Billy Madison (Adam Sandler) is the son of the founder of Madison Hotels. The company is on the Fortune 500, having started from a few hotels in PA and now has become a huge company. Like many fathers he wants to pass the business onto his son. The only unfortunate part of this equation is that Billy is a complete and utter moron who does nothing but drink beer, get high and basically act like a child despite being 27. After learning that his father basically paid his way through school bribing his teachers, Billy is determined to repeat the 12 grades he never completed. The only catch is that Billy must pass each grade within a 2-week grace period and by June 15th.
I sometimes wonder if there is something wrong with me. Everyone I talk claims that Billy Madison was extremely funny containing laugh a minute humor and comedy. Maybe I was out of it or I simply don’t “get†the humor, but I literally only laughed once during this entire film (when Billy is poking fun at the 3rd grader who has trouble reading). Otherwise from that, I found myself repeatedly wondering what was so funny. The story is rather dull and actually makes no sense. Where on Earth would something like this even possibly happen? Are we actually suppose to believe that a 27 year old man would be allowed to return to school? I don’t care how rich your father is, this would never happen. A possible modern example could be the Hilton Hotels and Paris Hilton, but even thinking of that comparison just doesn’t work here.
Sure the film is a comedy and comedies aren’t supposed to be taken seriously, but that’s a load of crap. Films like Being John Malkovich and Liar Liar are comedies, yet the plots both contain have serious notes to them. This film is a complete waste of time, with ideas and themes that are aren’t funny even in the slightest manner. I suppose if you’re a fan of Sandler’s earlier work, you’ve seen this one. If not, don’t waste your time as there isn’t anything redeeming about this one.
Video
Presented in a 1080p, VC-1 Encoded, 1:85:1 Widescreen Aspect Ratio, Billy Madison boasts a transfer that is a fine update to the SD counterpart.
The general theme of the film is somewhat light and funny, so the film’s colors tend to be on the bright side with blues, greens and whites. A majority of the colors have been increased considerably, but I didn’t notice any bleeding or washed out colors. Detail was okay when one thinks of the film. Nothing ever popped off or approached the 3-D image Hi-Def typically gives us, but I don’t imagine this film will ever look better than it does now.
Audio
Arriving with the standard Dolby Digital Plus 5.1 audio track, a film like Billy Madison isn’t the best example of hi-def audio, but the film sounds just fine when one considers other comedic films on hi-def.
Obviously the biggest aspect of this track is dialogue, which consumes about 95% of the film (with the except of 1-2 songs). Luckily the dialogue is produced faithfully and I never noticed any distortion or unintelligible dialogue. Surround usage, with the exception of the final “uplifting†song, is pretty much absent as the film’s soundstage is focused on the center channel. Dynamic Range, like the film’s surrounds, was absent except for a few silly noises like armpits farts and burps. All in all this one sounds fine, but nothing more than that.
Special Features
- Audio Commentary with director Tamra Davis: Similar to the film, this included commentary track is not that funny or even that informative. I found it funny that Davis, despite being the director of the film, repeatedly labels her film with names like “insane†and “sillyâ€.
- Deleted Scenes: Here we get 25 minutes of deleted scenes, most of which aren’t that funny. Included is the famous deleted sequence that has appeared on TV broadcasts before (the kickball number).
- Outtakes: Here we get a few of the films outtakes, which I’ll admit I laughed at more than the film itself.
Closing Thoughts
Maybe I just don’t understand the “humor†in films of this nature, as I didn’t find anything overly enjoyable in Billy Madison. On the brighter side though the included features are entertaining enough (the outtakes are the highlight), and the video and audio are just fine for the film. If you’re a fan, I’m going to assume you’ll want to pick this one up as it’s the best this one will ever look. The rest of you can simply avoid this one.
