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Adam Sandler: Critics hail Netflix release 100% Fresh as 'great entertainment’ and actor's 'best work in years'

Previous releases The Ridiculous 6 and Bucky Larson received zero per cent on Rotten Tomatoes

Jacob Stolworthy

Thursday 01 November 2018 10:44

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100% fresh trailer

The latest Adam Sandler project to debut on Netflix is garnering extremely positive reviews.

Sandler has long been an actor most associated with critically-maligned comedies. In 2014, the streaming service signed Sandler up to a four-movie deal, the releases of which were lapped up by subscribers but despised by critics: The Ridiculous 6 and Bucky Larson: Born to Be a Star scored zero per cent on Rotten Tomatoes with later titles Sandy Wexler, The Do Over and The Week Of not faring much better.

However, his new stand-up – the perhaps ironically-titled 100% Fresh – is getting thumbs up across the board. It’s compiled using dozens of live performances from venues across the US and is said to see Sandler on the best form in years.

As it stands, the comedy special is not too far away from the 100% mark, sitting comfortably at 92% – the actor’s best score since The Meyerowitz Stories (New and Selected).

100% Fresh is directed by his longtime collaborator Steven Brill (Little Nicky) with assistance from none other than Paul Thomas Anderson who worked with Sandler on Punch Drunk Love in 2002.

All the Netflix Original films coming out in 2018

Show all 8

1/8All the Netflix Original films coming out in 2018

Two haunted family men join forces in a destructive crusade to rescue their families from a tropical paradise, after becoming convinced that an American timeshare conglomerate has a sinister plan to take their loved ones away.

Netflix

A year after Amber helped Richard secure the crown, the two are set to tie the knot in a royal Christmas wedding - but their plans are jeopardized when Amber finds herself second-guessing whether or not she's cut out to be queen, and Richard is faced with a political crisis that threatens to tarnish not only the holiday season, but the future of the kingdom.

Netflix

Acclaimed actor and director Andy Serkis reinvents Rudyard Kipling’s beloved masterpiece, in which a boy torn between two worlds accepts his destiny and becomes a legend. Mowgli (Rohan Chand) has never truly belonged in either the wilds of the jungle or the civilized world of man. Now he must navigate the inherent dangers of each on a journey to discover where he truly belongs. Christian Bale, Cate Blanchett, Benedict Cumberbatch, Andy Serkis, Freida Pinto, Rohan Chand, Matthew Rhys and Naomie Harris lead an all-star cast in this visually spectacular and emotionally moving adventure.

Netflix

Christmas is coming. An Italian political delegation, led by our Premier, is on an official visit to Hungary. In addition to his political commitments, the Premier intends to spend, secretly, a few happy hours in the company of a young member of parliament traveling with the delegation. Everything seems to proceed for the better until the two clumsy lovers find themselves with a mysterious corpse in the suite of the luxurious hotel where they stay.

Netflix

Dumplin’ (Danielle Macdonald) is the plus-size, teenage daughter of a former beauty queen (Jennifer Aniston), who signs up for her mom’s pageant as a protest that escalates when other contestants follow her footsteps, revolutionizing the pageant and their small Texas town.

Netflix

The most personal project to date from Academy Award®-winning director and writer Alfonso Cuarón (Gravity, Children of Men, Y Tu Mama Tambien), ROMA follows Cleo (Yalitza Aparicio), a young domestic worker for a family in the middle-class neighborhood of Roma in Mexico City. Delivering an artful love letter to the women who raised him, Cuarón draws on his own childhood to create a vivid and emotional portrait of domestic strife and social hierarchy amidst political turmoil of the 1970s. Cuarón’s first project since the groundbreaking Gravity in 2013, ROMA will be available in theaters and on Netflix later this year.

Netflix

When a mysterious force decimates the world’s population, only one thing is certain: if you see it, you take your life. Facing the unknown, Malorie finds love, hope and a new beginning only for it to unravel. Now she must flee with her two children down a treacherous river to the one place left that may offer sanctuary. But to survive, they'll have to undertake the perilous two-day journey blindfolded. Academy Award winner Sandra Bullock leads an all-star cast that includes Trevante Rhodes, with Sarah Paulson, and John Malkovich in Bird Box, a compelling new thriller from Academy Award winner Susanne Bier.

Netflix

With the support of her father, a 15-year-old transgender girl pursues her dream of becoming a professional ballerina. Winner of the Camera d’Or for best first film at this year’s Cannes Film Festival as well as the Best Actor Prize for Un Certain Regard.

Netflix

You can see a selection of the special’s reviews below.

“Sandler is clearly having fun. His spirit flows out of the special, and it reminds you of the Sandler we all used to love.”

“Whether he’s giving a nuanced performance, standing back at a lazy de facto family reunion, or telling silly jokes on a relatively unadorned stage, Sandler feels like himself-and 100% Fresh is a particularly likeable, unfussy iteration.”

“Thankfully, his first comedy special in decades, 100% Fresh, is a refreshingly great bit of entertainment, especially for anyone who has been a fan of the musically-inclined performer since the 1990s.”

Washington Post

“[The reason] why it’s good might be illuminating: It relies on nothing but Sandler’s absurdist observations, and puerile humour distilled in short parody songs that can’t help but worm their way into your head.”

100% Fresh is available to stream on Netflix now

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