Little Nicky Review
by Laura Clifford (lcliffor AT genuity DOT net)November 10th, 2000
LITTLE NICKY
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After a 10,000 year rule, Satan (Harvey Keitel) decides to stay on the throne instead of turning it over to one of his three sons. That's fine by Little Nicky (Adam Sandler), but not his brothers Adrian (Rhys Ifans, "Notting Hill") and Cassius (Tommy 'Tiny' Lister, Jr.), who decide to leave their hellish home and create their own on Earth. Their departure freezes the gates of hell, causing Papa demon to begin to decompose, so it's up to Little Nicky to save the world and his dad by returning his two brothers to Hell.
LAURA:
Adam Sandler movies are definitely an 'acquired' taste. I've always found him likeable, even in his subpar outings ("The Wedding Singer" is really the only of his films that succeeds outside of his own genre). While that's the case here as well, "Little Nicky" is otherwise so torturously awful that it makes one wonder how the highly paid Sandler could foist such bogus product into the marketplace.
This is the type of comedy that attempts to get yucks by having Hitler appear in a French maid's outfit to have Satan place a pineapple where the sun don't shine. The 'story' is just a long, drawn out 90 minute affair of having Nicky learn to do human things like eat (Popeye's Chicken is Sandler's fast food product placement of choice in this outing) and sleep,
and attempt to get his more powerful, smarter brothers info a magical flask aided by Beefy, a talking demon bulldog (voice of Robert Smigel). He also falls in love with an awkward design student (Patricia Arquette) and ends up with a roommate, Todd (Allen Covert, "Big Daddy"), implied to be gay (more uproariousness!).
It's amazing to see all the misguided people who show up in this clunker. First there's the seemingly brilliant casting of Keitel, who's never been more dreadful. His dad, Lucifer, is played by Rodney Dangerfield, milking hoary laughs in a pitiful walk through. Jon Lovitz appears as a sinner, reminding us that any good performance he's gotten onto film must have been an accident. Michael McKean is the chief of police. Quentin Tarantino is a blind street preacher who 'smells' the devil (and overacts atrociously). Clint Howard proves that he's the most shameless actor working
in film today. Rob Schneider appears to repeat his 'you can do it' encouragements from "The Waterboy." Dana Carvey takes on Nicky on the basketball court (amidst the real Harlem Globetrotters no less). Carl Weathers, Regis Philbin, Kevin Nealon, Ellen Cleghorne, Henry Winkler, Ozzy Osbourne....what were they all thinking? At least the terrifically talented Reese Witherspoon provides a bubbly bright spot as a Valley Girlish angel.
Technically the film averages out to mediocrity. Hell's a blatant make believe soundstage, costume is obvious, makeup nothing special. Post dubbing of dialogue appears to be synched incorrectly in several scenes. Steven Brill's (writer of all THREE Mighty Ducks movies) direction is pedestrian at best.
There are maybe 3 laughs in the entire film (written by Tim Herlihy, Adam Sandler and Steven Brill). Nicky returns to hell whenever he dies, fairly frequently and sometimes amusingly. Sandler also gets a couple of laughs from rock music references. That's IT.
Concept 7-8. Execution 0.
D-
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