Rob Schneider was everywhere in the late 1990s and the early 2000s.
But since then, he's become a bit of a phantom, only popping up in films and on TV on the
rarest of occasions.
If you think it's because Hollywood is avoiding him, you might be right.
Here's why Hollywood won't cast Rob Schneider anymore.
Box office beatdown
Not counting the Adam Sandler movies he's appeared in, Schneider's flicks are anything
but critical darlings.
His best-reviewed film, The Animal, only holds a 30 percent rating on Rotten Tomatoes, and
it earned him a Razzie nomination for Worst Actor of the Decade.
At least Schneider's films tend to be one-note, low-budget affairs…
“Rob Schneider is a Wall Street executive with everything going for him.
Only problem is, he’s about to become...a carrot!.”
“I’m a carrot!”
As a result, almost every single one of them earned back their budgets.
Still, studios don't tend to be interested in mid-level hits.
Hiring Rob Schneider is like buying store brand when you could be eating real Count
Chocula for fifty cents more.
Do you really come out ahead?
Discount bin material
While most people are aware of the Deuce Bigalow movies and The Hot Chick, many don't realize
Schneider actually continued to make films...probably because most of them went straight to DVD.
In 2007, he directed and starred in Big Stan, followed by The Chosen One in 2010.
“The chosen one?”
Yeah, we’ve never heard of them either.
Even Norm of the North, in which Schneider voiced the main character, was regarded as
a bomb.
Is Schneider the touch of death?
We're not saying he definitely is, but please, if you do see Rob...don't let him touch you.
“Lisa, shut your eyes.
Soon you will be at peace."
"Hey, quit it Bart.
Quit it!
Hey, quit it!
Quit it quit it quit it Mooooom!”
Lawsuit magnet
Even though Schneider's movies tend to make their money back, sometimes the profits don't
end up where they're supposed to go.
Investors actually sued him for his 2010 straight-to-DVD release The Chosen One in an attempt to recoup
their money.
While lawsuits in Hollywood aren't uncommon, when you take into account the lack of blockbusters
in Schneider's portfolio, inviting lawsuits is really just one more reason not to hire
him.
He's a bit player
Rob Schneider may have headlined a few movies, but plenty of movie fans find it hard to name
the ones that don't have Deuce Bigalow in the title.
And yet, he's gained international fame for his smaller roles, like the Cajun guy from
Adam Sandler's The Waterboy, in which he repeated one sentence.
Several times.
“You can do it.”
...and which he repeated in at least five of Sandler's movies.
“You can do it.
You can do it.
YOU can do it.”
Just for that, you could argue Schneider is little more than a one-hit wonder.
“Ashley, makin’ copies.”
Okay, maybe two hits.
Junk science activist
Activism in Hollywood is nothing new, but when an actor weighs in on a hot-button issue,
it's reasonable to expect that it can have an impact on their employment opportunities.
This has definitely been the case for Schneider, whose outspoken opposition to vaccines, and
support of a debunked theory linking them to autism, cost him his gig as a pitchman
for State Farm in 2014.
“There’s an unnecessary shot that they don’t need to have, especially when the
baby’s immune system isn’t developed.”
Tweeting a George Washington quote about freedom of speech wasn't enough to get him his job
back, but Schneider has kept up his anti-vaccine crusade, claiming to be in possession of a
"smoking gun" report proving they're harmful.
Later, he was accused of leaving a threatening message for a California politician, Lorena
Gonzalez, who was working on behalf of a mandatory vaccine legislation.
And you thought Schnieder was no laughing matter before.
The assemblywoman responded on her Facebook page, saying, quote:
"...let’s be honest … that is 20 mins of my life I’ll never get back arguing that
vaccines don’t cause autism with Deuce Bigalow, male gigolo.‪"
He's behind a microphone
More recently, Rob Schneider has disappeared from the screen to lend his vocal talents
to animated features instead, like the aforementioned Norm of the North.
Dino Time and The Little Penguin Pororo's Racing Adventure didn't fare too well, so
Schneider's obviously making some rough voicework choices.
So while his face has become a rare sight on the silver screen, we'll probably hear
more from him in the future.
Even if it is in the sequel to the Kung-Fu Panda ripoff, The Adventures of Panda Warrior.
No, seriously, that's a thing.
“Let’s go rescue Princess Angelica.
Pigs really can fly!”
If only we were making this up.
There’s like three different Kung Fu Panda ripoff movies.
Ethnic stereotypes
Watch any movie featuring Rob Schneider, and odds are good you'll see him playing some
kind of ethnic caricature, like the Hawaiian Ula from 50 First Dates or the Asian minister
from I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry.
'Ho!
Hoho!"
With whitewashing controversies becoming more of a problem for Hollywood in general, it
makes sense he'd have fewer opportunities to do just that — especially considering
he's been accused of mugging to the point of ridicule.
Self-employed
Like a lot of other creatives, Schneider is leaving traditional film and television broadcasting
behind.
Instead, he's taking his talent to the Internet, where he can do pretty much whatever he wants.
In addition to a part in his pal Adam Sandler's critically-despised Netflix film The Ridiculous
6, Schneider released a stand-up special Soy Sauce and the Holocaust in 2013, as well as
his self-produced series Real Rob in 2015.
At this point, studios can rest easy knowing they don't have to worry about hiring Schneider
anymore.
These days, he just employs himself.
Not totally hopeless
Despite not appearing in theaters all that often anymore, Rob Schneider's career probably
isn't over.
He's keeping busy, and a comeback of some kind is still possible.
Look, if Mel Gibson can do it, just about anybody can.
As long as we never see another Deuce Bigalow movie.
Either way, he seems okay with where he's at.
“Here’s my economics: I’m gonna go out to my $150,000 car, drive back to my $2 million
house, and hang out with my hot 29-year-old wife.”
Can't really argue with that.
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