Maybe Only Adam Sandler Can Save Us

The world is a stressful place right now, which is precisely why the world needs more Adam Sandler. So concludes author JoAnna Novak in a New York Times essay after taking her father to see a live show by the comedian and actor in Chicago last month. Novak writes that it was a dicey time in the city because of immigration raids and protests, but she then "realized that the best reprieve from the current moment was 100 percent Adam Sandler." Her piece lays out the reasons:

• Sandler "has long demonstrated an indefatigable good will, allegiance and amity toward the goons and goofs of the world. It's precisely his ability to leaven the silly and scatological with the presence of a generous and vulnerable soul that makes him so invaluable." Yes, he can be lewd, "but dirty jokes have never been the whole story with him, and that's why I believe he's such a salve—at his core, it's so clear that he has heart."
• "Sandler has always understood, in his various guises, that fun and humor are what create the conditions for humane connection. That night in Chicago, despite the terror encroaching around us, there we were, thousands of people ready to crack the walls of darkness by cracking up together in the dark."
• Read the full piece.