When you think about Adam Sandler, chances are your mind immediately starts remembering all of the comedian’s famous lines or on-screen outbursts. And while the former Saturday Night Live star is known for his humor, his characters typically have a whole lot of heart, even if you dig deep to find those touching moments. Well, I’ve done just that and came up with 32 times an Adam Sandler character proved he has a heart of gold.
Happy Gilmore Started Golfing To Save His Grandma's House (Happy Gilmore)
Sure, Happy Gilmore didn’t know much about golf etiquette, but he did know how to take care of the people he loved. And there was no one he loved more than his grandma. Adam Sandler’s most famous character went to great lengths to save the family home, which included trying out golf for the first time. Good thing he had a killer drive.
Billy Madison Acted Like He Wet His Pants To Make Ernie Look Cool (Billy Madison)
Was Billy Madison an idiot? Yes. Was he a screwup? Yes, again. But you can’t say he didn’t care (at least later in his life). One of the funniest and most heartfelt moments in Billy Madison came when Adam Sandler’s character acted like he peed his pants so that his young classmate would look like one of the cool kids instead of being embarrassed for having an accident.
Robbie Hart Helped Julia Sullivan Realize She Deserved True Love (The Wedding Singer)
Robbie Hart in The Wedding Singer could be one of the most emotional characters of Adam Sandler’s ‘90s run, for better or worse. On the better side, the heartbroken Robbie helped Julia Sullivan plan her wedding to Glenn Gulia, even though he was madly in love with her. He helped her figure out she deserved true love in the process.
Bobby Boucher Helped Coach Klein Overcome His Fear (The Waterboy)
Bobby Boucher became an unlikely hero for South Central Louisiana State University Mud Dogs to a surprising victory at the Bourbon Bowl in The Waterboy. But it wasn’t just his on-field heroics that saved the day, as the 31-year-old also helped Coach Klein overcome his fears and stand up to his longtime bully, Coach Red Beaulieu.
Longfellow Deeds Bought A Corvette For Everyone In Town (Mr. Deeds)
Longfellow Deeds is probably the most likable Adam Sandler character for a variety of reasons. One of the biggest is the fact that he was always looking out for his friends and family, like at the end of Mr. Deeds when he buys Corvettes for everyone in Mandrake Falls, New Hampshire.
Sonny Koufax Took In Julian Instead Of Sending Him To An Orphanage (Big Daddy)
Sure, Sonny Koufax lied about his identity and acted like he was Julian’s dad for most of Big Daddy, but he did it to help keep the young boy out of an orphanage until his real father returned from a business trip. Again, mistakes were made, but the whole experience was life-changing for the toll-booth worker with a law degree.
Paul Crewe Put His Team Before Himself (The Longest Yard)
Paul Crewe is a self-centered, self-destructive, and unlikable prick when The Longest Yard gets started, but by the time this 2005 remake of one of the best football movies is over and done with, he finally puts his team before himself.
Robbie Hart Performed 'I Want To Grow Old With You' (The Wedding Singer)
Robbie Hart wore his heart on his sleeve, or in the case of The Wedding Singer’s final scene, on his guitar. To make Julia understand that he loved her and wanted to spend the rest of his life with her, he wrote and performed “I Want to Grow Old with You” with a little help from his friend… Billy Idol.
Happy Gilmore Gave Chubbs The Alligator That Took His Hand (Happy Gilmore)
The alligator may have taken Chubbs' hand, but Happy Gilmore made sure he took out the nasty reptile near the end of this classic sports comedy. Sure, the present led to his mentor falling out of an open window and dying, but it’s the thought that counts, right?
Henry Roth Abandoned His Research Trip To Take Care Of Lucy (50 First Dates)
Henry Roth and Lucy Whitmore, one of the many couples played by Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore, respectively, had a good thing going in 50 First Dates. So much so that Henry was willing to abandon a long-planned research trip to take care of the woman with some severe short-term memory loss.
