In order to inherit his fed up father's hotel empire, an immature and lazy man must repeat grades 1-12 all over again.In order to inherit his fed up father's hotel empire, an immature and lazy man must repeat grades 1-12 all over again.In order to inherit his fed up father's hotel empire, an immature and lazy man must repeat grades 1-12 all over again.
- Awards
- 1 nomination
Bridgette Wilson-Sampras
- Veronica Vaughn
- (as Bridgette Wilson)
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaAdam Sandler said of the title character, "Billy's the closest I've come to playing myself."
- GoofsWhen Billy is dialing the phone to call the guy he picked on in high school, you hear a phone ringing. This is part of the song being played.
- Quotes
Principal: Mr. Madison, what you've just said is one of the most insanely idiotic things I have ever heard. At no point in your rambling, incoherent response were you even close to anything that could be considered a rational thought. Everyone in this room is now dumber for having listened to it. I award you no points, and may God have mercy on your soul.
- Alternate versionsIn some edited-for-tv versions of the film, during the Jeopardy game at the end of the film, the scene of the host reading the "burning dog poo and the human response" clue has been removed. However, the clue can still be seen on the board in distant shots.
- SoundtracksTelephone Line
Written by Jeff Lynne
Performed by Electric Light Orchestra
Courtesy of Epic Records
by arrangement with Sony Music Licensing
Featured review
Good Premise, Bad Movie...
Adam Sandler plays Billy Madison, the son of a wealthy businessman, who is about to hand over the reigns of his company to a greedy businessman. So, in a last effort to have the company handed to himself, Billy enters a bet, that if he can make it all the way through school over again, the company is his. But he cannot flunk school this time around.
We can expect what ensues.
Basically, the film has a decent premise. It may be thrown together a bit sloppy at times, but overall it is good. The thing that is bad about this movie, is the characters, the dialogue, and the film's progress.
There are some laughs in the beginning, but I didn't find the addition of Norm MacDonald very funny, nor did I think it great how the teacher who hates Billy is suddenly, for no reason whatsoever, willing to take off her clothes for him.
There are some great cameos in this movie, especially the always-enjoyable Steve Buscemi. Unfortunately, his short appearance cannot make up for the bad flow, dialogue and character progression in Billy Madison.
Sure, the film has its laugh-out-loud moments, but not enough, and when it all comes down to it, the film has a half-baked, sentimental ending thrown in to enthuse the easily-pleased, and never really focuses on all the laughs it could have achieved throughout its scenes. It seems to take the lowest amount of jokes considering, and look at them as "look how many jokes we have," instead of "look how many more jokes we could have had."
In the end, what could have been an interesting and lively comedy resorts to typical Sandler fare, and nothing more.
My summary: worth seeing, but not great.
2.5/5 stars -
John Ulmer
We can expect what ensues.
Basically, the film has a decent premise. It may be thrown together a bit sloppy at times, but overall it is good. The thing that is bad about this movie, is the characters, the dialogue, and the film's progress.
There are some laughs in the beginning, but I didn't find the addition of Norm MacDonald very funny, nor did I think it great how the teacher who hates Billy is suddenly, for no reason whatsoever, willing to take off her clothes for him.
There are some great cameos in this movie, especially the always-enjoyable Steve Buscemi. Unfortunately, his short appearance cannot make up for the bad flow, dialogue and character progression in Billy Madison.
Sure, the film has its laugh-out-loud moments, but not enough, and when it all comes down to it, the film has a half-baked, sentimental ending thrown in to enthuse the easily-pleased, and never really focuses on all the laughs it could have achieved throughout its scenes. It seems to take the lowest amount of jokes considering, and look at them as "look how many jokes we have," instead of "look how many more jokes we could have had."
In the end, what could have been an interesting and lively comedy resorts to typical Sandler fare, and nothing more.
My summary: worth seeing, but not great.
2.5/5 stars -
John Ulmer
helpful•1312
- MovieAddict2016
- Feb 6, 2003
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Official site
- Languages
- Also known as
- Trở Lại Trường Học
- Filming locations
- Parkwood Estate, Oshawa, Ontario, Canada(Billy's mansion: exterior, and grounds)
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- $10,000,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $25,588,734
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $6,639,080
- Feb 12, 1995
- Gross worldwide
- $26,488,734
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