Adam Sandler waxes nostalgic about blasting kids with dodgeballs in new Conan clip

Despite being hated by critics at the time of its release (22 years ago last month), Billy Madison has achieved a certain nostalgic glow over time, both as one of the purest expressions of Adam Sandler’s rampaging id and long-spent cinematic energy, and as a thing that today’s younger adults watched a shit-ton of back when they were kids. Sandler himself waxed nostalgic about the cult-favorite man-boy movie on tonight’s Conan, fondly reminiscing about drilling a bunch of six-year-olds in the head with dodgeballs in one of the movie’s most famous scenes.

Recounting the story with host Conan O’Brien, Sandler seemed to perk up a bit, going from The Cobbler levels of energy all the way up to a Grown-Ups or Click bonhomie. His favorite part seemed to be the protesting parents of his young co-stars, who’d apparently failed to properly vet the script and learn just how much punishment their little darlings were in for at the hands of would-be high school graduate Billy, properly enraged by a sneering assertion that ”O’Doyle rules!”