Editing Billy Madison (section)

==Reception==
===Critical response===
{{Anchor|Critics}}
On the film review aggregation site [[Rotten Tomatoes]], the film holds an approval rating of 41% based on 49 reviews, with an average rating of 4.8/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "Audiences who enjoy Adam Sandler's belligerent comic energy may find him in joyously obnoxious form as ''Billy Madison'', but this thinly-plotted starring vehicle surrounds its star with an aggressively pedestrian movie."<ref name="rottentomatoes">{{cite web |title=Billy Madison (1995) |publisher=[[Fandango Media]] |work=[[Rotten Tomatoes]] |url=http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/billy_madison/ |access-date=2009-05-06 |archive-date=2009-04-03 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090403000648/http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/billy_madison/ |url-status=live }}</ref> On [[Metacritic]], the film received a weighted average score of 16 out of 100, based on 13 critics, indicating "overwhelming dislike".<ref name="metacritic">{{cite web |title=Billy Madison Reviews |url=https://metacritic.com/movie/billy-madison |publisher=[[Paramount Streaming|CBS Interactive]] |work=[[Metacritic]] |access-date=28 May 2014 |archive-date=28 February 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150228213103/http://www.metacritic.com/movie/billy-madison |url-status=live }}</ref>

Richard Schickel panned the film, calling it "one of the most execrable movies ever made".<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Schickel |first=Richard |date=March 1995 |title=Billy Madison Review |magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]]}}</ref> Peter Rainer of the ''[[Los Angeles Times]]'' commented; "Sandler has a bad habit of thinking he is funnier than we are".<ref>{{cite news |title=MOVIE REVIEW: No New Lessons When 'Billy' Goes Back to Public School |first=Peter |last=Rainer |work=[[Los Angeles Times]] |date=February 11, 1995 |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1995-02-11-ca-30717-story.html |access-date=2012-06-07 |archive-date=2013-10-06 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131006235852/http://articles.latimes.com/1995-02-11/entertainment/ca-30717_1_billy-madison |url-status=live }}</ref> On ''[[At the Movies (1986 TV program)|At the Movies]]'', [[Gene Siskel]] and [[Roger Ebert]] both gave the film thumbs down, and Roger Ebert said of Sandler, "...&nbsp;Not an attractive screen presence. He might have a career as a villain or as a [[fall guy]] or the butt of a joke, but as the protagonist his problem is that he recreates the fingernails on the blackboard syndrome." Gene Siskel added "...&nbsp;you don't have a good motivation for the character's behavior".<ref>{{cite web |title=The Brady Bunch Movie, Just Cause, Billy Madison, Mr. Payback, 1995 |url=https://siskelebert.org/?p=5504 |website=Siskel and Ebert Movie Reviews |access-date=28 July 2019 |archive-date=28 July 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190728140505/https://siskelebert.org/%3Fp%3D5504/ |url-status=live }} Event occurs at 4:40-6:55.</ref> Owen Gleiberman also panned the film, saying "By the end, you feel like a drill sergeant&nbsp;— you want to wipe that stupid grin off Sandler's face".<ref>{{cite magazine |last1=Gleiberman |first1=Owen |title=Billy Madison |date=February 24, 1995 |url=http://www.ew.com/article/1995/02/24/billy-madison |magazine=[[Entertainment Weekly]] |access-date=5 June 2014}}</ref> Rita Kempley of ''[[The Washington Post]]'' said the film was trying to be "A more kid-friendly version of {{'}}''[[Dumb and Dumber]]''.' And there's even a moral: 'Yahoo for education,' though the movie doesn't really put any muscle behind it."<ref>{{cite news |last1=Kempley |first1=Rita |title=Billy Madison |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/style/longterm/movies/videos/billymadisonpg13kempley_c00c80.htm |date=February 11, 1995 |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |access-date=5 June 2014 |archive-date=31 October 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131031035018/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/style/longterm/movies/videos/billymadisonpg13kempley_c00c80.htm |url-status=live }}</ref>

Janet Maslin of ''[[The New York Times]]'' gave the film a mixed review, saying "It succeeds as a reasonably smart no-brainer. If you've ever had a yearning to relive the third grade, this must be the next best thing."<ref>{{cite news |last1=Maslin |first1=Janet |title=FILM REVIEW; Repeating Grades 1-12: Do the Daiquiris Help? |work=The New York Times |date=February 11, 1995 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1995/02/11/movies/film-review-repeating-grades-1-12-do-the-daiquiris-help.html |access-date=16 February 2015 |archive-date=16 February 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150216091739/http://www.nytimes.com/1995/02/11/movies/film-review-repeating-grades-1-12-do-the-daiquiris-help.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Brian Lowry of ''[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]'' also gave the film a mixed review, saying "There are a few bursts of sheer, irresistible idiocy&nbsp;— along the lines of {{'}}''[[Wayne's World]]''{{'}} or even {{'}}''[[Pee-wee's Big Adventure]]''{{'}}&nbsp;— but not enough to sustain the more arid stretches."<ref>{{cite news |last1=Lowry |first1=Brian |title=Review: 'Billy Madison' |url=https://variety.com/1995/film/reviews/billy-madison-1200440785/ |work=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]] |date=February 12, 1995 |access-date=5 June 2014 |archive-date=7 June 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140607010213/http://variety.com/1995/film/reviews/billy-madison-1200440785/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

Billy Mowbray of [[Film4]] gave the film a positive review, writing: "When you get that Sandler's comedic persona is meant to be annoying, like [[Beavis]] and [[Butt-Head]] or [[Eric Cartman|Cartman]], the laughs come thick and fast".<ref>{{cite web |last1=Mowbray |first1=Billy |title=Billy Madison Review |url=http://www.channel4.com/film/reviews/film.jsp?id=101170 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20031015020716/http://www.channel4.com/film/reviews/film.jsp?id=101170 |archive-date=October 15, 2003 |publisher=[[Channel 4]] |access-date=5 June 2014}}</ref> Kevin N. Laforest said, "Okay, the plot is inane, but it's the basis of a series of really funny scenes."<ref>{{cite news |last1=Laforest |first1=Kevin |title=Billy Madison |url=http://montrealfilmjournal.com/billy-madison/ |work=Montreal Film Journal |date=May 1, 2002 |access-date=5 June 2014 |archive-date=6 June 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140606224104/http://montrealfilmjournal.com/billy-madison/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

===Award nominations===
At the [[1995 MTV Movie Awards]], [[Adam Sandler]] earned a nomination for [[MTV Movie Award for Best Comedic Performance|Best Comedic Performance]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Speed&#039; leads MTV Movie Awards noms - UPI Archives |url=https://www.upi.com/Archives/1995/04/12/Speed-leads-MTV-Movie-Awards-noms/1778797659200/ |access-date=2025-03-22 |website=UPI |language=en}}</ref>