On a recent David Letterman show, Adam Sandler reaffirmed his ability to create memorable characters – not the guy sitting in the chair opposite Dave, but the guy in the clip from his new movie “You Don’t Mess with the Zohan.” The guy in the chair was kinda schlumpy – dressed in faded, loose-fitting jeans and a t-shirt, nervous – shaking his foot a-mile-a-minute, and rehearsed – telling preplanned jokes, several of which were scribbled on his left palm as a reminder “in case I don’t know what I’m doin’ here tonight…gotta get it in there, you know.”

Sandler does have an every guy quality and his self-effacing humor is funny – he talked about his need to be careful because his two-year-old daughter is now repeating anything she hears…” I’m the biggest star in the world,” “The critics just don’t get me.” Funny, but even Sandler knew his “routine” was obvious saying “that was terrible, stupid” after one particularly bad one-liner.

Sandler rarely made eye contact when he was telling a story, although mercifully did look at Dave when he was asking him a question.  It’s an odd brand of nervousness from a star who is at the top of his game, but appears look at public appearances like this one as a chore rather than an opportunity to connect with his audience.  Even Dave commented that he hadn’t been on the show for over a year and by the end of the interview we all knew why.