Both Billy Madison and Tommy Boy came out in the same year and both concerned a rich idiot man child having to grow up in a hurry to save the family business. I have to say that I liked Tommy Boy a lot better.

In fact the whole concept is ridiculous. If I were Darren McGavin I wouldn't hesitate leaving my hotel chain to my capable assistant Bradley Whitford instead of my idiot kid Adam Sandler. But McGavin offers him this proposition of if he finishes his education again instead of sliding through the public school system he gets the business.

Which premise leads to a lot of comic situations involving Adam Sandler and a bunch of kids. Don't get me wrong there are some very funny moments.

But I found the overall effect more silly than funny.

I have heard of many stupid premises before, but this must rank somewhere towards the top in ridiculousness. Think about it....a guy is a rich schmuck and school dropout, so to teach him some lesson(?) he's sent back to grade school to complete his education even though he's now pushing 30!! Now having him go to high school might have worked, but anyone believing that a guy is now enrolling in kindergarten and moving through school is really, really gullible. This idea makes no sense and it's rather stupid.

Well, despite a totally lame story idea, Adam Sandler manages to occasionally do something with the slender material he's been given (of course, since he co-wrote this, he has no one to blame but himself for the premise). A few times, there are a few small laughs or poignant moments where it's apparent that the shallow Billy is now learning to finally care about others more than himself, such as with the pants scene. Now even though all this is very contrived and formulaic, there's enough to like to make this a time-passer. So if you are stuck and your kids get to pick a movie for family night, you could do a lot worse than this silly flick (they COULD suggest you watch LITTLE NICKY!!!).

Adam Sandler is rather hit and miss for me, sometimes he's good but he can be irritating. Luckily for this film he is good in it and his character is one of the zanier and more likable ones he's played, and Billy Madison overall is one of his better films. It is not perfect, the premise is silly and the story is predictable with one too many aimless scenes. On the other hand, the film looks good and has a nice soundtrack. The film is funny, well directed and has some funny sequences such as the "stop looking at me, swan" one. Sandler is good, and there is a sterling support cast, Bradley Whitford faring best. In conclusion, a dumb but entertaining movie. 7/10 Bethany Cox