Plot: What’s it about?
No other comic presence has taken the world by storm quite like Adam Sandler, the only other person who comes to mind is Jim Carrey. Carrey seems to want to be taken as a serious actor, wheras Sandler is quite content when it comes to making a complete ass of himself. Good. There aren’t enough comics like him, so we’ll have to be content with Sandler. Good!
This disc basically encompasses the best of what Sandler did on his five year stint at SNL (Saturday Night Live, for those who don’t know). If you’re a fan of Opera Man, this is good, as there are four different sketches with just him. My personal favorite was the extra feature that I found. It features a July 1999 interview when Sandler was on the Conan O’Brien show. Sandler was promoting his new comedy, which concidentally enough comes out on DVD today (Nov. 2), and was as funny as he’s ever been.
There are some other skits, but none as popular as Opera Man. There’s one of Canteen Boy, which is basically The Waterboy before the movie came out. There’s one with Cajun Man, the Gap Girls skit and Sandler’s first performance (don’t quote me on that) of the Chaunakkah Song. There’s also a few of Sandler’s “one timer” skits…there were a few more, but they only showed one of the skits that made it on the “Best of…” reel.
All in all, not a bad offering from Trimark. It clocks in at 73 minutes, that’s minus the bonus material. Now the deal with the bonus material is this: There’s a button called “Bonus Footage” and you click on it and get two extras. One extra is The Red Hooded Sweatshirt and the other is the interview with Conan O’Brien. The other extras are two theatrical trailers. You have to click on the Trimark logo on the main menu screen. One is a trailer for “Meet Wally Sparks” that almost makes the movie look like watching. The other is for Sandler’s worst movie…ever. Going Overboard. I was dumber after watching the trailer of that one. Bottom line…if you like Sandler, and I do, pick this up. It also has some great moments of Chris Farley and David Spade as well, so that’s your bonuns incentive.
Video: How does it look?
Taken right fom the original broadcasts of Saturday Night Live, the picture has never looked better. While not 16:9 enhanced (as it cannot be), the picture is clean and sharp. Colors are bright and vivid as well. This is good as can be expected from a TV transfer (don’t know if there is such a thing), but you’re watching for Sandler, not the picture.
Audio: How does it sound?
A basic Pro-Logic soundtrack. Most of the action is dialogue and therefore only takes up one channel, but occasionally there are a few surround effects that make Sandler all the funnier.
Supplements: What are the extras?
Unless you count the two trailers for movies that, uh, aren’t good…none. The “Extra Footage” is listed, and I found the interview with Conan to be the funniest thing on the whole disc. Maybe it’s because I’ve seen the other stuff so many times…I dunno. All in all, a great deal for what will be a deal under $20.
