The film begins with a wealthy, but spoiled and immature 27-year-old man called Billy Madison, hanging out in the pool with his friends. He gets so drunk that he hallucinates a giant penguin and chases “it” away with his car.

That evening, Billy is late for his father’s special dinner with the hotel staff. He makes a fool of himself at the meal.

Billy’s dad, Brian, lectures him about his behavior. He also brings up the fact that he only graduated from high school because he bribed the teachers. Billy never really passed any grades.

Brian is offering the inheritance to his vice president, Eric Gordon, for after he retires. But Billy wants the position instead. Brian is hesitant to give it to him. So, Billy makes a deal: if he can go back to school and repeat grades 1 to 12, spending 2 weeks each per grade, and pass them all, he will take that position. Brian accepts the deal.

Billy starts his first day of school—beginning with 1^st grade. He takes the bus and attends class. Although he acts out a little bit, things end up going smoothly for the most part. He even has a little carnival once he passes 1^st grade.

Billy starts 2^nd grade and then 3^rd grade. However, he acts out in class. The teacher, Miss Vaughn, escorts him out. Billy, however, starts developing strong feelings for her.

Billy attends more grades. However, Eric feels alarmed by Billy’s success. He blackmails the principal, Max Anderson, into telling everyone that Billy never actually passed any of his grades. Rather he “bribed him to let him pass.” This airs on live TV. Brian sees this and believes it. He gets mad at Billy, who thinks about quitting the deal.

I laughed a lot throughout this movie, especially with the penguin that did not exist. The concept of this movie is interesting. But I heard that in real life, once you graduate from school, you cannot go back and repeat grades. Yet the movie depicted this in a humorous way.

Aside from the humor, the character development was strong. Billy Madison was believable for his age since he liked adult magazines and drinking. He also swore at times. But this movie is rated PG-13.

Despite his age, I admired his relationship with this kid, Ernie, who was in his 3^rd-grade class during the events of the film. One moment that stood out was when the class went on a field trip to a farm and Ernie wet his pants. Billy then put water between his legs to cheer Ernie up.

I also liked Billy’s relationship with Miss Vaughn. She was firm with him as his teacher, but sweet with him as his girlfriend at the same time.

I will admit that the pacing felt a little bit slower toward the end of the film. However, the numerous twists and turns that happen, including a random musical number, made the movie more engaging. Don’t worry—I’m not going to spoil anything.

Overall, I enjoyed Billy Madison. As Adam Sandler’s first big movie, it was funny and sometimes emotional.

I give it 4 out of 5 stars.