For years, Happy Madison has been the go-to home for Adam Sandler and his fellow Gen Xers, including Rob Schneider, David Spade, and Kevin James. But now that Sandler’s nepotistic production has switched from his friends to his literal family, a funny thing happened. Just as Sandman began building star cars for his two daughters, Happy Madison has become, in an unlikely way, a thriving ecosystem for people. movies directed by women About the experiences of teenage girls. Sonny Sandler lovingly explored his middle school troubles with a sweet surprise you are not invited to my bat mitzvah I’m planning to try out for High School Musical later this year. Don’t wish me luck. Now, her older sister, Sadie, is a half-hearted but endearing comedy on Netflix that highlights the ups and downs of being a college freshman. Roommate.
Indeed, both strength and weakness, roommate It’s about trying to make two movies into one. The opening, in which two modern-day college roommates (Storm Reid and Ivy Walk) break up in a very awkward and public manner on the lawn outside their dormitory, has some delightfully absurdist elements. After screaming about bloody napkins and throwing an air fryer out a third-floor window, they were called to the Dean of Students’ office (saturday night liveSarah Sherman). To scare them straight, she decides to recount the story of another troubled roommate whose initial friendship solidified into something even more troublesome.
The film thus flashes back to introduce Devon (Sandler), an academically talented high school graduate with few friends who decides that college is finally his time to shine. On a wild pre-university trip, her efforts go unrewarded at first, but she eventually hits it off with a casually cool girl, Celeste (Chloe East). Their friendship is deep, so it’s easy to say yes to sharing a dorm room in the fall. But when she actually moves in, the usual roommate problems (like stealing clothes or not using her headphones at 2 a.m.) gradually escalate into bigger red flags, like Celeste getting involved with Devon’s family and having an affair with a guy in Devon’s bed.
Although Dean of Student Life’s framing device is intentionally high, Sandler and East are great in bringing a level of emotional realism to the complex bond between the two parts of Devon and Celeste. girl,part single white woman. Every time Celeste crosses the line, there’s another moment to cheer Devon up. They tweak their makeup, make sure they look cool in front of their high school classmates, and go all out with their birthday decorations. The end credits eventually roll to charli xcx’s “Girl, So Confusing,” and that’s exactly the dynamic happening within the walls of their dorm room. Does Celeste like Devon? Does she hate her? Or are they both just projecting a lot of personal baggage onto each other? As Charlie sings, “Being a girl can be so confusing sometimes.”
In fact, the experiences of college girls are not really explored in the movie, and the script is very specific and full of jokes. SNL Authors Jimmy Fowley and Ceara O’Sullivan. roommate We understand the friendships of odd couples formed solely based on who lives across the hall, the way dorm room experiences can amplify or erase class differences, and the codependency that often arises when young people who are used to being part of a family unit suddenly become semi-adults together. Fowley and O’Sullivan respect the independence and intelligence of 19-year-old girls while also laughing at their flaws, whether it’s the boarder who’s on the phone with her high school boyfriend 24/7 or the girl who boasts that four posters on her wall sum up her entire personality. ignorancean advertisement for the Grateful Dead, a Basquiat show, and a portrait of Karl Marx.
As her, the director Chandler Rebak She draws on her experience in humanist dramas such as: i like movies and mile end kick It brings out wonderfully lively performances from the entire ensemble. Nick Kroll stands unexpectedly firmly as a loving father who quietly has high expectations for his daughter. Natasha Lyonne feels like a suburban mother who has only one life to live. Billy Brick effectively straddles the line between creepy and sweet as the senior who has an affair with Devon. Most heartwarming of all is the bond between Devon and his younger brother Alex (Aidan Langford). Her younger brother Alex (Aidan Langford) is teased for her irresponsible way of smoking joints and is probably gay (though no one in the family is in a hurry to make him reveal it).
All these warm relationship dynamics contribute to how the more insular Celeste views and potentially sabotages Devon. Her studied nonchalance hides a lot of jealousy, just as Devon’s people-pleasing personality hides a lot of resentment. The problem is roommateThe emotional realism is so convincing that by the time it decides to turn into a full-fledged black comedy, you can’t help but be disappointed with the ending. To be fair, the film doesn’t exactly depict fast stuff, as that’s the setting promised by the framing device, and the cast is equally committed to the higher comedy once it arrives. However, those two tones just make your roommate feel awkward. You long to see one or the other fully explored rather than squeezed into a small space. At least it’s a very thematic problem.
director: Chandler Rebak
writer: Jimmy Fowley, Ceara O’Sullivan
starring: Sadie Sandler, Chloe East, Sarah Sherman, Nick Kroll, Natasha Lyonne, Aidan Langford, Billy Brick, Bella Murphy, Jaya Harper, Storm Reid, Ivy Walk, Janine Garofalo, Carol Kane
release date: April 17, 2026 (Netflix)
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