We’re now officially in Adam Sandler, dad bod phase. The great comedian clearly wants to make his kids happy, and as such looks to be devoting his career more to getting them work and making movies they’d like. After tackling Bat Mitzvah’s earlier this year, Sandler gets his daughters back into the classroom with Leo, a movie that has maybe one of his better thought through comedy conceits in recent memory.
The concept? Toy Story for class pets. Leo (Sandler), a tuatara, just found out he’s gonna be 74 years old. Thinking he’s gonna die at 75, Leo has a geriatric life lizard crisis, intent on finally getting out of the terrarium he’s in with his best friend, turtle Squirtle (Bill Burr). When a new substitute teacher Ms. Malkin (Cecily Strong) gives class motormouth Summer (Sunny Sandler) Leo to care for over the weekend, the lizard sees this as his big chance to fulfill those big life dreams he has.
With that setup, you’d think Leo would simply be your standard CGI adventure tale, Madagascar for Netflix if you will. Quite surprisingly, Leo is actually something more: a love letter to teachers. Leo is basically a teacher at heart. He’s become a caged creature, doing this instead of living a bigger life outside the school, like all the kids he observes do. As Leo tries to escape his terrarium prison, he finds himself drawn back to Summer and other kids, using his years of experience to give them advice on how to deal with the fears/issues they are going through at the moment. He’s juxtaposed nicely with Ms. Malkin, who’s become jaded by her experiences with kids and slowly softens as the children come into their own over the course of the year. Gone is the mean spirited Billy Madison Sandler energy, replaced now with the gentle, good vibes and collaborative spirit of a wiser smartass.
That devious manboy behavior is still there though. Sandler teams up with his SNL buddy Robert Smigel to pair that sweet teacher emotion with just the right touch of trolling humor. The opening conversation between Sandler’s Leo and Bill Burr’s Squirtle is hilarious, as they actively nail each kid’s characteristics and personalities in a few minutes. From there, each kid gets a montage of opening up to Leo with some weird problem they have and Leo giving them a strange metaphor back to help them understand how to deal with their issues. Throw in some overbearing parents, and ludicrous 3rd act bus driving/drone romance/predator nonsense, and you’ve got yourself a fun little film everyone in the family should be able to laugh at and enjoy.
I hope Leo is a sign of the future of Adam Sandler’s career. His voice is way more versatile than he lets on, and this gives him a whole new way to attract a new generation of fans. Which hopefully will let those teenagers as they grow up see Billy Madison and Happy Gilmore, and the Sandler entertainment circle will be complete!