Despite regularly coming under fire for the way he casts his movies, Adam Sandler actually employs an excellent career trick by casting his friends.

One of the most common criticisms leveled at Adam Sandler is not only wrong, but actually highlights one of his best qualities. After landing (and subsequently being fired from) a role on SNL, Adam Sandler quickly established himself as one of the most bankable comedic talents in Hollywood. In the years since, Sandler has amassed a staggering net worth of approximately $420 million thanks to the repeated box office success of his comedies, and he has also earned critical acclaim for his sporadic dramatic roles.

However, despite his success, Sandler remains a divisive figure. Many of his most vocal detractors criticize his apparent reliance on certain patterns, which include regularly making movies that are routinely panned by critics, his tendency to yell and scream a lot as an aspect of his comedy, and his regular collaborations with his real-life friends. The latter is perhaps the most obvious of his habits, as at least one of Adam Sandler's frequent collaborators appears in practically every movie he makes.

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Though this is usually cited as a career problem, it actually evidences one of Sandler's best qualities. By regularly casting his own friends in his movies, Sandler is able to cash in on their real-life chemistry. Considering many of these regular collaborators are also comedians, this only improves the comedic aspects of Sandler's films. In addition, the predictable supporting cast of Sandler's comedies helps create a familiar pattern that serves the nature of his films, making them all the more successful.

The supporting cast of any given Adam Sandler movie will likely feature at least one of Sandler's real-life friends. Some of these are former SNL cast members like Adam Sandler (Rob Schneider, Chris Rock, David Spade, and Tim Meadows make up just a few of these), but there are also other actors Sandler shares a friendship with which he regularly collaborates on his films, such as Jennifer Aniston and Drew Barrymore. The idea that Sandler enjoys making movies with his friends contributes to his image as an average person who makes the most of the opportunities afforded to him. Though this may not lend him extra credence as a performer, it adds to his relatability, which is often the key to good comedy.

Another interesting benefit of casting his friends is the patterns that their shared dynamic creates. By casting comedians with distinct styles in his movies, Adam Sandler creates comedies that often feel familiar. Though this is often presented as a negative aspect of his career, it lends his films an air of easy comfort that contributes to their general success - after all, Sandler's Netflix films regularly perform well despite critical panning.

Adam Sandler is widely criticized for a number of reasons, and though some of them may be justified, they're also unreasonably harsh. Sandler's career has gone from strength to strength since he started appearing in movies in the 1990s, and the formula he's created for his comedies has helped him achieve widespread success. Although many criticize Adam Sandler's constant casting of his friends in his movies, it's actually a smart move in regard to making successful comedies, and he's proved that it works time and again.

Next: Cole Sprouse Is Right: Adam Sandler Is The Perfect Entertainer

Niall Gray is a features writer for Screen Rant covering just about every film- or TV-related topic he's loosed upon. When he's not busy putting words together in various places for various reasons, Niall can usually be found filling his brain with an endless stream of pop culture trivia, teaching children to box, or simply hiding with his nose in a book.