Rob Schneider Stars In One Of The Biggest Streaming Comedies Today
Rob Schneider's The Animal is a streaming hit on HBO Max.
Rob Schneider has had a relatively successful career spanning a stint with Saturday Night Live and film appearances with buddies Adam Sandler and David Spade. Still, the actor has faded into the background of Hollywood, mostly taking on voice acting and cameo appearances in the past decade. Now, Rob Schneider may be back: According to a FlixPatrol report, Schneider’s comedy film The Animal is currently booming on streaming platforms.
Rob Scneider’s The Animal was within the top 10 on HBO Max’s streaming platform last week, peaking at number eight. Released in 2001, The Animal is a Rob Schneider-led comedy film written by Schneider and director Tom Brady (not to be confused with the football player). That follows the transformation of a police station evidence clerk who is critically injured. When he is brought back from the brink of death by a scientist, he realizes that they used transplanted animal parts which have caused him to take on the characteristics of the various animals that are now part of his DNA.
The Animal was not a critical darling by any means, brandishing a 30 percent on Rotten Tomatoes and a 4.8 out of 10 on IMDb. The film was also criticized when it was discovered that Sony had created a fictitious film critic named David Manning to fake publicity and critical praise for Rob Schneider and the film. Ultimately, it helped earned Schneider a Razzie nomination for Worst Actor of the Decade.
It’s quite possible that Rob Schneider’s The Animal is having a moment on streaming platforms because of a recent 2022 announcement that the film would finally be getting a sequel after over two decades. In October 2022, it was announced that a sequel is in development, with Rob Schneider set to reprise his role, direct, and co-write the script. It remains to be seen what other actors and crewmembers from the original film will reprise their roles.
Although not a common figure in Hollywood now, it felt like Rob Schneider was everywhere in the 1990s and early 2000s. Rob Schneider began his career as a stand-up comedian before landing a gig with Saturday Night Live from 1988 to 1994. From there, he went on to make an appearance in SNL co-star Adam Sandler’s film The Waterboy, which popularized the running catchphrase “You can do it!” Schneider would go on to appear using the phrase in a number of Sandler’s films, including Little Nicky, 50 First Dates, The Longest Yard, and Bedtime Stories.
Rob Schneider may best be known for his starring role in the 1999 comedy Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo, which saw him playing a down-on-their-luck fishtank cleaner-turned-gigolo. Schneider also had starring roles in The Hot Chick which saw the film debut of Rachel McAdams, the sequel Deuce Bigalow: European Gigolo, and The Benchwarmers with former SNL co-star David Spade and Napoleon Dynamite’s Jon Heder.
Rob Schneider has not been seen in many recent Hollywood films. It could be that his brand of comedy which relied heavily on ridiculing ethnic stereotypes and over-the-top, flat characters pigeonholed him as an actor. Schneider’s low-budget and critically panned filmography may also be partially to blame.
Still, with The Animal doing as well as it has been and a sequel in the works, there may be some interest in Rob Schneider’s other films moving forward. It could very well be that people are bored enough to revisit Schneider’s brand of silly, low-brow comedy.
