Ever since director-writer Paul Thomas Anderson’s paranoid drama “Punch Drunk Love” in 2002, beloved comedian-actorhas balanced his cinematic life between cheerfully dippy comic fare , starkly serious roles in often dire films ,” “Uncut Gems”) and movies that balance the light and the dark such as 2022’s basketball dramedy “Hustle.”
Now he’s back with a rare tour of casinos and arenas to remind live audiences, young and old — with that duality being a large portion of his set when caught him on Oct. 28 at Hard Rock Live at Etess Arena at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Atlantic City — that standup comedy and silly ditties are what he does best.
Though the aging process was a large part of his stand-up and musical conversation, Sander kept the proceedings cleverly unpredictable. Throughout the nearly two-hour-long set, Sandler tendered a balancing act between long, hypnotically repetitive, juvenile stories about Botox-ing his penis for youthful effect, then smartly short, absurdist songs with head-scratching, laugh-out-loud, abrupt-ending finales that somehow, weirdly, related to real-life.
Musical numbers that allow Sandler to riff hard and solo aplenty are rife throughout the set — he’s a dexterous guitarist — and the comedian takes his time through various genres that always have curiously preposterous and disconnected conclusions. One such track, “Station 69,” involves space travel and the sex act named by the title with astronaut helmet-wearing Rob Schneider, Sandler’s longtime “SNL” friend, film collaborator and the night’s opening act.