With temperatures continuing to drop, what better antidote than to throw on a warm, funny movie?
This January 2026, Hulu just added the perfect comedy watch to keep the laughs and smiles coming, so you can forget how icy it is outside.
Big Daddy stars Adam Sandler as a man whose always avoided responsibility, but that all changes when he decides to adopt a five-year-old (Cole and Dylan Sprouse) to impress his frustrated girlfriend (Kristy Swanson).
The film features a charming performance from Sandler and a surprisingly stacked supporting cast full of great character actors and future comedy legends like Jon Stewart.
‘Big Daddy’ Has a Surprisingly Sweet Story
The very implausible plot of Big Daddy follows Sandler’s layabout character Sonny Koufax, a 32-year-old slacker who’s currently milking a $200,000 injury lawsuit. Disenchanted by his lack of drive, Sonny’s girlfriend, Vanessa, threatens to leave him unless he takes more responsibility. When Sonny’s roommate Kevin (Stewart) makes plans to set off with his new fiancée (Leslie Mann), a young boy suddenly shows up at their doorstep claiming to be Kevin’s biological son. Kevin leaves, putting the boy, Julian, into Sonny’s reluctant care.
In contrast to some of Sandler’s earlier films, Big Daddy has a bit of a softer heart. Blended together with the usual gross-out, man-child humor and slapstick, you’ll find a surprisingly poignant “found family” narrative that is made all the more heartfelt through the adorable chemistry between Sandler and the Sprouse twins. Ultimately, Big Daddy feels unmistakably more mature than Sandler’s prior work and proves a solid bridge between his early career and his later dramatic oeuvre, proving that the actor can be more than just an insolent goofball.
It’s a Little Mean-Spirited, But It’ll Make You Laugh
In addition to fraud, kidnapping and identity theft, there’s a good amount of the usual mean-spirited Sandler humor that you can’t help but laugh at. In particular, a great scene in Central Park sees Sonny and Julian terrorize rollerbladers. As the two of them watch people rollerblading down a hill, with Sonny desperately wishing for them to trip and fall, he takes it upon himself to leave a large tree branch in the middle of the path so that the next skater will inadvertently launch themselves into the lake. It’s very mean, but Sandler’s performance is hysterical.
The movie’s official poster, which sees Sandler and one of the Sprouse twins urinating against a wall, ends up setting the tone for a film that’s just as crude, profane and cheeky as you’d expect it to be. Thankfully, that doesn’t detract from the film’s charm or humor — in fact, it only adds to it. Watching Sandler attempt to teach an innocent child how to indulge in antisocial behavior isn’t just funny; it also adds to the emotional weight of the conclusion in which Sonny earnestly embraces his role as a father figure for Julian.
If You’re Not a Sandler Fan, ‘Big Daddy’ May Win You Over
If movies like Happy Gilmore, Billy Madison and The Waterboy weren’t your speed, you may find that Big Daddy is the one that brings you over to the Sandler dark side. Sandler’s comedies tend to have a frustrating hybridization of absurdist humor that isn’t absurd enough, and sentimentality that is overly sentimental. It makes for a tonal clash that doesn’t always work for everyone. However, while Big Daddy is certainly sentimental, the emotional core of the movie is genuinely charming, and the moments of humor are funny enough that there’s less tonal whiplash.
As mentioned before, Big Daddy seems to have been part of a crucial dividing line between Sandler’s early work and his ensuing work, as Big Daddy would be soon followed by his dramatic debut, Punch-Drunk Love. With that in mind, this movie does work as a good gateway drug for Sandler skeptics: it proves that Sandler can be charming without being too grating, and funny without being overly stupid.
Stream Big Daddy now on Hulu.
