From ‘Saturday Night Live’ to ‘Big Stan’: A Comedic Journey
Rob Schneider, the former “Saturday Night Live” funnyman and Adam Sandler’s comedic cohort, transitioned from sporadic jokes to leading roles in the late 90s with “Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo.” He then starred in memorable films like “The Animal” (2001) and “The Hot Chick,” eventually culminating in his magnum opus, “Big Stan.”
The Making of ‘Big Stan’
“Big Stan” is truly Schneider’s show. He directed, produced, and starred in the film, even enduring a sunstroke during filming at an actual women’s prison near Death Valley. In essence, this film marks the pinnacle of his career, focusing, in the most concise terms, on the significance of the anus.
The Plot Unfolds
Stan (Schneider), a con artist, is apprehended in his office while swindling a vulnerable elderly woman with dubious real estate, cynically exploiting the idea that in a dangerous neighborhood, an elderly white woman “will be popular with black men with large penises.” Stan is sentenced to prison but granted six months of freedom before his sentence begins.
Realizing he won’t magically become tougher in six months, Schneider’s character panics and takes a series of comical yet effective measures to protect his anus from the impending prison penetration. He gets a tattoo around his sphincter, which is not shown to the audience but described as a monster peering from the abyss into the soul. He hires David Carradine, an incomparable kung fu-practicing bum who enjoys extinguishing cigarettes in his personal health cocktail and knows the secret “five-finger death punch” (Stan is taught one finger due to time constraints).
Absurdity and Redemption
The film features bizarre finger-related antics, second only to the psychotronic tattoo and Carradine’s chain-smoking. Thanks to the soul-gazing sphincter, the death finger, prison soap nunchucks, trained pectoral muscles, and his wit, Stan saves his behind from doom, compels skinheads, Latinos, and rappers to read English classics to each other, confronts the corrupt prison warden, becomes Big Stan, and improves the world slightly.
A Recommendation with a Caveat
It’s crucial to consider how far one can go with “Big Stan” in terms of recommendations and enjoyment. We strongly recommend this film because the only thing children shouldn’t watch in “Big Stan” without parental supervision is the large black dildo Stan asks his wife to use to deflower him the night before his imprisonment (apparently, this prop led English officials to ban the film for those under 15).
Schneider leaves everything else to the viewer’s imagination, which worked perfectly at the premiere: the audience enthusiastically applauded and chuckled throughout. Regardless of Freudian interpretations, this response seems natural and appropriate. Ultimately, the man succeeds in life without killing anyone and gains respect in society. This translates to self-esteem, civic awareness, a stronger middle class, and the protection of family values.
Therefore, of all types of American humor, anal humor, oddly enough, turns out to be the most civic-minded.