Adam Sandler’s new Netflix special, “Adam Sandler: 100% Fresh,” is exactly what its name implies. The special is a mixture of traditional stand-up comedy and a few hilarious songs written and performed by Sandler himself.

Sandler’s stand-up style is good, if you enjoy his movies. I’m not Sandler’s biggest fan, but I can still acknowledge his talent. I was pleasantly surprised to enjoy more of the special than I had anticipated. I didn’t find every joke funny, but hearing Sandler impersonate his father showing up to his school to ask him a simple question made me laugh out loud.

Music was a major theme throughout. Sandler also uses his musical abilities to tell jokes that have a long buildup to the punch line, paired with some quick one-liners. Most of the songs are reminiscent of Sandler’s previous sketches and skits from his time on “Saturday Night Live.”

Similar to his humor, I’m not the biggest fan of Sandler’s music but I can’t deny his craft. “Uber Driver,” “Know a guy” and “Bar Mitzvah boy” are prime examples of Sandler using his musical talent to sing simple, playful jokes on top of a catchy beat.

Shaking up the traditional stand-up formula, the special is directed by Steven Brill, who also directed “Mr. Deeds,” starring Sandler. The special was filmed in more than a dozen different venues, including the Grand Ole Opry and the Charlotte Metro Credit Union Amphitheatre. Sequences of Sandler show him messing around in a city and even performing in a Times Square subway station — the director uses these different locations to seamlessly transition from one bit to the next.

The ending of this special is probably one of the best endings to a stand-up show I’ve seen in a while. It makes up for the slow, dry moments leading up to it.

Sandler starts off by saying, “This is a very special song. I hope you like it. It means a lot to us.” A piano plays softly, its beat accompanied by light electric guitar strumming. Sandler begins to sing about his good friend and fellow comic Chris Farley, who passed away in 1997. Sandler opens up during this song, paying tribute to the man he describes as, “By far the funniest f*cking guy of all time.” Not only is the song well-written and full of jokes paired with some very emotional lines, but the music itself is catchy. Sandler clearly poured his emotions into the song and the standing ovations were well-deserved.

Sandler then goes on to sing a song for his wife, which was equally as touching as the Farley tribute. The last two songs are where Sandler truly hits his stride, and it left me with goosebumps. It’s finally obvious, in the last few minutes, that Sandler is having the time of his life up on stage. It’s a new side of Sandler I thoroughly enjoyed, and I hope he continues down this road with upcoming projects.

It has a 92 percent on Rotten Tomatoes as of Monday, but Sandler’s “Adam Sandler: 100% Fresh” truly is 100 percent fresh to the comedian. I would recommend it — or at least the last 13 minutes — to anyone and everyone.

Toby Craner is a newspaper and online journalism major. His column appears biweekly in Pulp. You can email Toby at tlcraner@syr.edu.

Published on November 5, 2018 at 8:49 pm