Billy Madison (1995) on Netflix
Billy Madison, 27, lives off his father Brian's hotel fortune. After Billy embarrasses Brian at a dinner, Brian names Eric Gordon his successor and challenges Billy to pass grades 1 through 12.
- Netflix3.7/5
- IMDb6.4/10169,284 votes
- Rotten Tomatoes42%
Trailer
Plot summary
Billy Madison is 27 and has spent his adult life on the family estate, partying with friends rather than preparing to run Madison Hotels, the Fortune 500 company his parents founded. After he embarrasses his father Brian at an important dinner meeting, the widowed Brian decides to hand control to his vice president, Eric Gordon. Billy pleads for another chance, and Brian tells him how he passed school: teachers were bribed. The two strike a deal. Billy must pass all twelve grades, two weeks each, before his father will consider him for the job. He returns to elementary school, where he earns the respect of his third grade teacher, Veronica Vaughn.
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Cast
- Vincent Marinoas Cook
Did you know?!Facts and trivia about Billy Madison (1995)
Can contain spoilers, watch the movie first.
- Director Davis says Sandler told her before the dodgeball scene that he planned to throw the balls hard and genuinely hurt the children. He did so, with parental permission, and she described the result as "a full-on assault", adding that every shot had to be cut because the children were crying.
- Sandler lobbied for his former Saturday Night Live colleague Bob Odenkirk to play the antagonist Eric Gordon, but the studio declined, as Odenkirk was not yet considered a serious actor; Philip Seymour Hoffman then auditioned and turned the part down, and it eventually went to Bradley Whitford.
- Adam Sandler initially convinced Universal Pictures to hire Stephen Kessler as director, but after three days of filming Universal was dissatisfied with the footage and replaced him with Tamra Davis, who had originally been the studio's top choice for the job.
- Chris Farley prepared for his role as the overworked and erratic bus driver by reportedly drinking six shots of espresso just before his scene was filmed.
- The film received generally negative reviews from critics, but in subsequent years Billy Madison developed a cult following and is frequently ranked as one of Sandler's most popular and defining works.
