Allen Covert is a useful supporting comic, most at home among Adam Sandler’s eccentrics and hapless companions. We prefer him in the warmer company of The Wedding Singer; familiarity cannot make Jack and Jill worth an evening.
Fi1m perspective
In Happy Gilmore (1996), Allen Covert is Otto, the homeless caddy alongside Adam Sandler. The eccentric or hapless companion is his usual territory, and we think he is useful there, without mistaking familiarity for a guarantee of laughs. Through the 1990s, supporting parts in Sandler’s films led to the more prominent Sammy in The Wedding Singer (1998). His fortunes as an actor have remained closely tied to the kind of comedy Sandler is making.
The Wedding Singer is the clearest reason we have to recommend his supporting work. Sandler and Drew Barrymore make the romance work, with a lively pop soundtrack helping it along; Covert is part of the surrounding ensemble, not the reason to believe in the central couple. We were won over by their warmth, which survives even the broad jokes that sometimes get in their way. The middle drifts, and there is no need to pretend every gag lands. Covert benefits from being in a comedy where affection matters as much as the next opportunity for foolishness.
Grandma’s Boy (2006) made him the lead, playing Alex, a stoner video-game tester living with his grandmother. He also co-wrote and produced it, with Nick Swardson among his writing collaborators. Its cult following shows that there is an audience for Covert at the centre of this particular sort of comedy, though the generally unfavourable reviews caution against recommending it to everyone. His later career has put more emphasis on writing and executive producing, with fewer on-screen roles.
Jack and Jill (2011) is the caution: Covert appears as Otto and also served as an executive producer. Its crude humour and persistent bullying leave the supporting cast with a film we cannot recommend, although Al Pacino supplies some welcome foolishness. Covert should not take sole blame for its failures, any more than he should receive the credit for Sandler and Barrymore’s chemistry. But his long association with these comedies makes the quality of the material difficult to separate from a judgement of his screen work. Start with The Wedding Singer, and leave Jack and Jill for those determined to complete the set.
Biography
Allen Covert is an American actor, comedian, writer and producer. He studied theatre at New York University, where he met Adam Sandler, and has since collaborated with him on numerous films and projects associated with Happy Madison Productions.
He is known for supporting roles in Sandler films including Happy Gilmore (1996), The Wedding Singer (1998), Big Daddy (1999), 50 First Dates (2004) and Jack and Jill (2011), in which he played Otto. Covert starred as Alex in the 2006 comedy Grandma's Boy and has also worked as a writer and producer on several films.
