Adam Sandler movies have, somehow, attracted some extremely diverse casts. Somehow, the work of the former Saturday Night Live cast member has always attracted obscure celebrities, movers and shakers, and legendary comedians – all the while filling small roles for the star's closest friends to take on. It's a formula that, like his sophomoric approach to humor, somehow works for him 9 times out of 10. However, nothing can prepare you for just how diverse and obscure of a cast Sandler has put together for his western comedy Ridiculous 6 - the first of four Netflix originals that Sandler is contracted to make.
The Wrap has confirmed the king's riches of cast members that Ridiculous 6 has racked up. For starters, five of the six members of the titular gang include Adam Sandler, Taylor Lautner, Rob Schnider, Luke Wilson, and Terry Crews. Along with a sixth, unannounced star, they will all be playing half brothers orphaned together to be raised by an Indian tribe. The movie will follow them as they get into some sort of shenanigans that require them to be heroic... which obviously won't be their strong suit.
Further filling out the cast is Nick Nolte (playing Sandler's father,) Jon Lovitz and Whitney Cummings, Will Forte, Danny Trejo, and Steve Buscemi. All are playing some sort of Western stereotype, as Lovitz and Cummings are an industrialist and his wife, Forte and Trejo are leaders of an outlaw gang, and Buscemi is "a jack of all trades." The biggest surprises are in the two men cast as historical figures in this wild west roundup. That's right folks, Adam Sandler is about to tell us the funnier side of history, and he's going to do it with the help of some musical friends of his.
In the role of Wyatt Earp, a role that men like Kevin Costner and Kurt Russell have both played with style and gravitas, is none other than country superstar and The Voice judge, Blake Shelton. Now that isn't too much of a stretch, as he's definitely got the drawl and the stature for the role. If Earp was being played for dramatics, this would probably be more suspect, but seeing as how Ridiculous 6 is definitely not a sweeping Western drama, Shelton's good ol' boy charm is going to fit better than a greased hog at a county fair.
This leaves us with, bar none, the strangest cast member of the Ridiculous 6 lot. Now when you think of Mark Twain, who do you think of? Some would say Hal Holbrook, considering the man co-wrote and starred in his one man show, Mark Twain Tonight around sixty years ago and has been a legend for it ever since. Unfortunately for you culture vultures, that is not the man Adam Sandler and company have chosen to represent Mr. Twain. No, instead they've chosen a more... modern talent of meter and verse: Mr. Rob Van Winkle – more commonly known as Vanilla Ice.
Ridiculous 6 marks some uncharted territory for an Adam Sandler film, as he's both making a western and using historical figures as a new delivery method of nut shots, fart jokes, and funny noises. Who would have thought Robot Chicken would have predicted something similar so many years ago, in the clip below?
Ridiculous 6 will be heading into production soon and will probably be heading to Netflix sometime next year. Warner Bros., Sony and Paramount must be kicking themselves for passing on it.
