There was a time in the early 2000s when it looked like Rob Schneider was going to be the next Adam Sandler. A fellow Saturday Night Live vet, Schneider stole scenes in a few Happy Madison comedies, particularly The Waterboy (“you can do it!”) and his solo star vehicle debut, Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo, was a smash, raking in over 90 million dollars worldwide. His follow-ups, including The Animal, Deuce Bigalow: European Gigolo, The Benchwarmers and The Hot Chick (where he memorably switched bodies with Rachel McAdams), were critically savaged but still made money. Yet, the budgets got smaller. So he gradually started making his way to the DTV market while still appearing in the occasional Sandler flick, usually under heavy makeup and often portraying another ethnicity.
So what happened? Did Schneider’s politics or style of comedy relegate him to a smaller audience? We take a look at his career in this episode of WTF Happened to this Celebrity, which shows that perhaps the notion of Schneider’s decline is overblown, as the guy is still incredibly busy and undoubtedly a beloved MVP of Adam Sandler’s Happy Madison ensemble.
WTF Happened to this Celebrity is written by Brad Hamerly and Taylor James Johnson. Taylor James Johnson is also the editor, narrator and producer! Check out previous instalments of the series below, and don’t forget to let us know your thoughts on Rob Schneider in the comments!