Much to my chagrin, "Adam Sandler's Eight Crazy Nights" isnt really a Chanukah movie. Sure, its got plenty of Chanukah in it, but its more of a general, feel-good holiday adventure. And despite a PG-13 rating, it is really a kids film, albeit with some more mature (and less mature) jokes sprinkled in.
With the above becoming evident in the first few minutes, I knew I was in for an un-Sandler-esque movie, and people next to me might have seen the scowl on my face that looked surprisingly like Sandlers character, Davey Stone.
Stone, a surly version of Sandler, is a former pre-teen basketball star who turned to the bottle after his parents died in a car accident. He hates holidays and just about everything else. Faced with going to jail or cleaning up his act, the short, hairy and elf-like Whitey (voiced by Sandler) takes him under his wing.Theres some holiday romance sprinkled in, along with talking reindeer and a crazy Asian restaurateur. Oddly, given that the medium of animation is limitless, there arent many gags that couldnt be accomplished with live action. It sort of leaves one wondering, "why?"
The rest of this short animated movie (just 71 minutes) is a series of musical numbers, potty jokes and weird sounds by Sandler and fellow SNL alumni Rob Schneider, Kevin Nealon and Jon Lovitz. Occasionally, Sandlers hilarious sense of humor shines through, particularly in the last few minutes. However, he is somewhat handcuffed in making a kids movie, particularly one for the holidays. The PG-13 rating is warranted, and parents may want to think twice about taking the little ones.
On a positive note, the film does give at least equal billing to Chanukah, which is a first for a mainstream holiday movie. Jewish families will appreciate the numerous references to the Festival of Lights, and Sandlers famous "Chanukah Song" is reprised during the closing credits.
Perhaps worth a matinee, certainly worth a rental, younger Sandler fans will probably enjoy "Eight Crazy Nights. But for the rest of us more "mature" fans of Sandu, who like the high comedy of "Billy Madison" and "Happy Gilmore," "Eight Crazy Nights" leaves a little to be desired.
"Adam Sandler's Eight Crazy Nights" is now playing.
Andy is the president, publisher and founder of OnMilwaukee. He returned to Milwaukee in 1996 after living on the East Coast for nine years, where he wrote for The Dallas Morning News Washington Bureau and worked in the White House Office of Communications. He was also Associate Editor of The GW Hatchet, his college newspaper at The George Washington University.
Before launching OnMilwaukee.com in 1998 at age 23, he worked in public relations for two Milwaukee firms, most of the time daydreaming about starting his own publication.
Hobbies include running when he finds the time, fixing the rust on his '75 MGB, mowing the lawn at his cottage in the Northwoods, and making an annual pilgrimage to Phoenix for Brewers Spring Training.
