Adam Sandler joins the ranks of true comedic movie stars with this wonderful heart-warmer about a goofy, childish young man who inadvertently gets custody of a child and then falls in love with him.

It's goofy and it's sweet but Sandler makes it work brilliantly. He's truly in top form here. Plus the kid, played by twin 5 year old boys, are awesome! They will melt your heart.

Sandler and co-writer Tim Herlihy, who has worked with him on all of his films, also include a wonderful subplot about two guys, Sandler's character's friends, who happen to be gay. Sometimes played for laughs, the couple are never truly treated poorly and Sandler makes a huge effort to make it known that he thinks there is nothing wrong with this. It's colossal. We see a gay couple portrayed fairly accurately in a mainstream comedy that has nothing to do with homosexuality. The only negativism comes from a friend who is uneasy about the couple but this is actually probably fairly realistic. The straight friend's minor worries are treated as normal feelings as well making this truly a balanced portrayal of a common situation.

This makes the true heart of the film, the idea that  love is where you find it and a family can be several different things, truly inspiring. Sandler, and his cohorts, can be truly proud of "Big Daddy." It's cute and sweet and funny and romantic and it says a lot without once ever being phony.

Note: Also with Steve Buscemi, Josh Mostel, Jon Stewart, Rob Schneider, and Kristy Swanson.

The music of Styx plays a large part in the film.

Director Dennis Dugan has two cameos in the film, one as the home-owner in the "trick or treat" scene and the other, on TV, where he is shown on an appearance in TV's "Columbo" during the 70's.

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