Billy Madison (1995)

A completely spoiled, obnoxious, simple-minded moron is told he will have to go back and finish grade school in order to prove he is capable enough to take over the family business and save it from the evil asshole who would inherit it.

This was Adam Sandler's first major leading role, coming hot off his success from SNL, in which he pretty much played the same gibberish-speaking cretin. This stuff was funny back before it wore out its welcome and, in some ways, this is one of the best comedies Sandler ever made because it was still pure.

There are two ways to review a movie like this: One is with a critical eye and the other is based on how much I personally enjoyed it. How funny you find this is directly proportional to your willingness to laugh at utter stupidity. I find it fucking hilarious. It doesn't have to be any more complicated than that.

3 flaming bags of poop out of 5

Airheads (1994)

Brendan Fraser, Steve Buscemi and Adam Sandler play three dopey members of a struggling rock band who hijack a local radio station in an attempt to get their demo tape played on the air. The situation escalates quickly from there as hostages and cops add to the chaos. It's a decent enough set-up, but my main issue is that not much happens in the 90 minute runtime and the stakes feel low. Despite strong performances from all involved, it's neither clever nor memorable beyond the premise, while the overall execution is lacking.

2½ Beavis & Butt-Head cameos out of 5

Coneheads (1993)

Let's address the elephant in the room: Yeah, they look like butt plugs. Based on the popular SNL sketch, Dan Aykroyd and Jane Curtin reprise their roles as aliens from the planet Remulak who crash land on Earth and whose cover is that they're from France to explain their eccentricities. It's a one-note joke, but never short on creativity, and the practical effects are weird and cool. This one is an oddity, which makes it appealing to fans of bad media. It's the kind of bizarre approach that reminds me of The Addams Family at times. Jam-packed with so many bit parts from SNL alumni, I had to leave out half of the credits.

2½ rows of teeth out of 5

Almost Heroes (1998)

Chris Farley's final on-screen role (before tragically succumbing at 33) has him teaming up with Matthew Perry (another tragic case) as 2 buffoonish pioneers who race against Lewis & Clark to chart the United States in a Western comedy that summons to mind Wagons East (John Candy's last film). There are enough laughs to fill out the runtime although the effort is largely uneven as a whole. Farley does most of the heavy lifting, while Perry plays the smarmy straight man role, essentially replacing David Spade (but without all the chemistry).

2½ eagle eggs out of 5

Beverly Hills Ninja (1997)

Chris Farley's next big screen outing proved that he could capably headline his own solo feature film. Adopted into a Japanese monestary as a baby and believed to be the prophecized "Great White Ninja," Haru is raised as one of their own and trained in the ninjutsu ways, but still grows up to be fat and clumsy. He is recruited on a mission to Beverly Hills by a beautiful woman where it becomes a strange fish out of water story, in a take on films like American Ninja and Beverly Hills Cop. The laughs are big and broad, which might not be suited to everyone's sensibilities, but it's funny if you bring yourself down to its level. These movies are sweet at their core and don't deserve the amount of critical vitriol they received at the time. I just want to live in the spaces where it exists because life seemed a lot simpler back then.

3½ astral projections out of 5

Black Sheep (1996)

Chris Farley plays the bumbling brother to a politician running for governor, whose misguided attempts to help him out requires David Spade's character to intervene to keep him in line, in a retread on the familiar Tommy Boy formula. It's not quite the good-natured comedy classic that film was, but the chemistry between Farley and Spade is off the charts and the laughs are contagious. The flimsy plot is not as important as the set-ups which involve a lot of slapstick humor and moments designed to showcase their broad comedy style. It might not be the funniest buddy comedy, but it does have its heart in the right place.

3 puddings in the pants out of 5

Tommy Boy (1995)

One of the most beloved comedy duos of all time was the short-lived team-up of Chris Farley and David Spade, who developed a winning chemistry together on Saturday Night Live which successfully translated to the silver screen. Portraying the dumb, fat oaf with a heart of gold and the smarmy, sarcastic asshole who serves as his foil, they hit the road together as Tommy (Farley) becomes heir apparent to his father's auto parts empire while Richard (Spade) must keep him in check. The laughs in this movie are infectious and hit more often than not. It's a shame we didn't get to see more of these two together before Farley's life was tragically cut short. For some people, this might just be another dumb buddy comedy, but it's a great example of how do it well.

4 Holy Schnikes! out of 5

Wayne's World 2 (1993)

After being shut out backstage at Aerosmith, Wayne resolves to create his own music festival called Waynestock, inspired by a vision of Jim Morrison and Field of Dreams ("If you book them, they will come"). Meanwhile, his girlfriend Cassandra's (Tia Carrere) new sleazebag producer (Christopher Walken) is looking to steal her from under Wayne's nose, while Garth gets involved with a mysterious woman named Honey Hornée (Kim Basinger).

Less well regarded than the original, it's neither as funny nor memorable, but if you love these characters, there's little to dislike. Other than that, it's more of the same with Wayne and Garth, and that's good enough for me. Party on.

3½ weird naked Indians out of 5

Wayne's World (1992)

I don't really feel the need to justify why this is a fun comedy, but it's a great example of being a product of its time and one of the best representations of the early '90s. Mike Myers and Dana Carvey bring their basement dwelling metalheads from Saturday Night Live to the big screen in a meta plot that involves adapting their public-access show for mainstream audiences. It's mostly an excuse for funny one-liners and catchphrases, but there's a lot of clever plot devices being employed here. Between this and Austin Powers, Myers dominated the '90s comedy scene. If you were a weird, grungy '90s kid, stuff like this and Beavis & Butt-Head were peak. No need to overthink it.

4 Schwings! out of 5

Note: You ever notice how many comedy posters have cloudy blue skies?