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Big Daddy (1999 film): Difference between revisions
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{{work}}
[[I Thought It Meant|Not to be confused with]] that character in ''[[Cat on a Hot Tin Roof]]''. Or the other character in ''[[Kick-Ass]]''. Or with rapper Big Daddy Kane. Or with [[WWE|World Wrestling Entertainment's]] Big Daddy V - or, for that matter, with their [[Kevin Nash|"Big Daddy Cool."]] Or with those tough drill-arm enemies from ''[[
This 1999 box-office smash starred [[Adam Sandler]], [[The Daily Show|Jon Stewart]], and twin child actors Cole and Dylan Sprouse. It tells the story of thirtysomething Manhattan resident Sonny Koufax (Sandler), a Syracuse law graduate who has no plan whatsoever of taking his bar exam. Instead, he lives off a fat settlement from getting his foot run over years ago and works as a toll-booth collector one day per week, spending the rest of his days sleeping and watching cartoons at the apartment he rents with fellow Syracuse alum Kevin Gerrity (Stewart).
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* [[Foil]]:
** Kevin Gerrity, to Sonny Koufax. The two men look remarkably alike (except for Kevin having a more professional-looking haircut), but Kevin is there mainly to show the kind of man that Sonny could become (financially successful and happily married) if he just acted a little more responsibly. This ''doppelganger'' theme is even played up by the movie's main plot, which sees Sonny actually ''pretending'' to be Kevin (though, ironically, in doing this he is being ''ir''responsible and not at all Kevin-like).
** Kevin's fiancee (and later wife) Corinne also has a foil - Vanessa, Sonny's would-be wife. Corinne eventually quits her job as a Hooter's waitress and becomes a doctor, while Vanessa goes almost exactly in reverse. Corinne also has [[Jerk with a Heart of Gold|a loving personality beneath her mean exterior]], while Vanessa tries to [[Bitch in Sheep's Clothing|hide her icy heart beneath a (somewhat) pleasant exterior]].
* [[Food End]]: Buffalo wings! Yum!
* [[Foreshadowing]]: You could say that Sid was the "rat in the putting hole."
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* [[Getting Crap Past the Radar]]: Actually, it's so blatant in this "family" picture that it's more like the jokes [[Look Behind You!|pointed and shouted "Hey, look over there!"]] and then ran by while the radar's head was turned.
* [[Gilligan Cut|Gilligan Fade]]: Sonny's father makes him promise not to spend the money from his court settlement on "worthless crap." Sonny agrees - and then, the camera briefly fades out and then fades back in to show Sonny buying a surfboard.
* [[Hypocritical Humor]]: Plenty.
** Particularly shameless is when the homeless guy (who, being played by Steve Buscemi, is presumably Italian-American) thinks that the national dish of Nazo's homeland is not truly American - but that spaghetti and meatballs are ''perfectly'' American!
** There's also this exchange:
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'''Lenny Koufax:''' You want my opinion? [[Abusive Parents|My son is a moron.]]<br />
'''Ted Castellucci:''' I withdraw my objection. Please proceed! }}
* [[Irishman and a Jew]]: Kevin Gerrity and Sonny Koufax. The stereotypes are actually inverted in that Kevin is the serious one and Sonny is the more outgoing and rambunctious. (And ironically, the actor who plays Kevin is himself Jewish.)
* [[Ironic Echo]]: "Did you waste the good surprise on me ''again''?"
* [[Jerk with a Heart of Gold]]: So many...
** Sonny
** Corinne
** Sonny's dad
** Also Mr. Herlihy, the drunken old man down at the sports bar (although there's significantly more "jerk" than "gold" with him)
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** {{spoiler|Kevin's time in Toronto. He got wasted and slept with a girl named Jane who gave birth to Julian. Of course, he's forgotten all about it, but Jane didn't.}}
** Not to mention: "Is there really a kid, or is this like the time you told me my parents were dead?"
* [[Oh Crap]]:
** Sonny, after realizing that Arthur Brooks has just called him by his real name instead of the false name he had been using.
** Kevin, after he realizes that he's just confessed in front of the entire courtroom (including Corinne) that {{spoiler|he is [[Luke, I Am Your Father|Julian's biological father]] (and Corinne is not the mother)}}. But Corinne forgives Kevin, because [[Heroic Sacrifice|he confessed to save Sonny from jail]].
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* [[Politically-Incorrect Villain]]: Okay, so he's not exactly a villain. But the homeless guy does mention O. J. Simpson "getting away with murder" when he's called to the witness stand at Sonny's trial - and then looks over at a black juror with a condescending, [[You Know What They Say About X...]] attitude.
* [[Punch Clock Villain]]: Arthur Brooks, albeit in the context of Sonny's life. He does get some [[Pet the Dog]] moments along the way, as well as in the climactic courtroom scene.
* [[Reality Ensues]]: Subverted, double-subverted, then ''triple''-subverted. {{spoiler|Sonny calls himself to the witness stand at the trial and has his father cross-examine him in the hope that he can somehow win the court over with an emotional appeal. Miraculously, he does persuade Lenny that he has learned his lesson and is now prepared to be a responsible adult. Lenny vouches for his son and everyone in the courtroom applauds - but the judge will not let herself forget that Sonny broke the law and, no matter how contrite he may now be, still deserves to go to jail. But Kevin Gerrity, as Julian's biological father, refuses to press charges against his roommate, so Sonny walks out of court a free man. However, since he has proven himself to be erratic and untrustworthy, Sonny is refused custody of Julian, who is reunited with Kevin. But in the end Sonny does get a consolation prize in form of being appointed a mentor and uncle to Julian, and he and Layla have had a baby of their own by the time the epilogue rolls around.}}
* [[Reality Subtext]]: The cute waitress who serves Julian a root beer at the sports bar? It's Jackie Titone, who became Mrs. Adam Sandler just a few years later.
* [[Running Gag]]
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