Whatever Quentin Tarantino’s snow-bound bastards get up to in his forthcoming opus, it’s doubtful that any of them will be as truly hateful as Adam Sandler at his Adam Sandler’est. The Ridiculous 6 is a collaboration between Sandler’s Happy Madison filmmaking studio and Netflix, of Jessica Jones, Daredevil, W/Bob and David, Orange is the New Black and brand new Arrested Development acclaim. To no-one’s surprise, The Ridiculous 6 will not be remembered as one of Netflix’s successes.
It should do a good job of capturing the Adam Sandler audience though, being absolutely everything one has come to expect from a modern Sandler movie. Case in point, Sandler as a surprisingly competent gun (or knife) slinger (like his turn in You Don’t Mess With the Zohan, except less surprisingly great) and Rob Schneider as his Mexican half-brother. Steve Buscemi cameos as a dweeb town dentist, and there’s a mule, which exists only to fart and shit everywhere. We’re only one Kevin James away from a full house in Sandler bingo.
Of the performers, we’re in two camps: the terrible and the wasted. While one can probably guess up the former (give or take an atrocious Taylor Lautner and surprisingly rubbish Jorge Garcia), the latter makes for truly depressing reading. Buscemi is just one name in a list, which consists of Luke Wilson, Will Forte, Steve Zahn, Harvey Keitel, Nick Nolte, Danny Trejo and, most unforgivably of all, Terry Crews (who at least gets all the best laughs, and wardrobe). As wasted potential goes, it’s up there with Movie 43.
Seth MacFarlane can breathe a sigh of relief – One Million Ways to Die in the West is no longer the worst comedy Western ever made (we’re not counting Wild Wild West). There’s sharting asses, Adam Sandler doing a stupid voice, numerous racist stereotypes, and Taylor Lautner doing an even worse voice. And yet it’s the best thing Sandler has done in years. Given the cast assembled and sheer amount of jokes being cracked, it’s impossible not to smile (and even laugh!) at least a couple of times, as bad as you might feel afterwards. They’ll grow on you, this Ridiculous 6, much as you might hate them for it.
THE RIDICULOUS 6 / CERT: 15 / DIRECTOR: FRANK CORACI / SCREENPLAY: TIM HERLIHY, ADAM SANDLER / STARRING: ADAM SANDLER, TAYLOR LAUTNER, JORGE GARCIA, TERRY CREWS, ROB SCHNEIDER / RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW (NETFLIX)
