`Big Daddy,' Old Story -- Adam Sandler's Back, But Don't Go Expecting Another `Waterboy'

Movie review XX "Big Daddy," with Adam Sandler, Cole and Dylan Sprouse, Steve Buscemi, Rob Schneider, Joey Lauren Adams, Jon Stewart and Kristy Swanson. Directed by Dennis Dugan, from a script by Adam Sandler, Tim Herlihy and Steve Franks. 95 minutes. Several theaters. Rated PG-13 for adult language, humor and frequent public elimination for the sake of laughs.

Despite his multimillion-dollar paycheck, his powerful box-office draw and the opinions of thousands of adolescent boys, Adam Sandler is not, by any stretch of the imagination, a comic genius.

That said, "Big Daddy" will probably please audiences who, wisely, don't expect anything more cerebral than a man bashing his cranium into a moving car's windshield for laughs.

Even so, it's not as witty as "The Wedding Singer," nor does it have the moronic good humor of "The Waterboy." The bulk of it is barely memorable. People seem to accept that Sandler is a two-trick pony. His characters are either feckless idiots incapable of higher brain function (think "The Waterboy"), or bitter, slacker losers with a glint of wit (a la "The Wedding Singer").

"Big Daddy" hauls out the latter for another go-round. As a bonus, we also get a cute-as-a-button 5-year-old who adorably swallows his w's and l's.

The knucklehead du jour is Sonny Koufax, a 32-year-old law school grad who hasn't taken the bar. Instead, he skates by on a settlement from a cab accident and a one-day-a-week gig at a toll booth, much to the dismay of his girlfriend (Kristy Swanson). Sandler plays him in the usual way, switching his vocal inflections between halting, juvenile tones and angry bellowing.

His roommate, Kevin (Jon Stewart), and other school buddies are successful attorneys. His best friends are the take-out delivery man (Rob Schneider) and a homeless 'shroom burnout (Steve Buscemi); his nemesis is Kevin's girlfriend Corinne (Leslie Mann), who, we're constantly reminded, used to work at Hooters.

One day, as Kevin is boarding a plane for China, a 5-year-old tyke named Julian (Cole and Dylan Sprouse) shows up on Sonny's doorstep with a note claiming Kevin's paternity. Faced with dropping the boy into the social service system or taking him in, Sonny temporarily takes responsibility for the kid. It's not entirely for the right reasons; he's hoping wee Julian will show his girlfriend that he's ready for commitment. When the girlie leaves, Sonny decides to raise the boy anyway. We use the term "raise" loosely. Julian primarily exists to entertain Sonny by urinating on walls, tripping in-line skaters and picking up girls like Corinne's sister Layla (Joey Lauren Adams). Oh, yeah, and along the way Julian also teaches Sonny the meaning of responsibility.

Adams has basically assumed Drew Barrymore's "Wedding Singer" role of the blonde with a big smile and a heart of gold, playing Layla with a familiar toothsome innocence and touches of maternal leanings. Instead of using nuptial bliss as the tool around which all things turn, Sandler uses a child. Instead of a playing schlocky wedding entertainer from the '80s, Sandler is a schlocky non-lawyer in the '90s. This "same stuff, different film" routine is going to get old sooner rather than later.

In case you're thinking Sandler might make the switch to dramatic material, forget it. "Big Daddy's" serious scenes show Sandler has all the dramatic range of a baked potato.

That's why Sandler wisely relies on his comedic skills for most of the movie, with a fair amount of success. He also has great chemistry with the kid, but really, how can you lose when you pair an overgrown simpleton with an angelic 5-year-old?

Not much thought went into churning out this film; it's no matter. Right now the world loves this clown, even if "Big Daddy" shows Sandler is overdue to learn a new act.