Video Spotlight- Adam Sandler "Out In The Street" (Explicit)

It seems hard to remember but there was a time, in the mid 1990's when Adam Sandler was THE MAN in comedy.  After a memorable stint on Saturday Night Live and his insanely popular movies "Billy Madison" and "Happy Gilmore", Sandler went on to release a number of comedy albums that only cemented his place at the top of the comedy world.  Don't get me wrong, Sandler is still an absolute A-List celebrity who can still pull out a great comedic performance when he wants, but he seems to have lost a step in his comedy along the way.

However, in 1996, to support his What the Hell Happened To Me comedy album, he went on a 21 date tour of live performances of songs and comedy bits.  One of the shows was filmed and aired on HBO.  During the show Sandler wanted to get the crowd pumped up, and what better way to do that than a Bruce Springsteen song?  This really shows how big Sandler was.  Bruce's popularity was definitely on the wane in the mid 1990's after nearly a decade separated from the E Street Band.  And on top of that, although a great song, "Out In The Street", isn't exactly a mainstream hit.  But Sandler seems to know that, and while asking the crowd to indulge his fantasy to pretend he's a rockstar, comes just short of saying to his crowd "You may not know this song, but I love it.  And I can do whatever I want."  And the crowd goes right along with him. Sandler had done his Springsteen imitation on SNL before, but in a more comedic way.  Although there seems to be some lighthearted jabs at Springsteen's singing style, it's more of an homage than anything.  Enjoy!

Great Moments in Springsteen Cinema History: Grown-Ups 2

I recently had the great fortune of catching Grown-Ups 2 on an airplane. The fact that this half hazard collection of half heartedly written scenes makes up an actual movie – let alone one released by a major studio grossing over $100 million – is nothing short of astounding. Now, I’m an Adam Sandler faithful, so I’ll concede that I laughed a few times, but the only moment of real value is the invocation of Springsteen.

In the film’s climax, Sandler hosts an ‘80s themed party for the neighborhood, with attendees all dressed as pop culture icons. Happily, Sandler dresses like Springsteen on the cover of Born in the U.S.A. When his son doesn’t know who that is, Sandler responds, “My own son doesn’t know The Boss? I’ve failed as a father.”

Amen.

Sadly, the film doesn’t feature any Springsteen tunes – even if it begs for a “Glory Days” riff. Alas, Sandler fans will just have to satiate themselves with “Growin’ Up” in Big Daddy or “Hungry Heart” in The Wedding Singer.

Springsteen Turkey Song (SNL)

Thanks to friend of the blog, Nick B., for passing along this SNL sketch with Adam Sandler playing Springsteen. Happy Thanksgiving!