Adam Sandler is of the most iconic comedians of this era and two of the most recent installments of his work, Murder Mystery and Murder Mystery 2 have brought back an element of goofiness his fans haven't seen in a long time.
The first movie follows Nick and Audrey Spitz, a New York police officer and his wife, going on a long-delayed European vacation only to end up as the main suspects in a murder as soon as they arrive. The second movie picks up a little while after the end of the first, telling the story of Nick and Audrey, who are now private detectives on an international investigation to find and find their abducted friend. The humor in these movies combines the endearing nature of his newer movies and the stupidity of his classics.
Classic Adam Sandler Comedies
Adam Sandler's movies in the '90s cannot be beaten. Some of the most iconic include The Wedding Singer, The Water Boy, Happy Gilmore, and Billy Madison. These movies are raunchy, badly behaved, and sure to be on the shortlist of any comedy lover's favorites. Adam Sandler has a gift for making himself the butt of the joke and the hero at the same time and these movies showcase this talent in the most ridiculous way.
Billy Madison will always hold the title as one of Sandler's funniest movies. His dimwitted, spoiled character forced to retake and pass every grade in 24 weeks in order to inherit the family business is a funny enough concept as it is, but adding in Sandler's ability to make every single line a joke puts it over the top. His early movies laid the foundation for a new era of comedy and while he has grown as a writer and comedian, the originals cannot be bested.
Adam Sandler Changes His Mold
After a decade of goofy, raunchy humor, Adam Sandler's movies took a sharp turn. He started creating more feel-good, family-friendly flicks like Fifty First Dates, Click, Bedtime Stories, and Blended, to name a few. While they embody his classic silly humor, they tell sweeter stories and grow up with him. In his earlier movies, he plays a young character telling stories about water boys and 20-something losers, but as he gets older, his movies tell stories about families and romance.
In Happy Gilmore, Sandler plays a foul-mouthed wannabe hockey player who stumbles into being a professional golfer while saying and doing every stupid, embarrassing thing he can along the way. In stark contrast, Fifty First Dates is a pretty standard romantic comedy with a few quirky characters that set it apart from the rest of the genre. They both have their place in the collective works of Adam Sandler, but his more recent work tends to fit the mold instead of creating and disrupting it.
Introducing the Spitez in Murder Mystery
Murder Mystery combines Sandler's old nonsensical sense of humor with his more recent style making it the perfect balance of silly and smart. Adam Sandler and Jennifer Aniston being a couple in the Murder Mystery franchise surely doesn't hurt its excellence. The two of them have insane chemistry and that can be attributed to their three-decade-long friendship.
It also feels like Adam Sandler is playing a grown-up version of his '90s characters in these movies, which is a fun contrast to the dad character he has played in so many of his recent movies. These two movies have a fun plot filled with mishaps and chaos while playing to the strengths of Adam Sandler and Jennifer Aniston. While it's not as off-the-wall as Billy Madison or Coneheads, it has a lot more creativity than the duo's last movie together, Just Go With It.
Murder Mystery Is Badly Received, But Highly Regarded
While both of these movies have done terribly in terms of ratings, they are severely underrated. This could possibly be because the whodunit trope is gaining new traction recently with movies like Knives Out, Glass Onion, and Amsterdam. Others have compared this movie to Adam Sandler being on cruise control, but that couldn't be less true. These movies are a smart and hilarious blend of the original and current Adam Sandler humor.
Despite critics' harsh reviews, fans of Adam Sandler are obsessed with this new franchise. While they are quite possibly Adam Sandler's best movies since the '90s, that's for audiences to decide for themselves. Both Murder Mystery and Murder Mystery 2 are available to stream on Netflix.