Originally published on Dec. 6, 2002:
If there's one thing worse than an Adam Sandler film, it's an ANIMATED Adam Sandler film, and the newest Columbia release, "Eight Crazy Nights," is certainly no exception to this rule.
And despite some allusions to Dickens' tale of redemption and forgiveness in "A Christmas Carol," this story is vile, depressing and mean-spirited with absolutely no redeeming value but to give the normally intelligent viewer a terrific migraine.
The title refers to the eight nights of Hannukah and is about as respectful to the Jewish faith as a Yassar Arafat speech in the West Bank or Adolf Hitler's Nuremberg Laws.
Plot has Sandler-voiced Davey Stone, a bitter alcoholic (can you feel the Holiday spirit?!) sentenced to community service by a judge with as much sense as Lance Ito.
This punishment, which involves him as a referee for youth basketball games is like putting Jeffrey Dahmer in charge of a Boy Scout picnic. In this position, Stone is sheltered by another ref, Whitey (also voiced by Sandler), a small, goofy old man whose kindness is repaid by being shoved down a hill while using a porta-potty.
Sidesplitting so far, isn't it? Another scene we're supposed to laugh at is when Stone insults a pudgy boy by making fun of his breasts. Comedy like will most likely appeal to drunken idiots or college frat guys with absolutely nothing better to do.
Another problem with this film is that with each rotten insult, each lame joke and each failing gag is that the viewer - if he or she has ANY brains at all - actually feels embarrassed to be in on it. In other words, there is nothing even remotely humorous about this horrid dung-heap.
And Stone, even though a cartoon, is such a revolting, nasty, unsympathetic lead that one feels nothing but open disdain for his character. Even the script's lame attempt to justify his behavior by making his parents die on the eve of Hannakah when he was a kid, does not illicit one bit of positive emotion at all.
To make things even worse, the picture is sprinkled with several Holiday song parodies, including a new version of Sandler's "Hannakah Song," making it one of the worst musicals since "Grease 2" and "Newsies." Like any number of Sandler movies (with the possible exception of "The Water Boy" and "The Wedding Singer"), intelligent dialogue is substituted with maniacal outbursts and acts of bizarre violence, while comedy is replaced with vulgarities and just plain stupidity.
Then, there's the artwork, which features Stone drawn to look just like Sadler, but other principal characters inked like poor versions of Yoda, while several of the star's stable-mates, including "SNL" alumni Rob Schneider and Kevin Nealon, among others fill up the non-talented vocal cast.
All in all, "Eight Crazy Night" is about as cheerful and watching an embalming and is a film that only Ed Gein would enjoy - although he might have had better taste than that now that I think about it.
If there's one thing worse than an Adam Sandler film, it's an ANIMATED Adam Sandler film, and the newest Columbia release, "Eight Crazy Nights," is certainly no exception to this rule.
And despite some allusions to Dickens' tale of redemption and forgiveness in "A Christmas Carol," this story is vile, depressing and mean-spirited with absolutely no redeeming value but to give the normally intelligent viewer a terrific migraine.
The title refers to the eight nights of Hannukah and is about as respectful to the Jewish faith as a Yassar Arafat speech in the West Bank or Adolf Hitler's Nuremberg Laws.
Plot has Sandler-voiced Davey Stone, a bitter alcoholic (can you feel the Holiday spirit?!) sentenced to community service by a judge with as much sense as Lance Ito.
This punishment, which involves him as a referee for youth basketball games is like putting Jeffrey Dahmer in charge of a Boy Scout picnic. In this position, Stone is sheltered by another ref, Whitey (also voiced by Sandler), a small, goofy old man whose kindness is repaid by being shoved down a hill while using a porta-potty.
Sidesplitting so far, isn't it? Another scene we're supposed to laugh at is when Stone insults a pudgy boy by making fun of his breasts. Comedy like will most likely appeal to drunken idiots or college frat guys with absolutely nothing better to do.
Another problem with this film is that with each rotten insult, each lame joke and each failing gag is that the viewer - if he or she has ANY brains at all - actually feels embarrassed to be in on it. In other words, there is nothing even remotely humorous about this horrid dung-heap.
And Stone, even though a cartoon, is such a revolting, nasty, unsympathetic lead that one feels nothing but open disdain for his character. Even the script's lame attempt to justify his behavior by making his parents die on the eve of Hannakah when he was a kid, does not illicit one bit of positive emotion at all.
To make things even worse, the picture is sprinkled with several Holiday song parodies, including a new version of Sandler's "Hannakah Song," making it one of the worst musicals since "Grease 2" and "Newsies." Like any number of Sandler movies (with the possible exception of "The Water Boy" and "The Wedding Singer"), intelligent dialogue is substituted with maniacal outbursts and acts of bizarre violence, while comedy is replaced with vulgarities and just plain stupidity.
Then, there's the artwork, which features Stone drawn to look just like Sadler, but other principal characters inked like poor versions of Yoda, while several of the star's stable-mates, including "SNL" alumni Rob Schneider and Kevin Nealon, among others fill up the non-talented vocal cast.
All in all, "Eight Crazy Night" is about as cheerful and watching an embalming and is a film that only Ed Gein would enjoy - although he might have had better taste than that now that I think about it.