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Big Daddy

  • 1999
  • PG-13
  • 1h 33m
IMDb RATING
6.4/10
245K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
264
1,022
Adam Sandler, Cole Sprouse, and Dylan Sprouse in Big Daddy (1999)
Trailer for Big Daddy
Play trailer2:26
2 Videos
99+ Photos
Buddy ComedyComing-of-AgeRaunchy ComedyComedyDrama

A lazy law school graduate adopts a kid to impress his girlfriend, but everything doesn't go as planned.A lazy law school graduate adopts a kid to impress his girlfriend, but everything doesn't go as planned.A lazy law school graduate adopts a kid to impress his girlfriend, but everything doesn't go as planned.

  • Director
    • Dennis Dugan
  • Writers
    • Steve Franks
    • Tim Herlihy
    • Adam Sandler
  • Stars
    • Adam Sandler
    • Joey Lauren Adams
    • Jon Stewart
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    6.4/10
    245K
    YOUR RATING
    POPULARITY
    264
    1,022
    • Director
      • Dennis Dugan
    • Writers
      • Steve Franks
      • Tim Herlihy
      • Adam Sandler
    • Stars
      • Adam Sandler
      • Joey Lauren Adams
      • Jon Stewart
    • 346User reviews
    • 75Critic reviews
    • 42Metascore
  • See production info at IMDbPro
    • Awards
      • 8 wins & 14 nominations total

    Videos2

    Big Daddy
    Trailer 2:26
    Big Daddy
    Big Daddy
    Trailer 0:31
    Big Daddy
    Big Daddy
    Trailer 0:31
    Big Daddy

    Photos297

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    Top cast60

    Edit
    Adam Sandler
    Adam Sandler
    • Sonny Koufax
    Joey Lauren Adams
    Joey Lauren Adams
    • Layla Maloney
    Jon Stewart
    Jon Stewart
    • Kevin Gerrity
    Cole Sprouse
    Cole Sprouse
    • Julian 'Frankenstein' McGrath
    Dylan Sprouse
    Dylan Sprouse
    • Julian 'Frankenstein' McGrath
    Josh Mostel
    Josh Mostel
    • Arthur Brooks
    Leslie Mann
    Leslie Mann
    • Corinne Maloney
    Allen Covert
    Allen Covert
    • Phil D'Amato
    Rob Schneider
    Rob Schneider
    • Delivery
    Kristy Swanson
    Kristy Swanson
    • Vanessa
    Joseph Bologna
    Joseph Bologna
    • Lenny Koufax
    Peter Dante
    Peter Dante
    • Tommy Grayton
    Jonathan Loughran
    Jonathan Loughran
    • Mike
    Steve Buscemi
    Steve Buscemi
    • Homeless Man
    Tim Herlihy
    Tim Herlihy
    • Singing Kangaroo
    Edmund Lyndeck
    Edmund Lyndeck
    • Mr. Herlihy
    Larkin Malloy
    Larkin Malloy
    • Restaurant Owner
    Samantha Brown
    • Employee
    • Director
      • Dennis Dugan
    • Writers
      • Steve Franks
      • Tim Herlihy
      • Adam Sandler
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    User reviews346

    6.4245.1K
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    Featured reviews

    6Shiva-11

    Adam Sandler vehicle - nuff said

    Big Daddy- Sonny Koufax (Adam Sandler) is the irresponsible guy - he has no manners, and no clue. Although Sonny has somehow managed to get a girlfriend, she is tired of his aimless ways, and gives him an ultimatum - do something with your life or I leave. Fate steps in with a ready-made 'solution': Sonny will raise the little boy who was dropped off at the apartment with a note proclaiming his roommate (Jon Stewart) the father, his girlfriend will realize his newfound responsibility, and all will be well. Plausibility this movie doesn't have. But we are talking about Adam Sandler, the man who has given us such brainteasers as Happy Gilmore, and Billy Madison. Sandler's frat-boy humor - childish and, scatological - has however, drawn a huge following as evidenced by The Waterboy's huge box office, (a movie that I myself enjoyed and will surely be pilloried for). I expected one thing from this movie - a good laugh. And it delivered. The obligatory tearjerker scenes were painful, but thankfully few and far between. If you are in the mood for some humor-light on cheap Tuesday, give this movie a chance.
    7nickelodeonftwdisneyjuniorftl

