Adam Sandler’s Most Overlooked Comedy Is Coming To Netflix
Adam Sandler's Funny People will be available to stream on Netflix June 2.
Since his early days on Saturday Night Live, Adam Sandler has been considered to be one of the best comedians out there – even recently being named the King of Comedy at the Nickelodeon Kids Choice Awards. With a decades-spanning career packed with memorable films and quotable moments, it’s hard to pick just one of his films as a favorite but luckily, with the help of streaming platforms, we don’t have to pick just one to catch over the weekend. To make things even better, Netflix has unveiled their upcoming slate for June which reveals that the streamer will soon be making Sandler’s 2009 comedy Funny People available to subscribers.
Sandwiched in between his appearance in Bedtime Stories and Grownups, Adam Sandler teamed up with Judd Apatow on the filmmaker’s comedy-drama, Funny People. As with many of Apatow’s movies, the director enlisted the help of his wife Leslie Mann, and frequent collaborator Seth Rogen, to co-star with Sandler alongside an ensemble cast that included Jonah Hill, Jason Schwartzman, and Eric Bana.
In the feature, audiences meet a famous comedian named George Simmons (Adam Sandler) who has had his world flipped upside down after receiving a terminal cancer diagnosis. Knowing that his clock is ticking, the performer goes on an apology tour to right the wrongs with those that he’s hurt during his life. On his journey to make things good, he meets an up-and-coming comedian who he takes under his wing.
Like other titles from Apatow, including the Pete Davidson-led The King of Staten Island and This is 40, the director built Funny People out to be more than your run-of-the-mill comedy by adding in the dramatic edge of George’s diagnosis. While it holds 69 percent on Rotten Tomatoes, the film wasn’t exactly a hit with the critics who noted that the runtime was a little bit lengthy. However, there was no denying the performances from the likes of Adam Sandler, Seth Rogen, and Leslie Mann who all received shining reviews.
Along with the killer lineup of ensemble and leading performers, Apatow asked the best of the best to join in on the movie-making fun. Audiences can spot cameos from legendary comedians including Andy Dick, Carol Leifer, Norm Macdonald, Paul Reiser, Ray Romano, Sarah Silverman, and others as well as appearances by Eminem, James Taylor, and Bo Burnham. Wanting to keep things as real as possible, the filmmaker also had Adam Sandler and Seth Rogen write many of their own stand-up bits for the movie.
Right now, if you were to sign into your Netflix account and search for Adam Sandler-centered films, you’d be at no loss to get crackin’ on your own Sandler-a-thon. The actor has had a long career making movies with the streamer, with current titles including The Ridiculous 6, Hustle, Murder Mystery, Murder Mystery 2, The Do Over, Hubie Halloween, Sandy Wexler, The Week Of, his stand-up special Adam Sandler 100% Fresh, and even a non-Netflix produced film, his 2004 comedy-drama, Spanglish.
While other comedians have a good relationship with streamers like HBO Max and Hulu, Adam Sandler’s tight grip on Netflix property sees him a step above the rest. Not only is he landing leading roles on the platform left and right, but he’s also backing other titles in a production capacity. Most recently, he served as a producer on 2022’s Kevin James-starrer Home Team and will add his voice to the upcoming Adam DeVine, Pierce Brosnan, Ellen Barkin, and Nina Dobrev-led The Out-Laws.
As far as his time in front of the camera, Adam Sandler’s latest appearance on Netflix was alongside Jennifer Aniston in the duo’s sequel to 2019’s Murder Mystery, aptly titled Murder Mystery 2. He also has at least two more titles in the works with the streamer as he’ll soon appear in You Are So Not Invited to My Bat Mitzvah alongside Frozen powerhouse Idina Menzel and Johan Renck’s Spaceman, both of which are set to come out this year.
With such a huge slate of content already released and set to come out on the platform, it’s clear that Netflix and Adam Sandler are a dynamic duo that will be making films for a long time. You can catch one of the legendary comedian’s best performances in Funny People when it arrives on the streaming platform on June 2.
