Editing Adam Sandler (section)

===1995–2014: Commercial success ===
[[File:Adamsandler(cannesPhotocall).jpg|thumb|left|upright|Sandler at [[2002 Cannes Film Festival]]]]
Sandler starred in ''[[Billy Madison]]'' (1995) playing a grown man repeating grades 1–12 to earn back his father's respect and the right to inherit his father's multimillion-dollar hotel empire. The film was successful at the box office despite negative reviews. He followed this film with ''[[Bulletproof (1996 film)|Bulletproof]]'' (1996), and the financially successful comedies ''[[Happy Gilmore]]'' (1996) and ''[[The Wedding Singer]]'' (1998), his first collaboration with [[Drew Barrymore]]. He was initially cast in the bachelor party-themed comedy/thriller ''[[Very Bad Things]]'' (1998) but had to back out due to his involvement in ''[[The Waterboy]]'' (1998), one of his first big hits.

Sandler continued making successful comedy films including ''[[Big Daddy (1999 film)|Big Daddy]]'' (1999), ''[[Mr. Deeds]]'' (2002), ''[[Anger Management (film)|Anger Management]]'' (2003), ''[[50 First Dates]]'' (2004, his second  collaboration with [[Drew Barrymore]]), ''[[The Longest Yard (2005 film)|The Longest Yard]]'' (2005), and ''[[Click (2006 film)|Click]]'' (2006).  He also formed his film production company, [[Happy Madison Productions]],<ref name="happy">[http://www.adamsandler.com/index.php?section=happy "Happy Madison."] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051118222008/http://www.adamsandler.com/index.php?section=happy |date=November 18, 2005 }} AdamSandler.com. Accessed October 9, 2008.</ref> in 1999, first producing fellow ''SNL'' alumnus [[Rob Schneider]]'s film ''[[Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo]]''. The company has produced most of Sandler's subsequent films to date, and is on the Sony/[[Columbia Pictures]] lot in [[Culver City, California]]. Most of its films have received negative reviews from critics, with three considered among the [[List of films considered the worst|worst ever made]]<ref>[https://www.metacritic.com/feature/adam-sandler-all-films-considered Adam Sandler: All Films Considered] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210224140529/https://www.metacritic.com/feature/adam-sandler-all-films-considered |date=February 24, 2021 }} Metacritic. Accessed April 21, 2015.</ref> yet most have performed well at the box office.

Although his earlier commercially successful films did not receive favorable critical attention, Sandler started to receive more positive reviews beginning with his more dramatic role in ''[[Punch-Drunk Love]]'' in 2002. ''Punch-Drunk Love''{{'s}} writer and director, [[Paul Thomas Anderson]], had an "obsession-level" love for Sandler's previous movies and wrote the film with him in mind.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Barfield |first=Charles |date=May 3, 2018 |title=Throwback Thursday: Paul Thomas Anderson Has An "Obsession" With Adam Sandler's 'Big Daddy' |url=https://theplaylist.net/tbt-paul-thomas-anderson-sandler-20180503/ |access-date=April 13, 2022 |website=The Playlist}}</ref> Sandler was intimidated to work with Anderson upon viewing his previous film ''[[Magnolia (film)|Magnolia]]'' (2000), but these fears were alleviated upon receiving the script from Anderson.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=Sharf |first=Zak |date=October 16, 2020 |title='Magnolia' Freaked Out Adam Sandler So Much He Nearly Turned Down 'Punch-Drunk Love' |url=https://www.indiewire.com/2020/10/magnolia-freaked-out-adam-sandler-punch-drunk-love-1234593387/ |access-date=April 13, 2022 |website=[[IndieWire]]}}</ref> [[Roger Ebert]]'s review of ''Punch-Drunk Love'' concluded that Sandler had been wasted in earlier films with poorly written scripts and characters with no development. Ebert noted that Sandler's character still maintained the "childlike, love-starved" persona from his previous films, but was shown in a new light as the "key to all Adam Sandler films".<ref>{{cite news|first=Roger|last=Ebert|author-link=Roger Ebert|url=http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20021018/REVIEWS/210180308/1023|title=Punch-Drunk Love|newspaper=[[Chicago Sun-Times]]|location=Chicago, Illinois|date=October 18, 2002|access-date=March 8, 2022|archive-date=October 3, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121003021259/http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=%2F20021018%2FREVIEWS%2F210180308%2F1023|url-status=dead}}</ref> Sandler was nominated for a [[Golden Globe Awards|Golden Globe Award]] for [[Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy|Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy]] for his performance.<ref name=":0" /> The film marked the beginning of Sandler moving outside the genre of slapstick comedy to take on more serious roles, such as [[Mike Binder]]'s ''[[Reign Over Me]]'' (2007), a drama about a man who loses his entire family in the [[September 11 attacks]] and then struggles to rekindle a friendship with his old college roommate ([[Don Cheadle]]).

