Billy Madison (1995)
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Plot

Billy Madison centers on a 27-year-old of the same name who has to redo every grade of school in order to take over his father's company. For all his life he has been taking advantage of his father's prestigious hotel chain and has spent each day getting wasted with his friends and causing a ruckus.

A ferocious battle between shampoo and conditioner

One day, Billy (Adam Sandler) attends a dinner with his father, Brian (Darren McGavin) along with his associates. After proving to be a disturbance during the meal, Brian loses all faith in Billy and decides to hand the company down to Eric Gordon (Bradley Whitford) instead. Billy, who hates Eric more than anything, pleads to his father to give him a second chance. Brian reveals that the only reason Billy passed school as because he bribed the teachers, and this leads Billy to make a proposal: if he passes elementary school, junior high, and high school in twenty-four weeks (two weeks per grade) he gets the company instead of Eric. The compromise is accepted and Billy starts out by enrolling in first grade. Billy quickly becomes attracted to the third grade teacher, Veronica Vaughn (Bridgette Wilson), who is greatly annoyed by his presence at first and sees him as a distraction. However, when Billy enters third grade and defends a student on a field trip, she begins to respect him.

As Billy continues through school, Eric continues to be frustrated by his progression. Eventually, when Billy enters high school, Eric blackmails the elementary school principal, Max Anderson (Josh Mostel), and has him announce on TV that Billy bribed him to let him pass. Brian, furious at the news and ignorant to the fact that it's false, gives the company to Eric. Billy returns to his drunken lifestyle, but ends up getting his act together and returning to school after Veronica convinces him to and his third grade friends convince the principal to take back what he said.

When Brian agrees to give Billy yet another chance, Eric threatens to sue him. Billy proposes that they put on an academic decathlon that will determine who Brian's successor is. The two compete in several activities including acting, chemistry, and instrument playing. It all comes down to a Jeopardy style game in which a category is chosen by one of them and the other must answer a question from that category. When Eric's turn arrives, he stumbles for words when asked about business ethics. Not willing to give up, he pulls a gun out and is prepared to shoot Billy when Max, dressed up in his wrestling outfit, charges onto the stage and tackles him. Despite being sacked by the large man, Eric gets back on his feet for another murder attempt but is incapacitated when Danny McGrath (Steve Buscemi), whom Billy apologized to earlier for his bullying, shoots Eric in the buttocks with a sniper rifle.

In the end, Billy graduates and decides to hand the company to Carl Alphones (Larry Hankin), who was an employee at the hotel chain and a good friend of Billy's.

Reception

Despite being released on DVD and VHS, Billy Madison received negative reviews from critics. Critics cited the lack of motivation for Billy's sometimes outlandish behavior, and some said that Adam Sandler isn't a strong main character.

	Adam Sandler	Billy Madison
	Darren McGavin	Brian Madison
	Bridgette Wilson	Veronica Vaughn
	Bradley Whitford	Eric Gordon
	Josh Mostel	Principal Max Anderson
	Norm MacDonald	Frank
	Mark Beltzman	Jack
	Larry Hankin	Carl Alphonse
	Theresa Merritt	Juanita
	Dina Platias	Miss Lippy
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Name	Billy Madison
US Release	Feb. 10, 1995
UK Release	April 5, 1996
AUS Release	July 20, 1995
Runtime	90
Language(s)	Add a new language English
Genre(s)	Add a new genre Comedy
Theme(s)	Add a new theme
Rating	PG-13
Alias(es)

Domestic	$25,588,734
Foreign	+$900,000

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Billy Madison (1995) Add

Plot

Reception

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Billy Madison (1995)
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