Adam Sandler has put together a varied career filled with incredible highs and a handful of lows. Any list of the five best Adam Sandler movies can be counteracted with his four worst movies. He’s like a pendulum. Because of his inconsistency, the industry has never quite know which side of Sandler to embrace. Does he make sophomoric comedies with his closest friends? Or is he going to unleash one of his more effective dramatic roles, such as in Uncut Gems or Punch-Drunk Love? Sandler actually walked a thin line between both in the basketball drama Hustle earlier this year, and despite its extremely positive reviews, the movie hasn’t caught much awards heat. Until now.
The Screen Actors Guild revealed its nominations for the 29th annual SAG Awards, and while several familiar names from this year’s Oscars race were present, they were accompanied by a pleasant surprise: Adam Sandler receiving a nomination in the Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role category for his work in Hustle. And unlike, say, with the Golden Globes – which announced its winners and divides its talent into Drama and Musical Or Comedy – these are just the straight-up five best male lead performances, as determined by the members of the Screen Actors Guild.
What an incredible vote of confidence in Adam Sandler to be included in the nominations for this group, specifically. The SAG Awards have real influence over the movies that are in the running for the Oscars because the actors make up the largest branch of the Academy, and so when you see an offbeat name or title singled out by group, it can mean a lot for an ongoing campaign.
And Sandler truly deserves it. In Hustle, the Saturday Night Live alum marries his personal passion for the NBA into the inspirational story of a league talent scout who dreams of getting off the road and earning an executive position with the Philadelphia 76ers. When that promotion eludes him, Sandler’s character slides all his chips behind an international player (Juancho Herangomez) he believes can become something special at the next level.
Sandler’s truly great in the role. Hustle has elements of the original Rocky (though that might be the Philly location), and Sandler has amazing comedic chemistry with Hernangomez, which you can see in our interview with the duo from last year:
But then you think of the other actors Adam Sandler beat out to earn this SAG nomination, and it’s an even more impressive achievement. Tom Cruise might have thought he had a shot at a Screen Actors Guild nomination for his blockbuster nostalgia play, Top Gun: Maverick. There also have been conversations around actors like Daniel Craig getting into the conversation for once again playing detective Benoit Blanc in the Knives Out sequel, Glass Onion. But neither happened.
Do I think that Adam Sandler is going to win? Probably not. To me, Brendan Fraser’s performance in The Whale was a slam-dunk win, and I thought he’d coast through the awards season the way that Ke Huy Quan has for Everything Everywhere All At Once. But Austin Butler, who also received a SAG nomination, just won the Golden Globe and does appear to be gaining awards heat. So for Sandler, the nomination might be the prize. But given the fact that I feared Hustle would be dismissed as a Netflix movie, the SAG nomination is pretty damn cool… and should lead to an Oscar nom, as well.
