Jim Carrey and Adam Sandler are among Hollywood's best comedic actors. They both started to peak around the 90s doing some of their career-defining films. Since then, they became multi-generational favorites, making them the go-to for family movie nights. They continued to make the same impact when they both forayed into dramatic acting as well. These parallels in their careers have got people debating which one is actually better than the other.
Before we get into the fans' verdict, let's talk about some numbers about the actors' careers first. Both Carrey and Sandler have a number of box office hits under their belts. The average earning of the Happy Gilmore actor per box office film is $190 million. That's for his 34 movies. On the other hand, the Joe Biden impersonator earned a total gross of $699 million in one year from only three movies: Ace Ventura, The Mask, and Dumb and Dumber. This was in 1994 when Carrey was just starting. On average, he earns $239 million per movie.
Already, we know why fans are leaning towards Jim Carrey being more likable than Adam Sandler. But here are the specific reasons most fans love The Cable Guy more than The Waterboy.
Adam Sandler Is Only 'Good At Dumb Comedy'
Jim Carrey's films may have a higher average earning. But in the last years, Adam Sandler's blockbuster contract with Netflix has allowed him to continue making more hits, unlike Carrey who kind of laid low starting the 2000s. Still, the fans don't think the 50 First Dates star necessarily makes good movies. In a Reddit thread, a fan said, "Sandler is only still getting movie roles because he's good at dumb comedy which is a profitable market." Many fans agreed with the Reddit user.
One even said, "Adam Sandler has forever and utterly tanked my opinion of him with the trash he has made in recent years. A dozen Uncut Gems won't make me forgive him for Jack and Jill, Pixels, Ridiculous 6, etc." To be fair, Sandler may have made more movies in the last years, but the bad ones he did might forever haunt a lot of people. Of course, Carrey has also done a few disappointing films, but unlike Sandler's, they're forgettable or aren't really what fans will always attach to Jim Carrey.
Jim Carrey Has 'More Range' Than Adam Sandler
In the same Reddit thread, many fans pointed out how Jim Carrey has more range than Adam Sandler. Fans were discussing the actors' performances in The Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and Uncut Gems, respectively. To many of them, these are the dramatic films that perfectly show how far the two actors could go from comedy. Still, it's Team Bruce Almighty on this category again. A Reddit user wrote, "Sandler is perfectly capable too, I just think Carrey has better versatility as a dramatic actor."
Rotten Tomatoes seems to agree. Jim Carrey has a 51% Tomatometer average while Adam Sandler is considered "rotten" with only 37%. When it comes to their dramatic performance, what makes fans gravitate towards Carrey is his ability to go completely out of his animated comedy and into a whole new deeper character.
"He's [Carrey] a better dramatic actor who can deliver subtle nuances in a way Sandler can't do as well, " a Reddit user wrote. Even for the movie/TV review site itself, Sandler kind of plays the same roles, and his dramatic range can be simply categorized as "Sander with a great director."
Fans Think Jim Carrey Is Funnier Than Adam Sandler
According to Rotten Tomatoes, Adam Sandler's highest-ranking comedy film is The Wedding Singer which got 68%. For Jim Carrey, it's Liar Liar at 81%. That's a pretty telling difference. According to fans, Sandler simply tends to go over the top with his antics while Carrey's line delivery and signature animated comedy always bring joy.
Another thing fans noticed is that when Carrey stars in a comedy movie, he becomes the center of it all. With Sandler's movies, he isn't always the main source of laughter. His comedic co-stars play a huge part in making his films so hilarious.
Despite the preference for Jim Carrey, fans are still hoping they'd see him work with Adam Sandler one day. They also think other great comedians could join them; maybe Will Ferrell, Sacha Baron Cohen, etc. You know, kind of like The Expendables but with comedy actors. We're not sure if that's actually going to be a good movie, but we're sure it'll bring a lot of laughs.
