Big Daddy is a 1999 American comedy film directed by Dennis Dugan and starring Adam Sandler, Joey Lauren Adams and the Sprouse twins. The film was produced by Robert Simonds and released on June 25, 1999, by Columbia Pictures, where it opened #1 at the box office with a $41,536,370 first weekend. It was Sandler's last film before starting his production company, Happy Madison Productions, his first film distributed by Columbia Pictures, and his highest-grossing film domestically until Hotel Transylvania 2 (2015).
Big Daddy | |
---|---|
Theatrical release poster | |
Directed by | Dennis Dugan |
Produced by | Allen Covert Jack Giarraputo |
Screenplay by | Steve Franks Tim Herlihy Adam Sandler |
Story by | Steve Franks |
Starring |
|
Music by | Teddy Castellucci |
Cinematography | Theo van de Sande |
Edited by | Jeff Gourson |
Production company | Out of the Blue... Entertainment Jack Giarraputo Productions |
Distributed by | Columbia Pictures |
Release date | June 25, 1999 |
Running time | 93 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Budget | $34.2 million |
Box office | $234.8 million |
Screenplay
Immature and lazy 32-year-old young bachelor Sonny Koufax lives in New York City, and refuses to take on adult responsibility. Despite having a law degree, he refuses to take the bar exam, works one day a week as a toll booth attendant and lives off a large compensation payout from a minor accident. His girlfriend, Vanessa, threatens to break up with him unless he grows up. His roommate, Kevin Gerrity, proposes to his podiatrist girlfriend Corinne Maloney before he leaves for China to work at his law firm, and she accepts. Sonny constantly teases Corinne, especially about her former job at Hooters.
The next day, Sonny wakes up to find a five-year-old boy named Julian McGrath abandoned at their apartment. A written explanation says that Julian's mother is no longer able to care for him and that Kevin is his biological father. Sonny assures Kevin that he will look after Julian until Kevin returns from China. In order to win Vanessa back, Sonny introduces her to Julian. However, he discovers that she is now dating Sid, an elderly man who is more motivated and intelligent and has a "five-year plan."
Posing as Kevin, Sonny takes Julian to his social worker Arthur Brooks, telling him that Julian should return to his mother. However, Brooks informs Sonny that Julian's mother died of cancer. Sonny then decides to raise Julian his own way. As such, the boy renames himself "Frankenstein" and also helps Sonny find a new girlfriend in Corinne's lawyer sister Layla. Brooks finds a foster home for Julian and leaves messages for Sonny, but is suspicious when Sonny does not answer. At a meeting at Julian's school, the teacher is shocked by the terrible habits Sonny has allowed Julian to develop, causing Sonny to rethink his parenting methods. He turns himself and Julian around, but then Brooks arrives to find out Sonny impersonated Kevin and Julian is taken away.
In court, numerous people including Corinne testify on Sonny's behalf and tell the judge he is a suitable father. Julian also testifies and provides information regarding his heritage. As a final straw, Sonny calls himself to the stand and asks his Florida lawyer father Lenny, who is present, to interrogate him. Despite Lenny's fervent belief that Sonny is not father material, Sonny convinces Lenny that he will try his best at being a father. Impressed by Sonny's sincerity, Lenny vouches for him. Nonetheless, the unconvinced judge orders Sonny's arrest. Kevin, having pieced the necessary information together, confesses to being Julian's biological father and insists they drop the charges. Sonny remains friends with Julian and hands him off to Kevin, watching them bond.
One year later, Sonny has turned his life around: he is a successful lawyer, is married to Layla, and they have a child of their own. At Sonny's surprise birthday party at a Hooters restaurant attended by Kevin, Corinne, Julian and others; Sonny sees Vanessa working as a waitress, with Sid working as a cook, revealing his "five-year-plan" has gone awry. Everyone celebrates Sonny's birthday.