Billy Madison Passed Ownership Over To Carl After Beating Eric (Billy Madison)
Adam Sandler’s titular character in Billy Madison had no business running his family’s hotel empire after beating the conniving Eric in one of the most absurd academic decathlons ever put to film. He knew that, so upon winning the competition and the keys to the company, Billy handed the business over to Carl, a man who had worked his way to the top.
Longfellow Deeds Wrote A Moving Poem For Babe Bennett (Mr. Deeds)
Though Babe Bennett was a sneaky TV tabloid reporter trying to get the scoop on Longfellow Deeds in Mr. Deeds, the new billionaire had real feelings for the woman looking into his life. He wrote a poem for his love interest, and it was good it was eventually used as a Hallmark card at the end of the movie.
Sonny Koufax Smoothed Things Over With His Dad (Big Daddy)
Sonny Koufax and his dad never really got along for so many reasons, but the thing that matters is that Adam Sandler’s character put himself through hell to earn respect and smooth things over with his intense father. He could have taken the easy way out and never talked to him again, but he knew how important family was after the Julian experience.
Barry Egan Went To Great Lengths To Protect Lena Leonard (Punch-Drunk Love)
Punch-Drunk Love is one of the best romantic comedies of all time, and one that features a remarkably lovable Adam Sandler character. Like, Barry Egan went to great lengths to win over and protect Lena Leonard in this wonderful Paul Thomas Anderson movie. He even went and confronted an unhinged mattress salesman named Dean Trumbell.
Davey Stone Gets The Whole Town To Support Whitey Duvall (Eight Crazy Nights)
Eight Crazy Nights isn’t Adam Sandler’s best movie, nor is it one a lot of us remember. However, this 1998 animated movie does see one of Sandler’s most obnoxious characters prove he has a heart of gold. Near the end of the film, Davey Stone changes his ways and gets the whole town to support the elderly Whitey Duvall, also portrayed by Sandler.
Michael Newman Cast His Own Desires Aside To Connect With His Family (Click)
Yeah, Michael Newman uses his magical remote control to do some pretty jerkish things throughout Click, but he does come around in the end and decides to put his family’s desires ahead of his own to bring everyone back together.
Nicky Left The Comfort Of His Home To Save His Dad, Satan (Little Nicky)
Little Nicky hasn’t gone down as one of the best Adam Sandler movies, but it does feature one of his most innocent and sincere characters. This is ironic considering Nicky is the son of Satan. Even more ironic when you consider that the whole movie is about Nicky saving his dad, the OG fallen angel, from being wiped out by his evil brothers.
Lenny Feder Brought All His Childhood Friends Back Together (Grown Ups)
Say what you will about Grown Ups, the 2010 comedy featuring the likes of Adam Sandler, David Spade, Chris Rock, and Kevin James had its moments. On top of the funny parts, the buddy comedy also had a lot of heart, especially when dealing with Lenny Feder’s plans to reunite his friends and make up for lost time.
Zohan Dvir Left The Military To Help Make Life Better For People (You Don't Mess With The Zohan)
You Don’t Mess with the Zohan is about as bad as it gets when it comes to Adam Sandler’s movies from the 2000s, but there’s no denying the titular character has a heart of gold. After years of fighting, killing, shooting, and blowing stuff up for his country, the Israeli commando starts a new life as a hairdresser so he can make life better for people.
Dave Buznik Held Dr. Buddy Rydell Overcome His Own Issues (Anger Management)
Dave Buznik has a closet full of issues in Anger Management, which is why Dr. Buddy Rydell moves in with him. Though Jack Nicholson’s character helps out Sandler’s immensely, the student becomes the teacher at times and Dave is able to help the intense doctor overcome some of his own issues in the process.
