Every Adam Sandler Movie Ranked Worst To Best

Many of Sandler's movies use his sensitivity to great effect (consider his courtroom speech in Big Daddy or his paternal instincts in Bedtime Stories), but none more so than James L. Brooks' touching comedy-drama Spanglish.

As a chef who becomes entangled in the lives of a Mexican mother (Paz Vega) and her daughter (Shelbie Bruce), Sandler's tenderness shines, but so too does his ability to balance this maturity with the well-timed sardonic humour of Brooks' script.

The film, it should be said, slips and slides with its tone, unsure whether to lean into the drama or the laughs, but Sandler and a disarming Vega are on-hand to ground it at its shakiest, bringing great vulnerability to characters it's hard to picture anyone else playing.