Adam Sandler: Comedic Genius?

Well, about 10 years ago I would say so. But his body of work since then leaves something to be desired. I think the guy has great talent, but there is something missing within his latest projects. Mind you, I haven't seen them all, but from what I've seen, I've seen enough. Bring back the good ol' days of Adam.

I think Punch Drunk Love (2002) was a potential turning point in his career. It's known to be his break into the potential foray of dramatic roles that eluded him (a la Jim Carrey in The Majestic or The Truman Show or The Man on the Moon) Perhaps it was just me, but it seemed to be a miss, once again, similar to Jim Carrey. I didn't particularly like the film either, which is strange as I usually like P.T. Anderson films. I think I must watch this one again, because it didn't strike me as great, but maybe I needed to pay more attention. While Adam's performance was well received in Punch Drunk Love, a dramatic career in the movies didn't follow. Although, he starred in the drama Reign Over Me in 2007. I have not seen this one, and what I'm gathering from what I'm writing is that if I really wanted to analyse his career, I would need to study his films in great detail, which to me, studying cinema seems quite appealing!

Let's go over his filmography to highlight my points so far:

Firstly you got the good ones...pure gold:
Billy Madison (1995), Happy Gilmore (1996) and The Wedding Singer (1998)

Then there's the questionably good ones:
Little Nicky (1998), The Waterboy (1998) and Big Daddy (1999)

The okay ones:
Mr. Deeds (2002), Punch Drunk Love (2002) and 50 First Dates (2004)

The ones I haven't seen, so can't really comment on:
Anger Management (2003)
The Longest Yard (2005)
Click (2006)
Reign Over Me (2007)
I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry (2007)
You Don't Mess with the Zohan (2008)

And then there's Spanglish (2004)
I usually enjoy James L. Brooks films (Terms of Endearment,
Broadcast News, As Good as it Gets) but this one was a rare miss.

Let's hope that a renaissance is coming soon.

Or do you disagree with me and think that the comedic genius has not vanished and has prevailed all along? Or was there ever any comic genius and is he just an overrated tool?

Let me know