    The Sprouse Twins Stole the Show

    I Remember Loving Big Daddy as a Kid, and i still Do, It's a Load of Fun, The Twins are Cute, and it's Sandler's Best Movie! I Think it's one of the Best movies of 1999.

    and The Sprouse Twins Prove It.

    This is Really Fun to Watch! I'f you're Looking for a Good Comedy Movie I'd Highly Recommend Watching It.
    6Shiva-11

    Formula, silly, and actually funny!

    Big Daddy- Sonny Koufax (Adam Sandler) is the paragon of irresponsibility - he has no job, no manners, and no clue. Although Sonny has somehow managed to get a girlfriend, she is tired of his aimless ways, and gives him an ultimatum - do something with your life or I leave. Fate steps in with a ready-made 'solution': Sonny will raise the little boy who was dropped off at the apartment with a note proclaiming his roommate (Jon Stewart) the father, his girlfriend will realize his newfound responsibility, and all will be well.

    Plausibility this movie doesn't have. But we are talking about Adam Sandler, the man who has given us such brainteasers as Happy Gilmore, and Billy Madison. Sandler's frat-boy humor - childish and, scatalogical - has however, drawn a huge following as evidenced by The Waterboy's huge box office, (a movie that I myself enjoyed and will surely be pilloried for).

    I expected one thing from this movie - a good laugh. And it delivered. The obligatory tearjerker scenes were painful, but thankfully few and far between. If you are in the mood for some humor-light on cheap Tuesday, give this movie a chance.
    6jimbo-53-186511

    I actually enjoyed it more than I thought I would

    Sonny Koufax (Adam Sandler) is an unemployed layabout who claims that he is unable to work due to an accident he had involving a cab from 2 years ago. Sonny is a self-absorbed individual who generally thinks of no-one but himself much to the annoyance of his girlfriend. However, when a 5 year old boy named Julian (Cole Sprouse) ends up on his doorstep, Sonny claims to have adopted Julian in order to try and win back his girlfriend and prove himself worthy of her affections. Whilst Julian is in Sonny's care, Sonny does some growing up himself in the midst of some rather questionable antics as a caretaker parent.

    The marketing for this film was always questionable; the film poster shows Sandler and the boy standing in front of a door and urinating against it. In this respect it does itself no real favours as there may be many people that decide not to watch it because it looks like it's going to be crude and juvenile from the poster. In fairness this isn't completely inaccurate as there are some aspects of the film that are a bit juvenile and crude, but the actual bulk of the film is quite charming and sweet and fairly enjoyable and I'm just puzzled as to why a fairly sweet-natured film was marketed so poorly. Anyway I digress...

    Sandler's comedy films have sometimes proved problematic because some of the characters he has portrayed have been unlikeable or unsympathetic. In Big Daddy though, as things progress it becomes fairly obvious that Sonny's actually an OK person that just needed a bit of a kick up the backside. Looking after Julian gave Sonny a purpose in life and as mentioned it gave him the kick up the backside that he'd needed for the last 2 years. The chemistry between Julian and Sonny was also really good and the two of them share both funny moments and tender moments - I thought that Sonny telling Julian that wearing sunglasses meant nobody could see him was a funny idea and quite sweet as well.

