Is Adam Sandler Really the Most Valuable Comedian?
Filed under: Comedy, Newsstand
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Forbes has released its Most Valuable Comedians list, and through some intricate calculations I stopped studying after high school, came up with Adam Sandler as Hollywood's most powerful laugh riot, both in front of the camera and behind the scenes.
Sandler is gaining traction not only because of his starring roles in such critic-proof movies as You Don't Mess with the Zohan and I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry, but because he can also occasionally show off some real acting chops as in 2007's Reign Over Me and Punch-Drunk Love. The number of movies he's producing and has in development under Happy Madison Productions are growing in number. And despite its premise, this summer's Funny People, which stars Sandler as a comedian dying of cancer who mentors a younger comedian, has quite a number of big names attached. Judd Apatow wrote, directed, and produced the film; Seth Rogen and Jonah Hill costar. Oscar-winning cinematographer Janusz Kaminski is behind the lens. So even though at first glance, I thought, "Adam Sandler, WTF?" it's clear that even though Sandler doesn't tickle my funny bone, he does have all the criteria for Forbes's list firmly in place.
Will Ferrell, who's #2, is getting more and more into production along with writing and acting, and launching FunnyorDie.com with director and writer Adam McKay was a watershed moment for viral video. HBO's investment in the website led to a deal with Ferrell and his FoD cohorts for a TV show - 10 episodes to be exact - which turned out to be the hit Eastbound and Down.
With last summer's Tropic Thunder, Ben Stiller managed to get audiences to laugh at Robert Downey Jr. in blackface, catch Tom Cruise's falling star in a Golden Globe-nominated role as a hook-nosed movie producer (a performance that New York Times movie critic Manohla Dargis aptly termed Jewface), and make fun of Hollywood all at the same time. And let's not forget "full retard."
Things get a little wonky when Forbes starts adding Jim Carrey to the list at #3, and fat-suit aficionado Eddie Murphy at #7. Surely in a few years, with some more scripts and producing credits under his belt, Seth Rogen will be at least pushing Jim Carrey a little further down. We can only hope.
Is Sandler really the most valuable comedian? Who would you put at the top of the list?
(Image from You Don't Mess with the Zohan, courtesy of Sony Home Pictures Entertainment)
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
4-16-2009 @ 5:05PM
Serkan Colak said...
bgmdg gdm
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4-16-2009 @ 5:22PM
Ben Brown said...
Uh, how about Seth Rogen? He has a movie out practically every month, and unlike Sandler, for the most part, he's got audiences as well as critics on his side.
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4-17-2009 @ 9:17AM
Kevin said...
What are you basing his "hit with audiences and critics" attitude on? The three movies of his that could be termed "Seth Rogen Vehicles" are Pineapple Express, Zack and Miri, and Observe and Report. None of those movies was a runaway hit. Zack and Miri failed to make a splash, Pineapple Express was a disappointment, and O&R was terrible. It had a decent opening last week, but I would be shocked if it didn't have a precipitous drop this weekend now that audiences have an idea of what its like (we'll see though, maybe I'm wrong about that). The only reason he's so well known is because he has been somewhat funny in otherwise hilarious movies (Knocked Up and Superbad). Maybe he will turn into a huge draw at the box office, I think he's got the talent too, but as of now he's nothing more than a supporting character and certainly isn't in the same category as an Adam Sandler or Jim Carrey.
4-16-2009 @ 5:35PM
SoulHonky said...
Eddie Murphy does seem like a bit of a cheat because I wouldn't count animated and kid films. But Norbit did somehow make 95 million so he's still clinging to that spot, I guess. Robin Williams, on the other hand, really shouldn't be listed.
Jim Carrey's issues come from his non-comedies. Even Fun with Dick and Jane managed over 110 million. Add together Rogen's two biggest films (Knocked Up and Pineapple Express) and they still made less than Bruce Almighty. And Seth's last two comedies will probably only make about 2/3's of what Yes Man made. Seth gets extra points for writing Superbad and he that should put him over Robin Williams but he's still looking up at Carrey.
And I know he's not the hip pick but Kevin James is fighting his way to this list. Chuck & Larry and Paul Blart give him two straight 100 million grossers.
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4-20-2009 @ 2:33PM
Harless? said...
I know the list is based on "critical financial metrics," but a lot of these guys stopped making funny movies (some by choice, others... well...). It's funny, this is a list of actors who's film I no longer go see, but used to love. Adam Sandler has made a lot of bad movies recently, Will Ferrell is doing other stuff (the list doesn't specify movies alone, so I guess my point is moot), Jim Carey is making horror movies now and has made one good comedy in almost a decade, and Eddie Murphy and Robin Williams are both over the hill and making unfunny (and unwatchable) films. The rest of the list isn't as bad with some debatable picks, but boring picks.
By the end of this year Michael Cera might qualify for that list. He has 4/5 movies coming out. I would have thought Seth Rogen would be more "bankable" than Robin Williams these days. Does Judd Apatow count as a comedian if he is never really on screen?
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4-16-2009 @ 7:09PM
Sam said...
God, Punch-Drunk Love is such an awesome movie. Probably my favorite PTA flick, despite loving all the rest. Adam Sandler shocked the shit outta me in that, but then goes back to mostly god awful movies. Reign Over Me was okay, but mostly forgettable, and all other Sandler films (even from his "better days) I can leave.
But Murphy does not deserve to be there.
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