Featuring the voices of: Adam Sandler, Jackie Titone, Austin Stout, Jon Lovitz, Keaven Nealon, Rob Schneider
Director: Seth Kearsley
Producers: Allen Covert, Jack Giarraputo
Screenplay: Brooks Arthur, Allen Covert, Brad Isaacs, based on a story by Adam Sandler
Music: Marc Ellis
U.S. Distributor: Columbia Pictures
Due to 8 Crazy Nights' short running length of 75 minutes, the distributor attached a two minute, live-action short to be shown before the main feature. Entitled "A Day with the Meatball," it features a dog. That's an apt metaphor for what is to follow.
The basic plot of 8 Crazy Nights represents a sweet little holiday fable about a nasty man turning into a wellspring of good cheer and selflessness. The story unfolds in a juvenile fashion, so, in order to attract an older audience (notice that I do not use the words "more mature"), there's plenty of crude humor (profanity, sexual innuendo, body odors, excrement – the usual stuff). The main character is a jackass caught in a state of arrested development and a significant portion of the on-screen talent is comprised of Saturday Night Live alumni. In short, this is a typical Adam Sandler movie, except that it's animated.
Admittedly, Sandler's brand of lowbrow, gross-out humor isn't my kind of thing. Comedy is subjective, and, for the most part, I prefer not to subject myself to Sandler. Nevertheless, I will freely admit that he is a gifted comedian who uses all part of his body – voice, facial expressions, body language – to convey his jokes. Unfortunately, in 8 Crazy Nights, much of that is lost. We end up with a two-dimensional cartoon image of Sandler imbued with the actor's voice. Things that might have been amusing in a live-action film don't tickle the funny bone here. The concept of an animated Sandler movie might have sounded good as a pitch, but the result is unpleasant, bordering on agonizing.
The story is a modern-day version of A Christmas Carol without the ghosts. Davey Stone (Adam Sandler) is the Scrooge of Dukesberry, but, when he is arrested following a drunken holiday rampage around the town, the judge decides to give him a break. Instead of throwing him in jail, he assigns Davey to do a stint of community service by being the assistant referee in the local youth basketball league. Davey is to work with an old-timer, the dwarf-like Whitey Duvall (also Adam Sandler), who becomes the butt of many of Davey's practical jokes. Whitey has a paranoid sister, Eleanore (Sandler once again), who is as ripe for the picking as Whitey. After a while, however, the spirit of Chanukah begins to melt Davey's heart, with a little help from Jennifer (Jackie Titone), his old grade-school sweetheart, and her son, Benjamin (Austin Stout).
The animation in 8 Crazy Nights is a minor cut above Saturday morning fare, looking like something from a moderately sophisticated video game. The backgrounds are static and often appear to be computer-generated. The foreground characters are hand-drawn, but lack much in the way of detail. The vocal characterizations vary from okay (Davey, Jennifer, Benjamin) to irritating (Whitey & Eleanore). Sandler may enjoy exercising his vocal skills by doing funny voices, but it would be helpful if the characters he creates sound less grating. Every time Whitey opens his mouth, the effect is like fingers on a chalkboard.
8 Crazy Nights does a few things that I have never before seen in an animated motion picture. Product placement is aggressive. I counted more than a dozen instances (mainly real stores that show up in Dukesberry's mall). This is also probably the first time a cartoon deer has taken a dump, or that a three-breasted woman has shown her double cleavage. All of these things are groundbreaking, after a fashion, but none of them are good. On a positive note, I don't expect Disney to adopt any of them in the near future.
The only time 8 Crazy Nights comes close to hitting a comedic or satirical target is during the offbeat musical numbers. At their worst, they sound like rejected songs from one of Disney's direct-to-video sequels. At their best, they recall something from South Park. Ultimately, however, the song-and-dance productions do not represent a reason to see 8 Crazy Nights. Maybe those Sandler fans who were deeply disappointed by their hero's foray into real acting in Punch Drunk Love will be satisfied by this animated offering. I doubt anyone else will be. This is as dreadful a holiday offering as you're likely to find this year. A lump of coal would be more welcome.
© 2002 James Berardinelli