Billy Madison

Ah, Billy Madison. Those two words are all it seems to take to bring back a small wave of nostalgia. Friends, parties, warm beer, and cars that barely ran. God, life was simpler, back in those innocent days when a movie could be stupid AND funny without being gross.
To Adam Sandler fans, this movie is a classic in its own right. Forget Bulletproof, THIS is the movie that launched Adam Sandler's career. Of all his movies I've seen (and no I haven't seen them all) this is by far the funniest and the best.
The plot isn't too important here, it's only there to string together all the Sandler jokes anyway, but I'll briefly go into it. Adam Sandler plays a millionaire (not too hard to believe) named Billy Madison who spends his days jerking off, getting drunk, and laying around the pool. (also not too hard to believe) (How many of you can honestly say that if you had to picture Adam Sandler's home life, this is NOT what it would look like?) His father is the all-important head of Madison hotels, but he's retiring, and being the reasonable man that he is, would rather leave his position to sneaky, conniving Eric than to his own son, Billy. (I can't say I blame him on that one.) Billy vows to show his dad he's responsible by repeating all the grades in which his dad had to bribe his teachers to pass him (that's grades 1-12) in just 6 months time. His father agrees, and the story begins.
Now, if you're a fan of Adam Sandler to begin with, chances are you will probably like this movie. If, on the other hand, you have never found anything Adam Sandler did or said to be even remotely funny, then you're better off staying away from it. It always irks me when people criticize movies for things they should have expected in the first place. "The acting stunk, the jokes were stupid..." etc, etc. Yes, maybe they were, but did you honestly expect great acting and sophisticated jokes from an Adam Sandler movie? I think not, my friends. You might as well go see a drama and argue that it's too serious, or go out to watch Shakespeare and complain that they talk funny. (That one's for you, daddy.)
This movie doesn't give anything more than it promises, which is to be funny, and it IS funny. (At least to me, and most other people under 30.) This movie is not trying to impress you, it's not trying to make a point or mean anything, it's simply trying to make you laugh, or at least smile, and think to yourself it wasn't all that long ago when I, too, was young and crazy.
All in all, an enjoyable movie, and with no sex, drugs, or violence, and only limited swearing, it's not too bad for the kiddies either. Who knows, they might even be impressed that old mom and pop still have some young taste buds left in them yet.