When most people think of Adam Sandler, they likely think of the signature funny man with a catalog of hilarious performances behind his name. Adam Sandler is most known for making us laugh, from Saturday Night Live’s Opera Man to classic comedies like Billy Madison and Happy Gilmore, and even his various standup routines.
But he’s actually a versatile actor capable of more than comedy and goofy roles. Sandler has starred in several more dramatic, serious roles throughout his career, and while comedy is his primary focal point, his dramatic parts are just as good and worth paying attention to. Sandler’s more dramatic side is often overlooked simply because he’s established himself as a major comedic force, but these are six of his best dramatic roles thus far.
6 Spanglish (2004)
Spanglish is a romantic comedy about a woman (Paz Vega) and her daughter who emigrate from Mexico for a shot at a better life in America. The woman begins working for a family consisting of a celebrated chef (Sandler) and a businesswoman turned stay-at-home mom (Téa Leoni). Spanglish is a heartwarming movie full of standout performances, and Sandler's role is very deep and thoughtful, and he earned it following his impressive performance in 2002's Punch-Drunk Love. In a lot of cases, Spanglish is your typical rom-com, but the language and culture barriers in the movie bring a new depth to the screen that most popular rom-coms don't offer.
5 Funny People (2009)
Funny People is about a veteran comedian (Sandler) who receives a terminal cancer diagnosis and decides to return to the stand-up comedy world. Staying true to the movie's name, the cast consists of a band of true funny people, including Seth Rogan, Aziz Ansari, Leslie Mann, Jonah Hill, and Aubrey Plaza. Funny People touches on the well-known fact that a lot of comedians or "funny people" often have a darker, sadder side to themselves that isn't always apparent. Having someone like Adam Sandler, the resident funny man, tackle this role makes it believable, and he brings a certain level of depth to the performance that only he could bring.
4 Click
On face value, Click is a comedy. However, the movie has impressive depth for a Sandler flick and delivers important messages about living in the moment and enjoying the time you have with those around you, rather than being so absorbed in things that don't matter and trying to rush through life. Click is about Michael Newman (Sandler) an overworked architect who's often absorbed by his work and neglects his wife and kids. But then he acquires a magical universal remote from the eccentric Morty (Christopher Walken) and can control his reality with basic TV functions like fast-forward, rewind and pause. The remote leads to some funny moments and seems like the greatest gift, but soon gets out of hand and comes with harsh consequences.
Click is a funny movie and sees Sandler in the family man role that he plays so well. It's not his funniest movie, but it's not supposed to be. Really, the heart of Click is its more dramatic, touching moments that can honestly be real tear-jerkers if you allow yourself to be immersed in the story.
3 The Meyerowitz Stories (2017)
The Meyerowitz Stories is a 2017 dramedy written and directed by Noah Baumbach (Marriage Story). It's about a group of adult siblings (Sandler, Ben Stiller, Elizabeth Marvel) who are all estranged from the family in some way and seem to live in the shadow of their esteemed, artist father (Dustin Hoffman). The story is told through various character perspectives, and it's essentially another tale of a dysfunctional family simply trying to figure things out. In true Baumbach fashion, the movie mirrors reality in such a raw, believable way, and the performances from the cast have a lot to do with that.
In this role, Sandler is the jaded, second-favorite son, and he plays the role with such emotion that it's truly different from any other dramatic role he's held to date. It feels more genuine and carries more weight than his other similar performances and stands out as one of his best. It's one of those movies you really have to experience for yourself to understand, as it's just so character-driven.
2 Punch-Drunk Love (2002)
Before Uncut Gems, when people thought of Adam Sandler in a dramatic role, they likely thought of Punch-Drunk Love. The movie follows Sandler, a timid businessman who is prone to violent outbursts. He lives a pretty lonely, uneventful life, but things change once he falls in love with his sister's coworker (Emily Watson). However, things get messy when Sandler's character falls into an extortionist's money scheme.
If you went into Punch-Drunk Love expecting a goofy Sandler character typical of his other movies like The Waterboy and Happy Gilmore, you were likely disappointed. However, if you can watch Punch-Drunk Love as a movie independent of Sandler's other work, you're in for a treat. It's a dark dramedy, with a unique — albeit odd — storyline. It comes in Sandler's career after several years of comedy performances and certainly stunned audiences by how different it is. However, it still stands out today as one of his greatest dramatic performances and truly showcases his range as an actor.
1 Uncut Gems (2019)
Uncut Gems is a crime thriller about Howard Ratner (Sandler) a jeweler and gambling addict in NYC's Diamond District who has to retrieve an expensive gem that he purchased to help pay off his mounting debts. Created by filmmaking bothers Josh and Benny Safdie, Uncut Gems is gritty and intense and was met with massive critical acclaim and significant positive reviews. It was even chosen by the National Board of Review as one of the top 10 films of 2019.
One of the most notable aspects of Uncut Gems, though, is Sandler's performance, which some reviewers call the best of his career. Sandler plays Ratner with such convincing intensity that it's hard not to call this his finest hour. As an often overlooked serious, dramatic actor, Sandler commands your attention in Uncut Gems and delivers a performance that jumps right off the screen.