Billy Madison

Billy Madison (1995)

  • 45% of critics liked it
    (38 reviews)

  • 79% of users liked it
    (701,354 ratings)

Master of infantilism Adam Sandler stars as the title character, an overgrown rich kid who wiles away his days poolside, swilling kegs of beer and appreciating fine nudie magazines such as "Drunk Chicks" -- that is, until his father (Darren McGavin) decides to test his mettle as future… More

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PG-13,
Directed By
Written By
Tim Herlihy, Adam Sandler, Rich Wilkes
Genres
Comedy
In Theaters
Feb 10, 1995 Limited
MCA Universal Home Video

Critic Reviews

  • Brian Lowry, Variety

    Those unfamiliar with Sandler's antics may...begin to find him annoying sometime between the appearance of the Universal logo and the end of the opening credits.

  • Janet Maslin, New York Times

    If you've ever had a yen to relive the third grade, this must be the next best thing.

  • Peter Rainer, Los Angeles Times

    Director Tamra Davis and screenwriters Sandler and Tim Herlihy scatter the bad jokes like fertilizer. Nothing sprouts.

  • Rita Kempley, Washington Post

    As one character tells Billy in the finale: "Everyone in this room is dumber for having listened to you."

  • Brian Orndorf, BrianOrndorf.com

    It's refreshing to revisit the jester in his screen infancy, when all he wanted was to boogie to a Culture Club hit, carry on conversations with hair care products, and sit on a sprinkler.

Read all 13 critic reviews

See more critic ratings and reviews on Rotten Tomatoes

Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)

Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)

Featured Audience Ratings

  • Mike S


    Childish and immature - but then again, what Sandler comedy isn't? I've seen better by him, like <i>Click</i> and <i>Happy Gilmore</i>, but I've also seen a lot worse like <i>Grown Ups</i> and <i>The Waterboy</i>. As long… More

  • Directors C


    [img]http://images.rottentomatoes.com/images/user/icons/icon13.gif[/img] One of the earliest Adam Sandler comedy vehicles is the highly over rated Billy Madison. To put it simple, it's a childish comedy with the occasional morsel of charm and a few good laughs. It's at… More

  • Alexander D


    A lot of Adam Sandler's comedies seem to be given bad reviews, and I can see that for some of his newer stuff, especially his two newest films, JUST GO WITH IT and GROWN UPS. On the other hand, there is no reason to give such poor feedback to BILLY MADISON. I'm not saying… More

  • Jim C


    I was okay, not great, but preatty funny, Sandler was kind of annoying too.

  • Jeff "


    Billy Madison is Adam Sandler's big break on the big screen, and you gotta ask, is his first cinematic outing worth it? nope it's not. Billy Madison is a missed opportunity. What we have with this film is a film that has a few minimal laughs, but the comedy is so poorly… More

Read all 20 featured audience ratings

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Cast

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