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Gone are the days when Adam Sandler was one of the most bankable stars in comedy, so it’s almost fitting that his death knell is a movie made for kids about the existential dread of being a senior citizen.Leois an utter misfire on all levels, with an approach that will have viewers scratching their heads and rolling their eyes at the sheer number of bad decisions that were made here.
The film follows a 74-year-old lizard who decides to make an escape attempt from the classroom terrarium he has called home, only to find an unexpected connection with the students. It’s mostly harmless, as many kids’ movies are, but it’s also not particularly funny and generally pretty annoying.
The more interesting part of the story is not the lizard’s mortality crisis, but the stories of all of the children he helps along the way. But as this is Sandler’s starring vehicle, he often ends up stealing the spotlight from the characters that are much more compelling and relatable — even if they are somewhat generic.
Leois ugly, unfunny, and bland
The humor is pretty much exactly what one would expect from a Sandler comedy aimed at an elementary school audience. It’s a lot of goofy gags, and some toilet humor thrown in for good measure. As is the case with much of Sandler’s recent output, he goes all-in on a few recurring gags, which can be funny at first but outstay their welcome.
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Adam Sandler voices the lead character inLeo, playing a curmudgeonly old lizard dealing with his mortality. He’s doing a really weird accent here that you can still tell is Sandler doing a voice, but it’s annoying compared to a lot of his other more exaggerated characters. Hey, maybe it’s a compliment that Sandler can’t convincingly play old, though.
The supporting cast here is largely unexceptional. Bill Burr has the biggest role as Sandler’s sidekick, but he doesn’t get many laughs — essentially serving as the straight man to Sandler’s goofball. Other comedians like Cecily Strong, Jason Alexander, Rob Schneider, and Jo Koy give performances so unspectacular that you can barely recognize it’s them.
One of the more baffling things aboutLeois that the filmmakers attempt to make it a musical, but the music is genuinely awful. Although it’s clear the vocal performances aren’t meant to sound polished, they end up being grating rather than relatably charming as had been intended. It also doesn’t lean heavily enough into the irony for the songs to work as comedy music.
Also pretty bad is the animation. The character design for the animal characters is generic, but the design for the human characters is incredibly questionable. How they animate the children makes them look inhuman, and while that is part of the joke, it ruins any sort of immersion viewers could have in this world.
For those hoping that making another movie for a younger audience would reignite the fire in Adam Sandler, they are sure to be disappointed byLeo. The animated musical is unfunny, and even worse, absolutely ugly and unpleasant. The combination of generic writing, bad music, and bland animation make this one to skip.
Leois now in theaters and streams on Netflix beginning November 21.
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Rating: 3/10
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Sean Boelman
Managing Editor for Film and TV
Articles Published :441
Sean is the Managing Editor for Film and Television, working to determine editorial strategy for the critics team. He has been on the FandomWire team since 2022.In addition to writing reviews himself, Sean helps match writers on the FandomWire team with assignments that best fit their interests and expertise.
