If you pretend Grown Ups and Jack and Jill don’t exist, which I strongly advise, Adam Sandler and Norm Macdonald have only appeared in the same movie three times, but considering those films are the half-great Funny People, the underrated Dirty Work, and the brilliant Billy Madison, I think it’s fair to say Norm is Adam’s muse, the ScarJo to his Woody Allen, the O’DOYLE to his RULES. But they remain good buddies, and have been ever since they starred on SNL together, beginning in 1993.
Sandler, clad in his Going Out Outfit (Yankees shirt and upside Yankees sweatband), even appeared on Macdonald’s podcast last week, where he was asked why he hasn’t returned to host SNL. His answer: “Why should I? I don’t know how good it would be. I’m slow now…I did what I could do on that show.” It’s a rare self-aware moment from a guy who’ll say yes to the cinematic equivalent of French onion soup puke, because he wants a paid vacation. It’s also kind of depressing: he knows his limitations, and that he’s unable to tap into the unique craziness of “Lunchlady Land” any more. Still, if it spares us from another Kristen Wiig-like disaster, I have to respect Sandler’s decision.
Sandler’s discussion about SNL begins at 17:00, but the whole chat’s worth a listen.