- Adam Sandler as Sonny Koufax
- Cole and Dylan Sprouse as Julian McGrath
- Joey Lauren Adams as Layla Maloney
- Jon Stewart as Kevin Gerrity
- Leslie Mann as Corinne Maloney
- Rob Schneider as Nazo
- Jonathan Loughran as Mike
- Allen Covert as Phil D'Amato
- Peter Dante as Tommy Grayton
- Kristy Swanson as Vanessa
- Joseph Bologna as Lenny Koufax
- Steve Buscemi as Homeless Guy
- Josh Mostel as Arthur Brooks
- Edmund Lyndeck as Mr. Herlihy
- Geoffrey Horne as Sid
Critical response
On Rotten Tomatoes the film has an approval rating of 40% based on 93 reviews, and an average rating of 5.1/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "Adam Sandler acquits himself admirably, but his charm isn't enough to make up for Big Daddy's jarring shifts between crude humor and mawkish sentimentality." On Metacritic the film has a weighted average score of 41 out of 100, based on reviews from 26 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".
Accolades
Year | Award | Category | Result |
---|---|---|---|
2000 | Blockbuster Entertainment Awards | Favorite Actor - Comedy: Adam Sandler | Won |
2000 | Blockbuster Entertainment Awards | Favorite Supporting Actor - Comedy: Cole Sprouse & Dylan Sprouse | Nominated |
2000 | Blockbuster Entertainment Awards | Favorite Supporting Actress - Comedy: Joey Lauren Adams | Nominated |
2000 | BMI Film & TV Awards | Teddy Castellucci | Won |
2000 | GLAAD Media Awards | Outstanding Film | Nominated |
2000 | Golden Raspberry Awards | Worst Actor: Adam Sandler | Won |
2000 | Golden Raspberry Awards | Worst Screenplay: Steve Franks, Tim Herlihy & Adam Sandler | Nominated |
2000 | Kids' Choice Awards | Favorite Movie | Won |
2000 | Kids' Choice Awards | Favourite Movie Actor - Adam Sandler | Won |
2000 | MTV Movie + TV Awards | Best Comedic Performance - Adam Sandler | Won |
2000 | MTV Movie + TV Awards | Best Male Performance - Adam Sandler | Nominated |
2000 | MTV Movie + TV Awards | Best On-Screen Duo - Adam Sandler, Cole Sprouse, Dylan Sprouse | Nominated |
2000 | People's Choice Awards | Favorite Comedy Motion Picture | Won |
1999 | Teen Choice Awards | Film - Movie of the Summer | Won |
2000 | Young Artist Awards | Best Performance in a Feature Film - Young Actor Age Ten or Under: Cole Sprouse & Dylan Sprouse | Nominated |
1999 | YoungStar Awards | Best Performance by a Young Actor in a Comedy Film: Cole Sprouse & Dylan Sprouse | Nominated |
Professional ratings | |
---|---|
Review scores | |
Source | Rating |
Allmusic | |
dowse | positive |
EW | B- |
The film won a BMI Film Music Award. The soundtrack included the following:
- Track listing
- Other songs used in the film
- "Dancing in the Moonlight" by The CrownSayers (originally done by King Harvest)
- "Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)" by Eurythmics
- "Sweet Child o' Mine" a re-recorded version taken from a live version played by Guns N' Roses mixed with a recording with the 1999 Guns N' Roses lineup
- "Jump" by Van Halen background music on the answering machine message in Sonny's apartment
- "Growin' Up" by Bruce Springsteen
- "Save It For Later" by Harvey Danger (originally by The English Beat)
- "Blue Collar Man (Long Nights)" by Styx
- "Night's Interlude" by Nightmares on Wax (Song played during opening credits)
- "Fooled Around and Fell in Love" by Elvin Bishop
- Songs from the theatrical trailer not in the film
- "Doo Wa Ditty (Blow That Thing)" by Zapp and Roger
- "You Get What You Give" by New Radicals
- Bollywood movies
- Latest Bollywood movies
- Download all bengali movies
- Download all bhojpuri movies
- Download all english movies
- Download all gujarati movies
- Download all hindi movies
- Download all kannada movies
- Download all malayalam movies
- Download all marathi movies
- Download all oriya movies
- Download all punjabi movies
- Download all tamil movies
- Download all telugu movies
- Bollywood action movies
- Bollywood adventure movies
- Bollywood animation movies
- Bollywood classical movies
- Bollywood comedy movies
- Bollywood crime movies
- Bollywood devotional movies
- Bollywood documentary movies
