have been just as well served by a right hook throwing them into a time travel comedy at the end, or switching genres, and suddenly making it a Nicholas Sparks drama where someone dies. Just because the direction is comedic in tone doesn’t mean it feels any less like a cop out on where we’ve been heading.
I also really did not like Nick Kroll, for once. he never gave off Dad vibes. He gave off bro vibes the whole film, because his acting, and most of his lines, aren’t wwritten to support the film, but to support Kroll’s brand of humor. Kroll could take a page from Eugene Levy, whose iconic father in the American Pie franchise managed to be funny, play to his strengths, and also still make him feel like the adult in teh room.
The Audio description from International Digital Center is fine, making sure to point out all the gross out humor. Most of the sub plots go nowhere, or are poorly developed, like Michael, or Alex, and the gay delivery robot that exists for reasons unknown to anyone.
Some of this is good. Sadie is fine, Chloe is great. it is messy, and has an awful third act that made me swing what could have been a small thumbs up, into a small thumbs down.
A film that mistakes passive aggression for character development, and confuses chaos from comedy, Roommates is unhinged, and not for any particular narrative reward.
Rotten: 5.9/10
