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QUICK PLOT SUMMARY:
Animation - A 33-year old party guy's wild ways finally land him in trouble when he's forced to coach a youth basketball team in order to stay out of going to jail.
WHY THE MPAA RATED IT: PG-13 - The MPAA rated this film PG-13 for frequent crude and sexual humor, drinking and brief drug references.
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Reviewer's Corner
Sandler delivers some Crazy Nights for the Holidays
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Adam Sandler's Eight Crazy Nights is a bit of a struggle to sit through. It's certainly
not a fun cartoon. It's a musical involving those tried and true holiday themes of a scrooge
learning the value of family, but even for Sandler fans who have enjoyed his other films (Billy
Madison (1995) and The Wedding Singer (1998) were both harmless, charming little films
with funny elements that established Sandler's strong fan base), Eight Crazy Nights seems a
bit forced and tired. It's an angry film, and one that never quite gets over its own nastiness
to be completely entertaining. Paul Thomas Anderson's Punch-Drunk Love (2002) proved that
Sandler has talent beyond the surface comedy that he does, and it's somewhat of a letdown to see a
film like Eight Crazy Nights after watching him in that previous performance. Sure, they're
two different types of movies, but when we see how good the guy can really be, we want to see more.
Sandler lends his voice to several characters in the film, including our hero Davey Stone - a guy
who's so disenchanted with the whole holiday spirit thing that he spends his time drinking, dodging
the police, and ducking out on his bill at a Chinese food restaurant. He generally makes life a misery
for everyone else, so much so that even when he establishes a rapport with Benjamin (Austin Stout), the
young son of his childhood sweetheart Jennifer (Jackie Titone) who he's been charged with coaching at
the local youth basketball league, we can't buy into a relationship that soon develops with his old
flame because he really doesn't seem like the kind of guy anyone would want to be around. However, with
support from neighborhood nice guy Whitey Duvall (also voiced by Sandler), who comes to Davey's defense
in court, Stone soon rediscovers his own potential to care for others because of those completely
unselfish qualities he sees in Whitey.
The musical numbers, which normally are a quirky part of the Sandler charm, are here a rather flat
collection of original songs. Nothing really stands out as a memorable number after the final credits
roll, with the exception of Sandler's already established holiday season hit The Chanukah Song.
The animation style, while certainly not cheaply done, is well crafted but doesn't make any part of this
film really memorable. Nothing fantastic or original is really done here, so it makes one wonder why
this film was tackled as an animated one and not a live action flick. Ideally, a holiday film would
be animated to make it initially appealing to kids, but since this film isn't intended for kids, it
comes off as an interesting side note to adults who will be more interested in his regular comedies.
As such, Happy Gilmore (1996) will continue to enjoy a good following. Billy Madison will
be viewed endlessly among guys gathered for some silly Sandler nonsense and a good time. It's hard to
imagine Eight Crazy Nights having the same longevity, even among the most die hard fans.
Reviewed by Jon David Loraditch
What do YOU think? -- December 7, 2002
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WHO SHOULD SEE THIS MOVIE:
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- AS A DATE MOVIE
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- Maybe - Die hard Sandler fans may find some enjoyment here, but any new couples might be somewhat put off by the crude humor here.
- CHICK FLICK
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- Maybe - Female audiences will more than likely not really be too into the male-oriented humor of Adam Sandler.
- GUYS MOVIE
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- Good Bet - Guys will overall find this film silly, stupid fun.
- CHILDREN
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- Poor Bet - Harsh language and adult themes make this film inappropriate for kids, even though it is an animated film.
- TEENAGERS
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- Good Bet - Teens will probably enjoy the silly humor here.
- GENERATION X
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- Maybe - Gen X-ers who really enjoy Sandler may like this film, but overall they won't find it too entertaining.
- BABY BOOMERS
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- Poor Bet - Boomers likely won't get the humor here.
- MATURE AUDIENCES
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- Poor Bet - Older audiences won't find too much of interest here.
- INTELLECTUALS
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- Poor Bet - Nothing of interest here to intellectually-minded crowds.
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WHAT PARENTS SHOULD CONSIDER BEFORE THEIR CHILDREN SEE THIS MOVIE:
MOVIE DETAILS:
- VIOLENT ACTS
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- Very Little - An old man is pushed into an outdoor toilet and thrown downhill.
- SEX/NUDITY
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- None -
- PROFANITY
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- Some - 4 Sh-words; 6 A-words; 1 B-word; 2 Hells.
- TENSE SCENES
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- Some - A guy leaves a restaurant without paying; a guy is chased by police and arrested; a guy breaks into a mall.
- IMMORAL/ILLEGAL BEHAVIORS
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- Some - A man's trailer is set on fire; an old man is pushed around and made fun of; a guy is forced to eat a jock strap.
- QUESTIONABLE CONTENT / UNHEALTHY BEHAVIORS
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- Some - People drink alcohol in the film
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- Children's Value Rating
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Languge and adult situations make this inappropriate for kids.
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