[[File:Adam Sandler.jpg|thumb|Sandler at a press conference for ''[[Click (2006 film)|Click]]'' in 2005]]

Sandler starred alongside friend [[Kevin James]] in the film ''[[I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry]]'' (2007), and headlined ''[[You Don't Mess with the Zohan]]'' (2008). The latter was written by Sandler, [[Judd Apatow]], and [[Robert Smigel]], and directed by [[Dennis Dugan]]. That same year, Sandler starred along with [[Keri Russell]] and English comedian [[Russell Brand]] in [[Adam Shankman]]'s children's fantasy film ''[[Bedtime Stories (film)|Bedtime Stories]]'' (2008), as a stressed hotel maintenance worker whose bedtime stories he reads to his niece and nephew begin to come true. It marked Sandler's first family film and first film under the [[The Walt Disney Company|Disney]] banner.<ref>{{cite web | url = https://www.comingsoon.net/news/movienews.php?id=19719 | title = Adam Sandler's Bedtime Stories Come True | website = ComingSoon.net | date = April 4, 2007 | access-date = April 15, 2020 | archive-date = July 27, 2014 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20140727183351/http://www.comingsoon.net/news/movienews.php?id=19719 | url-status = dead }}</ref>

In 2009, Sandler starred in Apatow's third directorial feature, ''[[Funny People]]'', a [[comedy drama]] about a famous comedian (Sandler) with a [[terminal illness]]. The film was released on July 31, 2009.<ref>{{cite news | first=Michael |last=Fleming | title = Trio joins Judd Apatow film |work=Variety | date = June 11, 2008 | url = https://variety.com/2008/film/markets-festivals/trio-joins-judd-apatow-film-1117987337/ | access-date=June 13, 2008| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20080709034441/http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117987337.html?categoryid=13&cs=1| archive-date=July 9, 2008| url-status= live}}</ref> After its release, ''Funny People'' and ''Punch-Drunk Love'' were cited in the June 2010 announcement that Sandler was one of 135 people (including 20 actors) invited to join the [[Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences]].<ref>{{cite web| url= http://www.oscars.org/press/pressreleases/2010/20100625.html | title= Academy Invites 135 to Membership | publisher=[[Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences]] | work=[[Press release]] | date= June 25, 2010 | location= Beverly Hills, CA | access-date=June 29, 2010| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20100630164148/http://www.oscars.org/press/pressreleases/2010/20100625.html| archive-date= June 30, 2010 | url-status= live}}</ref>

[[File:Adam Sandler 6818.jpg|thumb|left|upright|Sandler in [[Berlin]] in 2009]]
In 2010, Sandler appeared in ''[[Grown Ups (film)|Grown Ups]]'', alongside Kevin James, [[Chris Rock]], [[Rob Schneider]], David Spade, [[Salma Hayek]], [[Maria Bello]], and [[Maya Rudolph]]. Sandler and ''Dickie Roberts'' scribe Fred Wolf wrote the script and Dennis Dugan directed.<ref>{{cite news| url=https://variety.com/2009/film/markets-festivals/columbia-pic-gets-sandler-and-friends-1117999951/ | title = Columbia pic gets Sandler and friends |work=Variety | date = February 10, 2009 | access-date=February 12, 2009 | first=Tatiana | last=Siegel| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20090213130229/http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117999951.html?categoryid=13&cs=1| archive-date= February 13, 2009 | url-status= live}}</ref> Sandler's later comedy films, including ''Grown Ups'' and ''[[Grown Ups 2]]'', received largely negative reviews.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/grown-ups-2-best-lines-584676|title='Grown Ups 2': The Best Lines from the Worst Reviews|work=[[The Hollywood Reporter]] |date=July 12, 2013|access-date=May 27, 2016}}</ref> Reviewing the latter, critic Mark Olsen of the ''[[Los Angeles Times]]'' remarked that Sandler had become the antithesis of [[Judd Apatow]]; he was instead "the white [[Tyler Perry]]: smart enough to know better, savvy enough to do it anyway, lazy enough not to care."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/moviesnow/la-et-mn-grown-ups-2-review-20130712-story.html|title='Review: 'Grown Ups 2' refuses to leave the sandbox|work=Los Angeles Times|date=July 11, 2013|access-date=May 27, 2016}}</ref> The next year, Sandler starred with [[Jennifer Aniston]] in the romantic comedy film ''[[Just Go with It]]''.<ref>{{Cite web|title='Just Go With It' premiere|url=https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/la-env-just-go-with-it-premiere-pictures-photogallery.html|access-date=2021-08-06|website=Los Angeles Times|date=February 10, 2011}}</ref> He also voiced a capuchin monkey in Kevin James's ''[[Zookeeper (film)|Zookeeper]]'', released on July 8, 2011. In 2012, he starred in ''[[That's My Boy (2012 film)|That's My Boy]]'', as a man who fathered a son ([[Andy Samberg]]) with his teacher ([[Eva Amurri]]) in high school. In 2013, he guest starred in the [[Disney Channel Original Series]] ''[[Jessie (2011 TV series)|Jessie]]'' as himself in the episode "Punched Dumped Love". He and ''Jessie'' star [[Cameron Boyce]] had worked together in ''Grown Ups'' and ''Grown Ups 2''; Sandler's 2020 film ''[[Hubie Halloween]]'' was dedicated to Boyce's memory. Sandler next reunited with [[Drew Barrymore]] for a third time in the [[Warner Bros.]] romantic comedy ''[[Blended (film)|Blended]]'', which was filmed in South Africa and released on May 23, 2014.