Why Can’t Rob Schneider Just Be the Rob Schneider in the Adam Sandler Netflix Stand-Up Special?

Rob Schneider makes a surprise appearance in Adam Sandler’s newest Netflix special Love You, and even more surprisingly, he doesn’t get himself booed offstage.

The oldest criticism of Schneider’s body of work dating back to the 1990s is that, without his best buddy Sandler, Schneider wouldn’t have a career worth ruining with an ill-advised turn toward conservative comedy that conservatives hate too. In 2024, Schneider is best known for publicly beefing with the entire country of Canada and getting himself kicked out of charity galas with his racist, transphobic and terrible stand-up routine. But today’s Schneider is a completely different Animal from the “You Can Do It!” Guy, Sandler movie era Schneider whose solo projects would earn one of the most enduring South Park parodies ever. 

Looking back, the biggest tragedy of Schneider’s tumultuous late career is that we, as comedy fans, didn’t realize how much worse it could get.

But, for one glimmering moment in Adam Sandler: Love You, Schneider reminded Sandler’s audience why they ever almost liked him in the first place by delivering a stirring rendition of Elvis Presley’s “It's Now or Never" while wearing a sequined bodysuit and gyrating his hips like he’s dancing for his dinner. Which, considering the show was a Sandler project, he was.

Towards the end of I Love You, Schneider emerges disguised in full Elvis costume and belts The King’s hit 1960 single in a pitch-perfect impression before tossing his gold sunglasses and revealing himself as the show’s most acclaimed celebrity guest — well, behind the opening ventriloquist act Willie Tyler and Lester, of course. Schneider’s performance was, unironically, one of the most impressive and entertaining moments of the whole special, and it harkens back to a time before anti-vax outrage ruined his artistry.

Before Schneider was famous for being Sandler’s sidekick and long before it ever occurred to the San Francisco-born comedian to make jokes about “Korean whorehouses” at a family-friendly Christmas gala for conservative lawmakers, Schneider perfected his Elvis impersonation during his high school days. Once Schneider made it onto Saturday Night Live, his best impression came in handy during various sketches, including “Microscopic Elvis,” a sequel to the classic skit “Tiny Elvis” in which Nicolas Cage performs a far inferior Elvis impersonation.

Frankly, it’s a shame that Schneider no longer incorporates his impressive Elvis voice into his current comedy routine — I would imagine that all those hospital fundraisers and conservative Christmas parties would have burnin’-loved to replace his obscene stand-up act with a few classic tunes.