Campbell Hall was filled to capacity last night for an advanced screening of Adam Sandler’s latest comedy, “That’s My Boy,” followed by a Q&A with comedian and co-star Nick Swardson.
The sold-out screening of “That’s My Boy” left many students reminiscent of their childhood “Happy Gilmore” days — Sandler’s most renowned flick in the Happy Madison Production series. “That’s My Boy” is about a single father’s desperate attempt to squander $50,000 and avoid jail time while reconnecting with his estranged son — Andy Samberg — after years of separation. The flick was packed with trademark Sandler humor, familiar faces and appearances by celeb- rities James Caan, Susan Sarandon and Vanilla Ice.
A.S. Program Board Publicity Coordinator Britney Schroeder said Sandler targeted UCSB students to par- ticipate in the prescreening event before the film’s theatrical release on June 15.
“Adam approached [ASPB] and asked us if we wanted to host the prescreening here at Santa Barbara,” Schroeder said. “We really wanted students to have a one- on-one interaction with him.” Third-year communication major Kay Weber said Sandler donned basketball shorts, a T-shirt and a casual demeanor for the 30-minute Q&A session.
“The movie was really good,” Weber said. “It was absurd; it was outrageous. I came to see the movie because [I get] star-struck and as soon as I heard Adam Sandler was coming, I had to buy a ticket! It was cool because he talked like [he was a character in one of] his movies.”
During the Q&A, Sandler revealed that despite sitting courtside at Lakers games with pal Jack Nicholson, he remains commit- ted to the New York Knicks. The Brooklyn native discussed his stint on “Saturday Night Live,” his experience working with former co-star Drew Barrymore and the motivation behind Happy Madison Production Company.
“That was just — all my friends needed jobs,” Sandler said. “We made movies, me and my buddies, and then we wanted to get more of our buddies involved, so we got a building and now we read scripts or write scripts in there. It is pretty fun … there is a lot of dogs and a lot of people writing movies and shit, and we get some of them made — so that is the beauty of it.”
Sandler recalled his college days at New York University, admiration for comedian Eddie Murphy and how he inadvertently stumbled into acting as a career.
“I lucked into it,” Sandler said. “I was actu- ally filling out college applications, and they said, ‘What do you want to major in?’ and I asked my brother because I seriously wasn’t the brightest guy and I didn’t know what the fuck I wanted to do with my life … and [he said] ‘Why don’t you be an actor?’ and I said ‘Yeah, okay!’ and [he said] ‘Be a comedian!’ and I said ‘Yeah, that is a good idea!’ I swear to God that is how it happened.”
Comedy Central comedian Nick Swardson joked about why he did not attend college and poked fun at UCSB’s picture-perfect ocean-side campus.
“I would never graduate here,” Swardson said. “It would be so hard to go to school. It is so gorgeous; everybody is so good-looking. I would jerk off looking at the trees.”
Sandler reconnected with one lucky stu- dent, a former neighbor who said he hopes to follow in the legendary actor’s footsteps. “Hey, [it was] great to see you,” Sandler said. “I am glad you are doing well; I am glad you are staying fit. I told you as a kid: You gotta fuckin’— you gotta work your ass off, buddy! And you stuck with it like we talked about. Great kid … I do remember him all the time being the nicest kid and [saying] ‘Oh, I hope I have a nice kid like that someday.’” The duo fawned over co-star Leighton Meester, describing her as a “sweet, funny, nice girl,” who enjoyed reading on the set, and agreed to sign posters for students after the event.
Staff Writer Carissa Quiambao contributed to this article.
