- Starring
- Adam Sandler, Bill Burr
- Directors
- Robert Marianetti, Robert Smigel, David Wachtenheim
- Rated
- PG
- Genre
- Animation, Children, Comedy, Musical
- Where to watch
- Netflix
Overall Score
Rating Overview
Rating Summary
Adam Sandler began his career playing Theo Huxtable’s friend Smitty on The Cosby Show. Three years later, he was a featured player on SNL. Now, he’s a celebrated comedy icon with a Celebrity Net Worth nearing half a billion dollars. Leo marks his 87th film.
Leo
Leo, the reptile (tuatara are not lizards), and his best buddy Squirtle, the turtle, have spent their entire existence confined behind glass as class pets for a fourth-grade classroom. When Leo discovers his days are numbered, he hatches a plan to break free and pursue the life he’s always yearned for. However, an unexpected twist occurs with the arrival of an old-school substitute teacher. Instead of escaping, Leo is made a class project and given to a different child to be cared for every night.
As he befriends the students, he becomes a source of support as each navigates the challenges in their lives. In turn, the students and he form a unique bond that transcends the confines of the classroom, and Leo begins to understand how much more fulfilling a life of serving others can be than the prospect of a life serving oneself.
Leo is pretty light on over-arcing narrative and is instead mostly a series of mini-episodes linked together by transitional moments spent in the classroom where Leo (Adam Sandler) and Squirtle (Bill Burr) exchange some playful banter before our titular reptile is whisked off for another evening of bonding and problem-solving.
As a rule, it’s difficult to pinpoint exactly what makes an Adam Sandler film funny (which I do… most of the time). They often offer marginal performances and obvious juvenile gags. But, what seems to be the common denominator, is heart.
Even through a lizard-shaped digital avatar who talks like he has a mouth full of cotton, Sandler is able to project a sense of genuine concern for children who are suffering through the modern trials being foisted upon them by progressive narcissistic parents. His soft and slow delivery manages to endear the audience, making it impossible for those with a soul to not root for him.
The Hills Are Alive – Music in Leo
Longtime fans of Sandler remember his rise to prominence with musical characters like Opera Man on Saturday Night Live, and on his R-rated (maybe NC-17) 1993 comedy album “They’re All Gonna Laugh At You!” Suffice it to say that music has played a pivotal role in his career.
Leo’s music (of which there is a considerable amount) fits perfectly with the rest of the program. That is to say, it’s mostly simple and unassuming and, in true Sandler fashion, often feels like sections of lyrics only exist because they rhyme, rather than because they make the most sense.
Yet, somehow patently false lyrics like “..the kids who are most popular are the ones who want to know what other kids think,” work. Again, it’s because Leo’s design is as cute as Sandler’s delivery.
Final Thoughts
Leo benefits from easy banter between Sandler and Burr, addressing simple and universally identifiable themes, and great pacing. It’s not quite a must-see for parents, but it’s cute and sweet, and there are worse family movies to enjoy together.
ROLE MODELS IN LEO
Even though Leo’s early motivation is selfish, he quickly learns the value of helping others and his priorities shift to a genuine desire to do so. Throughout, he is thoughtful and kind.
INAPPROPRIATE ELEMENTS FOR CHILDREN IN LEO
It’s the third one
- The Lord’s name is taken in vain multiple times in the first 20 minutes.
Anatomy of a dirty joke
- There’s an early joke in which Bill Burr’s character alludes to Leo’s penis.
- There’s an early site gag in which Squirtle removes his shell and is seen to be wearing a jock strap.
- His butt cheeks are visible
- He has a tramp-stamp
WOKE ELEMENTS
There’s a lot of diversity on display, but it makes sense for a metropolitan school. Furthermore, while all of the men are problematic in some way, so are all of the women, and the children. Their faults and foibles exist as a commentary against modern parenting and educational techniques.
So we dinged it a few points for the aforementioned inappropriate stuff that didn’t need to be in a show that is otherwise appropriate for little kids.
James Carrick
James Carrick is a passionate film enthusiast with a degree in theater and philosophy. James approaches dramatic criticism from a philosophic foundation grounded in aesthetics and ethics, offering insight and analysis that reveals layers of cinematic narrative with a touch of irreverence and a dash of snark.
9 comments
Dave
December 5, 2023 at 4:53 pm
I think I spotted lesbian moms at the school bus scene.
James Carrick
December 5, 2023 at 4:59 pm
Nothing surprises me anymore.
Sweet Deals
December 6, 2023 at 2:40 pm
This sort of thing has been going on for several years in books and movies intended for children. Usually, homosexuality or the homosexual character is unrelated or irrelevant to the plot, but the narrative has to be interrupted to mention that a given character is homosexual or has an irrelevant homosexual relative, or acts like homosexuality is normal, often for no reason other than to make homosexuality more visible. It usually is paired with a tacit threat; the culture has declared that homosexuality is normal and cool and always has been, so anyone who thinks that your two lovey-dovey, slobbering moms aren’t the coolest must obviously hate families, and anyone who doesn’t approve of the heroine’s choice to stop dating men and start dating other women is on the villainous side of history, so shame on you for thinking that it might be disgusting or weird.
Usually, creators do this intentionally to trick children through example and peer pressure, and they usually smuggle it into something ordinary and unassuming when they hope adults aren’t looking closely enough to notice it. As a viewer, I don’t appreciate these tactics because I feel like I’m being tricked, and I’m especially worried for impressionable children who accept everything they see because they don’t fully understand what makes something right or wrong other than what people tell them.
Unless, of course, the film might be showing that having homosexual parents can come with challenges because people in homosexual relationships, especially women, tend to be emotionally unstable and project those issues onto their children, if not each other. The review suggested something like that might be the case.
Xenia Shang
December 7, 2023 at 2:38 pm
Why is it always the women who project those issues?
Sweet Deals
December 7, 2023 at 4:55 pm
It’s not only the women, but they tend to do it more visibly. I should have included a male example for inclusivity’s sake.
Remember the film ParaNorman? The film runs relatively ordinary, with an ordinary message about “people who have major differences aren’t necessarily bad and shouldn’t be condemned”, since the main character can talk to ghosts and his ancestor was burned as a witch for doing the same. Then, at the very end of the film, the clueless teenage boy that the older sister has been futilely chasing the entire film reveals that he has a boyfriend, even though it’s irrelevant to the story and his character. This is calculated to coincide with the “don’t hate people for being different” message to create a false equivalency; either you accept his homosexuality wholeheartedly or you’re on the side of the bigots who killed an innocent girl after accusing her of witchcraft.
I’ve seen this trick used many times. It works by framing wokeness as heroic and kind, and shaming those who don’t get with the program as evil. Wokeness relies heavily on deceit and bullying tactics like this because it requires people to accept things that would otherwise be unacceptable, and many of the purveyors of wokeness know it well.
Xenia Shang
December 7, 2023 at 11:02 pm
I see. I’ll admit I didn’t actually watch ParaNorman. I just watched a clip of Norman calming Aggie down on YouTube when I was a preteen. I’m just more harsher towards women projecting those issues.
Xenia Shang
December 8, 2023 at 3:33 pm
*I tend to be more harsher when women do these shameful things.
RS Carter
December 12, 2023 at 9:15 pm
Couldn’t make it past 3 minutes in, and turned it off. Pretty sure I didn’t miss a thing.
James Carrick
December 12, 2023 at 9:48 pm
You didn’t. It really doesn’t have much to offer adults. That said, the first 10 minutes are the worst of the film.