    There are some weaknesses to this film; firstly a lot of the acting here is rather mediocre (although Steve Buscemi was good fun in the limited screen time that he was given). The film was also a little too light on laughs for my liking - although the warmth and charm of the picture compensate slightly for the slight lack of humour. The film also gets very soppy towards the end and I also found some of the character shifts to be a bit dubious. The script offers few surprises and is fairly predictable, but I always say it doesn't matter if you know outcome B at point A as long as you generally enjoy everything in between and that pretty much sums up my feelings about this film. It's hardly Oscar-worthy, but it has some funny moments, it has some charm, and it surprised me by being better than I expected it to be.
    soranno

    More Adam Sandler Foolishness

    Casting five year old twin boys as Adam Sandler's costars in this 1999 Columbia Pictures release was a very good idea. After all, Sandler's usual man-child character had to have somebody that he could relate to. Sandler portrays Sonny Koufax, a man who just might be the pure epitome of somebody who's not responsible. However, if that theory wasn't tested then there would be no film. In an effort to possibly win back his girlfriend (Kristy Swanson) who has left him because of his being irresponsible and has since taken up with another man, he offers to be a guardian for his traveling roommate's (Jon Stewart) son, Julian (portrayed by twins Cole and Dylan Sprouse). Agreeing to assume full responsibility for a child makes Sonny think that Swanson just might change her mind about leaving him. It doesn't happen and now child services won't let him return Julian. Sonny learns to grin and bear the situation by attempting to bond with Julian and in so doing, he gradually begins to feel more like an actual responsible father figure. Of course things get complicated when Stewart eventually returns home and a custody battle begins (Julian has grown attached to Sonny by this time). Even this dramatic seeming scene evolves into more adolescent comedy. Sandler's fans should enjoy this film but since I was never especially a fan of Sandler, I consider it to be just another crumbled up piece of paper in the sorry recent film comedy wastebasket.

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Adam Sandler's wife, Jackie Sandler, played the waitress in the bar that gets Julian (Cole and Dylan Sprouse) a root beer. This started the tradition of having her cameo in almost every Adam Sandler film.
    • Goofs
      When the skater coming down the path in the park hits Sonny's stick, he careens down the hill into the pond between two large rocks. The smaller rock on the right lifts and floats a little to the right.
    • Quotes

      Julian: ...but I wipe my own ass, I wipe my own ass!

    • Crazy credits
      This movie is dedicated to our fathers. Thanks for putting up with all our crap. We love you.
    • Alternate versions
      When aired on TV, some scenes were altered, like:
      • When Sonny finds out McDonalds stopped serving breakfast at 10:30, his scream of "horseshit!" was changed to "Noooo!";
      • The word 'ass' was changed to 'butt'; the word 'shit' was altered or worked around;
      • The names of Sonny's snacks when he's watching hockey were blurred out; Sonny's line of "the money I got in the cab accident is kicking ass in the stock market" was altered.
    • Connections
      Edited into The Clock (2010)
    • Soundtracks
      Passing Me By
      (LP Version)

      Written by Slim Kid 3 (as Trevant Hardson), Imani (as Emandu Wilcox), Bootie Brown, Fatlip (as Derek Stewart), J. Swift, Steve Boone, and John Sebastian

      Performed by The Pharcyde

      Courtesy of Delicious Vinyl

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    FAQ

    • How long is Big Daddy?Powered by Alexa

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • June 25, 1999 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Languages
      • English
      • Italian
    • Also known as
      • Un papá genial
    • Filming locations
      • Staten Island, New York City, New York, USA(Hooters)
    • Production companies
      • Columbia Pictures
      • Jack Giarraputo Productions
      • Out of the Blue... Entertainment
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Budget
      • $34,200,000 (estimated)
    • Gross US & Canada
      • $163,479,795
    • Opening weekend US & Canada
      • $41,536,370
      • Jun 27, 1999
    • Gross worldwide
      • $234,801,895
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Tech specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 33 minutes
    • Sound mix
      • DTS
      • Dolby
      • SDDS
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.85 : 1

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