Sandy Wexler

Sandy Wexler is a 2017 American comedy film directed by Steven Brill and written by Dan Bulla, Paul Sado and Adam Sandler. The film stars Sandler, Jennifer Hudson, Kevin James, Terry Crews, Rob Schneider, Colin Quinn, Nick Swardson, Lamorne Morris and Arsenio Hall, and follows a talent manager in 1990s Hollywood. The film was released on Netflix on April 14, 2017.

Sandy Wexler
Official promotional poster
Directed bySteven Brill
Produced by
Written by
  • Dan Bulla
  • Paul Sado
  • Adam Sandler
Starring
Music byRupert Gregson-Williams
CinematographyDean Semler
Edited byTom Costain
Production
company
Distributed byNetflix
Release date
  • April 7, 2017 (2017-04-07) (Los Angeles)
  • April 14, 2017 (2017-04-14) (United States)
Running time
131 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$24.3 million[1]

Plot

In 1994, Sandy Wexler is a talent manager working in Los Angeles. He has a reputation for having an extremely eccentric personality and for often telling huge lies to sound more important than he really is, resulting in his clients never finding success except for his first, a man named Al, though only after he left Sandy. His current clientele include Ted Rafferty, a ventriloquist, Kevin Conners, a comedian, Amy Baskin, an actress, Gary Rogers, a daredevil, and Bobby Barnes, a wrestler.

While at Six Flags, Sandy sees a young woman, Courtney Clarke, performing in a stage show. Immediately entranced by both her voice and her beauty, he convinces her that he can make her a star. She records several singles that become hits, however his antics continue to cause her trouble. Eventually, her boyfriend, rapper Bling, convinces Sandy that his presence is a hindrance to Courtney's potential fame and he resigns as her manager.

While Sandy continues to struggle with both his feelings for Courtney and his clients, Courtney grows more and more famous, eventually winning a Grammy. Bobby soon sees success when Sandy helps him become champ, while Courtney, feeling unsatisfied with her fame, spirals into drinking and a string of failed relationships. She seeks comfort with Sandy, but their one night stand goes nowhere. She eventually tells him that she's quitting the business and leaving to get married.

Depressed by Courtney's decision, Sandy acts out worse than ever, which costs him all his clients except Ted. He meets Al, finally revealed to be Weird Al Yankovic, at Six Flags and Al convinces Sandy to stop telling people what Sandy thinks he wants them to hear and instead tell them the truth. To this end, he has his landlord bring Courtney to Griffith Observatory, where he admits his feelings to her, which she reciprocates, and they're married in a ceremony officiated by one of Ted's puppets.

Sandy's newfound honesty also gets him back his clients as well as many new ones. Eventually, he and Courtney learn that a puppet can't be an official priest and after twenty years are married for real.

Cast

Cameo roles include Clay Aiken, Jewel, Darius Rucker, Jason Priestley, Gary Dell'Abate, Arsenio Hall, Quincy Jones, Judd Apatow, Janeane Garofalo, Pauly Shore, Kevin Nealon, Lorne Michaels, Dana Carvey, Chris Rock, David Spade, George Wendt, Penn Jillette, Henry Winkler, Tony Orlando, Al B. Sure!, Brian McKnight, Vanilla Ice, Jimmy Kimmel, Conan O'Brien, Louie Anderson, "Weird Al" Yankovic, Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds, Mason "Ma$e" Betha, Jay Leno, Lisa Loeb, Jon Lovitz, Budd Friedman and his wife Alix Friedman.

Mike Judge makes a vocal cameo as Beavis and Butt-Head during the end credits. Professional wrestlers Rikishi and David Otunga have brief roles in the film.

Production

On July 20, 2016, Jennifer Hudson joined the cast of the film,[4] and on July 26, 2016, Kevin James, Terry Crews, Rob Schneider, Colin Quinn, Nick Swardson, Lamorne Morris and Arsenio Hall joined as well.[2] Principal photography began on August 2, 2016.[4]

The Wexler character is a satirical homage to Sandler's real-life manager Sandy Wernick.[5]

Release

The film was released worldwide on Netflix on April 14, 2017.[6]

Critical response

On Rotten Tomatoes, Sandy Wexler has an approval rating of 27% based on 22 reviews, with an average rating of 4.11/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "Sandy Wexler marks a mild improvement from the Adam Sandler vehicles immediately preceding it – which in no way serves as an endorsement for non-hardcore fans."[7] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score 40 out of 100, based on 8 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[8]

Peter Debruge of Variety called the film "sloppy" and is critical of the 131 minute runtime. Although he appreciates the concept of the film as a comedy roast, Debruge complains that the film is not funny enough.[5]

References
  1. Film and Television Tax Credit Program Program 2.0 (PDF) (Report). California Film Commission. p. 3. Retrieved July 19, 2019.
  2. "Kevin James, Terry Crews, Rob Schneider Join Adam Sandler's 'Sandy Wexler' (Exclusive)". Hollywood Reporter. 2016-07-26. Retrieved 2016-11-11.
  3. "'Sandy Wexler' Teaser Trailer: Adam Sandler Actually Ruins a Movie". slashfilm. 2017-01-19. Retrieved 2017-01-31.
  4. "Jennifer Hudson to Star in Adam Sandler's Netflix Movie 'Sandy Wexler' (Exclusive)". Hollywood Reporter. 2016-07-20. Retrieved 2016-11-11.
  5. Peter Debruge (April 15, 2017). "Film Review: Sandy Wexler". Variety.
  6. News Desk, TV (January 19, 2017). "VIDEO: First Look - Adam Sandler Stars in Netflix Original Film SANDY WEXLER". Broadway World. Retrieved January 19, 2017.
  7. "Sandy Wexler (2017)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved April 19, 2018.
  8. "Sandy Wexler reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved April 21, 2017.
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