Adam Sandler's 8 Crazy Nights Review
by Steve Rhodes (Steve DOT Rhodes AT InternetReviews DOT com)December 2nd, 2002
8 CRAZY NIGHTS
A film review by Steve Rhodes
Copyright 2002 Steve Rhodes
RATING (0 TO ****): * 1/2
After receiving wide critical acclaim for his first serious role in PUNCH-DRUNK LOVE, Adam Sandler now tries to create his own animated franchise, a la SOUTH PARK, with 8 CRAZY NIGHTS. For the record, I have almost never been impressed by Sandler's acting and that includes PUNCH-DRUNK LOVE, in which he merely gave a good performance in an otherwise mediocre movie. Although his work in it, like the movie itself, was overrated, it was Sandler's best performance to date.
The foul-mouthed and down-hearted 8 CRAZY NIGHTS features Sandler voicing several of the lead characters. Most of all, he is Davey Stone, a 33-year-old Jewish guy who has spent life down on his luck. Typical of his disastrous childhood is the time that he single-handedly won a high school basketball game, only to discover that his parents died in a car crash on the way to the game.
The thin script falls back on the clichéd bathroom humor typical of bad live-action comedies. Set at Christmas, when Davey feels left out, the jokes include reindeer who defecate in the snow. Body hair humor is also popular in the picture. One of Sandler's characters is a sad old guy named Whitey Duvall who sports more white hair on his derriere than Santa Claus does on his face. Another character has enough red underarm hair to make two large pom-poms.
The only mildly entertaining parts of the production are the big musical numbers. The words are stupid, but the music is lively and well sung.
By the time you leave the theater, you'll probably have only one question on your mind about the movie, "Why?" I could never figure why this crude, asinine film was made in the first place.
8 CRAZY NIGHTS runs 1:35. It is rated PG-13 for "frequent crude and sexual humor, drinking and brief drug references" and would be acceptable for teenagers.
My son Jeffrey, age 13, gave it **, saying that he liked some of the jokes but found the music annoying. Frequently during the movie, we'd look at each other and just roll our eyes.
The film is playing in nationwide release now in the United States. In the Silicon Valley, it is showing at the AMC theaters and the Century theaters.
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