Adam Sandler’s Most Underrated Movie Isn’t the One You Expect

An “Adam Sandler movie” typically refers to a comedy vehicle starring the iconic performer, spanning from his early years (Billy Madison, Happy Gilmore) to his Netflix tenure (Murder Mystery, Hubie Halloween). Sandler has also branched off throughout his career to validate his star status with surprising turns in indie movies too, such as Uncut Gems and Punch-Drunk Love. But of these, there is one that feels truly underrated, perhaps because his subtle performance in this ensemble dramedy feels so organic and not at all showy. The Meyerowitz Stories stars Adam Sandler as Danny Meyerowitz, the son of Harold Meyerowitz whose career retrospective in New York brings his estranged children together from their drastically differing lives.

Sandler’s understated and introspective performance shines in this slice-of-life story from Marriage Story‘s Noah Baumbach, putting his talents on show in a rare grounded performance to be celebrated. After shooting the film in 2016, The Meyerowitz Stories sold its distribution rights to Netflix in April 2017, one month before its premiere. The premiere was at Cannes Film Festival and received a four-minute standing ovation from the audience. The following October, it dropped on Netflix to favorable reviews from critics, especially praising Adam Sandler’s performance. The AV Club even titled their review of the film, “It’s time to admit that Adam Sandler is a good actor.” High praise indeed.

‘The Meyerowitz Stories’ Is a Fulfilling Movie About Unfulfilled Potential

As one might expect from an Adam Sandler movie, The Meyerowitz Stories begins with loudmouthed road rage in the specific trademark style of the Sandman himself. After becoming furious in his attempts to park on a New York City street, we discover however that this isn’t a typical Sandler character who’s angry for the sake of being angry (a la Anger Management), but rather, Danny Meyerowitz is a recent divorcee, moving back in his with bitter old father Harold (played by Dustin Hoffman). Harold makes no mystery of his bitterness though; it’s due to his disappointment in all three of his children. In addition to Danny, there’s his sister Jean (Elizabeth Marvel) and his half-brother Matthew (played by Ben Stiller, who also played Hoffman’s son in Meet the Fockers — a very different kind of comedy).

When we meet Stiller’s Matthew, he has gone on to achieve admirable success as a business manager in Los Angeles, but this proves to be a problem for the family however they look at it. Danny, who considers himself a failed musician, can’t help but compare himself to Matthew and feel defeat, whereas their father Harold’s disappointment as an artist stems from Matthew’s decision to chase corporate greed, regardless of his level of achievement. It becomes clear, as with all great Noah Baumbach characters, that Harold’s frustrations toward his children’s unfulfilled potential actually stem from his self-reflection. The film also stars Adam Driver as Matthew’s client Randy, Grace Van Patten as Danny’s daughter Eliza, and Emma Thompson as Harold’s alcoholic hippie fourth wife.

‘The Meyerowitz Stories’ Has a Hilariously Real Family Dynamic

Featuring adult siblings in drastically different life stages, this movie is cut from the same cloth as both The Royal Tenenbaums (by Baumbach collaborator Wes Anderson, also starring Ben Stiller), and This Is Where I Leave You (also starring Adam Driver). Unlike the stylistic Tenenbaums and the more traditionally written This Is Where I Leave You, however, The Meyerowitz Stories is constructed in a way that the characters are constantly in a state of disconnect. Each character discusses their own life, failing to realize that the other isn’t fully receptive. Baumbach writes overlapping dialogue that proves the characters’ need to connect is easily solved by looking inward.

“Baumbach understands a key dynamic in conversations, especially conversations with family,” explains video essayist Nerdwriter. “The thing we seem to forget is that, as we’re trying to get our family to affirm our sense of self, they’re doing the same thing to us, and the result is often conflict or a conversation that just goes nowhere.” As if referring brutally to the careers of Sandler, Stiller and company, The Ringer analyzes the film by stating, “The Meyerowitz Stories is a movie about unfulfilled potential—but in the end, what matters is the potential. (…) Meyerowitz is a weirdly genuine piece of filmmaking. It’s a perfect vehicle for the people it’s about—not least because it’s art better than what any of them could make.”

‘The Meyerowitz Stories’ Capitalizes on Sandler’s Talents

“Never play the funny. Always play the truth.” That’s how actor Daniel Kaluuya summed up his advice from British comedy greats Steve Pemberton and Reece Shearsmith. This is a mantra shared by Bryan Cranston too, who told Hot Ones, “If the character realizes something’s funny, it takes the onus off the audience to laugh.” In contrast, Adam Sandler movies often rely on a disconnect between reality and the movie’s world.

For Sandler to be allowe to showcase his larger-than-life talents, the world around him needs to be heightene to an extent, too. It’s not enough for Happy Gilmore to be an angry hockey-playing fish out of water in the golf world. The golf world must also ramp up its craziness to match Sandler’s tonal consistency. The same goes for his SNL skits and songs, which never fully commit to their absurdity with a straight face, always delivered with a tongue-in-cheek self-awareness.

In The Meyerowitz Stories, Sandler is allowe to play the truth, and thanks to Baumbach’s writing and direction, it doesn’t stop the actor from doing what he does best either. The film offers Sandler the opportunity to deliver several of his signature yells and bursts of aggression, but they never feel forced like they can in some of his lesser comedies. They feel not only earned but organic, stemming directly from the character’s inner turmoil and not from a writer’s room pitch. This movie also grants Sandler the opportunity to perform a funny song when Danny sits at the piano and plays an old original that his family once enjoyed as an in-joke. The Meyerowitz Stories creates a world so real that it not only justifies Sandler’s talent for absurdity but also makes them relatable, making this the most underrated Adam Sandler movie.