Longfellow Deeds Stopped Blake Media Shareholders From Selling The Company (Mr. Deeds)
Near the end of Mr. Deeds when Blake Media is about to be dissolved by the shareholders, Longfellow Deeds gives a rousing speech to convince them to change their minds. Knowing what harm will come to the people who have devoted their lives to the corporate conglomerate, it’s a stand he feels he has to make.
Sonny Koufax Went To Court To Fight For Julian (Big Daddy)
Was Sonny Koufax a good son, boyfriend, roommate, or friend? No, not necessarily. However, he did go to Hell and back to fight for Julian in Big Daddy. Yeah, the plan ended up failing and Sonny didn’t get to keep the boy, but he did learn a valuable lesson along the way.
Danny Meyerowitz Put His Dreams On The Shelf To Take Care Of His Dad (The Meyerowitz Stories)
Noah Baumbach’s The Meyerowitz Stories has one great performance after another, including Adam Sandler’s as Danny Meyerowitz. Throughout the movie, Danny puts his family’s needs (mostly his father’s) ahead of his own, putting his dreams on a shelf. These constant acts of selflessness do make him blow up, but hasn’t that happened to us all?
John Clasky Constantly Protected His Kids (Spanglish)
One of Adam Sandler’s best rom-coms, Spanglish is a movie with a whole lot going on. One of the best parts about the movie, and Sandler’s performance as John Clasky, is the way in which the father of two goes to great lengths to protect his kids. It’s admirable, really.
Bobby Boucher Was Willing To Leave Football To Be There For His Mama (The Waterboy)
Bobby Boucher would do anything for his mom, even stop playing football (or foosball as she calls it so many times. Not wanting to hurt his mama anymore in The Waterboy, the 31-year-old football star decided to leave his team if it meant having his dear old mom get out of a coma.
Max Simkin Saved Mr. Solomon's Home (The Cobbler)
Adam Sandler plays a man with the ability to literally walk in other people’s shoes in The Cobbler, which leads to some great and touching moments. One of those comes late in the film when the cobbler comes up with a wild plan to save Mr. Solomon’s home from a greedy and vile slumlord.
Skeeter Bronson Helped Jill Hastings Save Her School (Bedtime Stories)
Is Skeeter Bronson the noblest guy in Bedtime Stories? Not quite! However, he knows when to step up and save the day in this fantastical family comedy. Case in point, remember when he did everything he could to help Jill Hastintgs save her school from being demolished? Someone call Neil Young, we found a heart of gold over here.
Drac, Though Extremely Overprotective, Tried To Give His Daughter The Best Life (Hotel Transylvania)
Drac is incredibly overprotective throughout Hotel Transylvania (and its various sequels), but all he wants to do is protect his daughter, Mavis, from the ills of the world (mostly humans). Yeah, he takes things too far at times, but that’s pretty much the number one job for a dad, even if he’s an immortal vampire.
Donny Berger Finally Put His Son's Needs Ahead Of His Own (That's My Boy)
Donny Berger isn’t the best dad in the world, and he’s not even an okay dad most of the time. However, in That’s My Boy, he finally puts his son’s wishes and needs ahead of his own, even if it’s nearly 30 years too late.
John Clasky Paid Kids Handsomely To Clean The Beach (Spanglish)
John Clasky does a lot of great things in Spanglish, including the time he paid his kids and Flor’s kids a ton of money to pick up glass on the beach. Protecting the environment and helping his kids make some cash is a win-win.
Happy Gilmore Made The Outcasts Of Society Feel Represented (Happy Gilmore)
Happy Gilmore challenged the status quo and made golf a game of the people on his journey to defeat Shooter McGavin and the patriarchy of the sport. Sure, the greens and fairways are a bit more crowded now, but everyone fits in for a change.
Nicky Sacrificed Himself And Ended Up In Heaven (Little Nicky)
Nicky sacrificing himself in Little Nicky is honestly one of the most heroic things an Adam Sandler character has ever done. Plus, it got him to heaven where he finally got to see his mom (and Chubbs) after all these years.