- Bollywood drama movies
- Bollywood family movies
- Bollywood fantasy movies
- Bollywood historical movies
- Bollywood history movies
- Bollywood horror movies
- Bollywood musical movies
- Bollywood mystery movies
- Bollywood mythological movies
- Bollywood patriotic movies
- Bollywood romance movies
- Bollywood romantic movies
- Bollywood sci-fi movies
- Bollywood social movies
- Bollywood spiritual movies
- Bollywood sports movies
- Bollywood suspense movies
- Bollywood thriller movies
- Bollywood war movies
- Hot actress list
- Hot gujarati actress list
- Hot tamil actress list
- Hot bhojpuri actress list
- Hot assam actress list
- Hot bihari actress list
- Hot jammu and kashmir actress list
- Hot gujarati actress list
- Hot haryana actress list
- Hot konkani actress list
- Hot marathi actress list
- Hot odia actress list
- Hot punjabi actress list
- Hot rajasthani actress list
- Hot kannada actress list
- Hot malayalam actress list
- Hot telugu actress list
- Hot tulu actress list
- Hot Actress list from Indian city
- Hot actress list from ahmedabad
- Hot actress list from alappuzha
- Hot actress list from bangalore
- Hot actress list from bangalore
- Hot actress list from bhopal
- Hot actress list from chandigarh
- Hot actress list from chennai
- Hot actress list from guwahati
- Hot actress list from hyderabad, india
- Hot actress list from indore
- Hot actress list from jaipur
- Hot actress list from kannur
- Hot actress list from kochi
- Hot actress list from kolkata
- Hot actress list from kollam
- Hot actress list from kottayam
- Hot actress list from kozhikode
- Hot actress list from lucknow
- Hot actress list from madurai
- Hot actress list from mangalore
- Hot actress list from mumbai
- Hot actress list from mysore
- Hot actress list from new delhi
- Hot actress list from patna
- Hot actress list from pune
- Hot actress list from thiruvananthapuram
- Hot actress list from thrissur
- Hot actress list from tiruchirappalli
- Hot actress list from vijayawada
- Hot actress list from visakhapatnam
- All Bollywood Movies
- Bollywood Celeb
- >Art Director
- >Audiography
- >Background Music
- >Banner
- >Choreographer
- >Cinematographer
- >Costume Designer
- >Dialogue Writer
- >Director
- >Distributor
- >Editor
- >Executive Producer
- >Hair Stylist
- >Lyricist
- >Music Director
- >Photographer
- >Playback Singers
- >Presenter
- >Producer
- >Production Company
- >Production Designer
- >Screenplay
- >Singer
- >Sound
- >Actor
- >Story Writer
- >Studio
- >Video Director
- >Miscellaneous
- >Publicity (pro)
- >Web Creator
- >Production Labs
- >Publicity Design
- >Publicity Stills
- >Writer
- >Miscellaneous Artists
- >Visual Effects
- >Reporter
- >Music Company
- >Shooting Studios
- >Picturised On
- >Line Producer
- >Co Producer
- >Asst Director
- >Casting Director
- >Cinematography
- >Choreography
- >Dialouge
- >Editing
- >Lyrics
- >Music
- >Story
- >Playback Singer Female
- >Playback Singer Male
- >Actor In A Comic Role (male/female)
- >Child Artiste
- >Ensemble Cast
- >Actor Popular Choice (male)
- >Actor Popular Choice (female)
- >Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Song Of The Year
- >Actor In Supporting Role
- >Actress In Supporting Role
- >Actor In Leading Role
- >Art Direction
- >Actress In Leading Role
- >Sound Recording
- >Costume Design
- >Special Effects
- >Action
- >Actor In A Negative Role
- >Lifetime Achievement Award
- >Cinematic Exellence (director)
- >Cinematic Exellence (male)
- >Cinematic Exellence (female)
- >International Male Icon
- >International Female Icon
- >Actor In A Supporting Role (male)
- >Actor In A Supporting Role (female)
- >Actor In A Comic Role
- >Playback Singer (male)
- >Playback Singer (female)
- >Most Promising Debut (female)
- >Most Promising Debut (male)
- >Most Promising Director
- >Sound Design
- >Lifetime Jodi
- >Marketed Film
- >Jury Award For Best Actor
- >Jury Award For Best Actress
- >Jury Award For Best Film
- >Jury Award For Best Director
- >Playback Singer(male)
- >Lifetime Acheivement Award (male)
- >Excellence Award
- >Jodi Award
- >Performer Of The Year
- >Presented By