Although he has occasionally shown that he has the chops to succeed as a dramatic performer, actor-comedian Adam Sandler (“Murder Mystery”) has devoted the majority of his career toward producing and starring in mostly lackluster, occasionally cringe-worthy, comedic films.
As such, it was both a shock and delight in 2019 to recognize that one of the year’s best, and perhaps Oscar-worthy, performances was delivered by Sandler in the Safdie Brothers’ (“Good Time”) crime thriller “Uncut Gems.” In fact, Sandler’s uncharacteristic performance as reckless jeweler Howard Ratner was so highly praised that, if in the event he were to be denied an Oscar nomination, he said that he would exact revenge on the Academy by making a purposefully terrible film.
Unfortunately, Sandler was snubbed at the Oscars, and it appears he kept true to his word. “Hubie Halloween,” a recent Netflix Original comedy is mind-numbingly painful to sit through. Save for a few chuckle-worthy moments, the film is remarkably unfunny. To make matters worse, rather than provide an original story, it feels as though the film steals left and right from prior Sandler films, all while featuring Sandler’s usual gang of comedic performances, such as Rob Schneider (“The Wrong Missy“) and Ben Stiller (“Zoolander”), who unshockingly phone-in their respective roles.
In this film, Sandler plays Hubie Dubois, who fans of “The Waterboy” may recognize as a poor man’s Bobby Boucher, given his similar speech-impediment, child-like behaviour and an overbearing mother with whom he still lives. Despite the ridicule he faces from his neighbor, Hubie takes it upon himself to try and save his town when an ominous threat emerges. Plot-wise, the film is rather cut and dry, even for a Sandler film, and leaves little to spark interest or excitement, given its overall derivative nature.
A major point of concern for this film is where it derives its comedy from. Alarmingly, it seems as though a good chunk of the humor is meant to be derived from certain in-joke and references to past Sandler films, which may easily lose those who have never seen them. For those who have, these references may incite slight smirks, though they ultimately feel out of place, rendering them to be mostly head-scratchers if anything. As for the rest of the comedy, the film resorts to the token potty humor and immature shenanigans of common Sandler films.
Perhaps what is most disappointing about this film is the notion of what Sandler has accomplished as an actor in the past, and how he squanders his talent through partaking in films such as “Hubie Halloween.” Unlike the dramatic films in which he appears giving rather nuanced, grounded performances, Sandler’s definition of “acting” in his comedic films is doing nothing more than adopting a fake, usually incomprehensible voice, and acting like a child or unintelligent individual.
Overall this film feels like an immense waste of talent, including the likes of heavyweights such as Steve Buscemi (“The King of Staten Island”) and Ray Liotta (“Marriage Story”), who both have proven themselves as legitimate actors in the past. Even actors and comedians who have become mainstays in Sandler films, such as Kevin James (“Becky”) and Maya Rudolph (“The Willoughbys”), have proven themselves to be better than this film, delivering far more hilarious performances in their other works.
Seeing as Sandler and Netflix have a film deal together, one may hope that Sandler’s comedies will eventually improve in quality, perhaps at a level similar to his earlier films, such as “Happy Gilmore.” Otherwise, we may once again be subjected to yet another painful mess, especially if he is denied an Oscar nomination.
Image from Netflix via YouTube
