Review of Billy Madison (1995) by Sean L — 14 Apr 2011
Born right in the heart of the golden era of SNL goofball idiot comedy, this lands somewhere near the middle of the pack in terms of overall watchability. It's a completely moronic premise that serves as nothing more than a thin vehicle to move from one throwaway sight gag to the next, but never has any illusions about evolving into something bigger.
The film sticks with its bread and butter, a series of skits that would've been right at home on a particularly brainless episode of SNL, while dedicating as little time as possible to furthering the plot.
Fortunately, many of the jokes and puns are still genuinely funny, although the ratio between those that kill and those that go down in flames is pretty weak when compared to some of its contemporaries.
A few great one-liners from this one still pop up in my vocabulary today, but not with anywhere near the frequency of the best moments from Wayne's World or Tommy Boy. Like the original Ace Ventura, it hasn't aged spectacularly, but there are worse ways to kill ninety minutes.
This review of Billy Madison (1995) was written by Sean L on 14 Apr 2011.
Billy Madison has generally received mixed reviews.
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