Customer Reviews

Eight Crazy Nights [VHS]

5 star:		(47)
4 star:		(16)
3 star:		(16)
2 star:		(7)
1 star:		(31)

 

 

You have to realize two things to enjoy this movie.
PG-13 films are typically not for children. Parents seem to think just because its animated means "hey take the kids." Well how about we think a little BEFORE we go running to the theatre? Complains about that are just unfounded. The rating says it all, PAY ATTENTION.

The second thing you must realize is that this is an ADAM SANDLER movie, like his earlier films. Billy Madison, Happy Gilmore, all crude and rude, get over it. That was his style and he brought it back to make one of the funniest adult animated movies ever. The jokes here are classic, from whiteys seizures to him doing the robot in the middle of a basketball game. His sister eleanor has the cutest voice which I've been imitating ever since I saw the movie. The townsfolk are a scream, with rob schneider as an asian waiter. and jon lovitz as a man with a hook for a hand. This is a very unconventional Hannukah movie for the holidays. Sure it's gross, but if your offended than go rent the Ya Ya Sisterhood or some crap like that.This one is for the guys, not for parents or children. Next time read the rating before you complain. Don't believe all the crap, this movie was HILARIOUS. If you like Kevin Smith movies or Adam sandler movies than see this and bust a gut laughing. (hopefully not literally)

I really enjoyed this movie. Unlike The Wedding Singer, the humor was a bit more locker room gross-out, but like the Wedding Singer, it was filled with sentiment and heart. An angry Scrooge-like Jewish man learns to grieve, let go, and love the holidays again. No, it's not for small kids. That's why it's rated PG-13. Sandler shows tremendous talent and versatility as the voices of Davy, Eleanor and Whitey, the latter two being annoying elderly fraternal twins whom Davy grows to love despite their freakishness. Rob Schneider, Jon Lovitz, Kevin Nieland add their talent, as well as cameos by Tyra Banks and rock singer Ann Wilson as Davy's mom. Alison Krauss lends her sweetness as the singing voice of Jennifer, Davy's childhood love, now a single mom. The music is the most outstanding part of this film. The lyrics are silly and goofy, but also clever, and the song structures are dynamic and hooky, and will stay with you afterward. If you go into this movie realizing it's not a white-washed Disney flick for the kids, but it's a funny, sometimes gross, but sensitive Christmas story that tackles somewhat-adult issues, like why some people hate the holidays, I think you'll enjoy it almost as much as I did. It's also loaded with special features that are worthwhile, too.

I make no secret the fact that I think Adam Sandler has inherited the comic mantle of Jerry Lewis, and I think Adam would consider that a compliment. Were the ghost of Lewis to drop in for a holiday screening of this film, however, I think he'd say, "It's a good film, Adam, but it could have been great." How could it have been great? With a little restraint, instead of playing for the South Park/ Family Guy crowd, this could have been a family film. We desperately need a funny holiday special, not more schmaltzy ones, and this could have been it. Adam Sandler knows it too. He very much caught the spirit of Mr. Deeds. He shone in Big Daddy. He brilliantly calls his production company Happy Madison, saying heck if you didn't like Billy Madison (I did by the way), and refusing to be typecast as Happy Gilmore.

It also took guts to "play" Davy, not just voice him, as with the usual animation voiceovers. Davy is conflicted and Adam plays him that way. There are hints and tributes to "It's a Wonderful Life," but there are also echoes of a Jerry Lewis film called "The Delinquent". This is a PG-13 film merely for the reason that Adam had the bad luck of working when films and TV lack the restraint and limits that Lewis and earlier comedians worked within and which make for great art.

So thanks to that rating, kids won't get to see Davy struggle with tough breaks and big questions. Nor will they see the opening scene of a Chanukah menorah and nativity scene coexisting side by side. They won't even get to hear the third version of Sandler's witty "Chanukah Song". What they'll get instead is more innocuous clones of someone saving Christmas by rescuing Santa Clause from the Martians or whoever his captors are this year.

That leaves us with only A Christmas Story. Jean Shepherd, who writes his books for adults, restrained himself to make this movie family- friendly and came up with a holiday classic. Paul Reubens breathed new life into Saturday Morning by making Pee Wee's Playhouse into a kids' show. And when Davy-- I mean Adam-- decides to use his talents for kids, he'll be another Jerry Lewis.

Okay, so the movie is crude and not suitable for kids. I have two things to say to that: (1)not only is the film rated PG-13, but in today's age of ultra-descriptive ratings explanations courtesy of the MPAA, they even let you know in the rating description that this movie contains crude humor. And (2) this is Adam Sandler, people. It's not Jimmy Stewart or Tom Hanks. It's a comedian/actor who's built his career on crude humor, so if you mis-gauged what the tone of this flick would be, it's your own fault. I thought it was great. I think it was purposely made to appear like a family movie but actually be crude, just to be ironic and clever.

I'm surprised people are so quick to say all that's wrong with this movie, yet no one seems to give kudos to Sandler for making a holiday movie that's focused on Hanukkah, an often overlooked holiday in the mainstream entertainment industry. I'm not saying this movie has some deep, revelatory moral center that pays homage to the Jewish faith, I'm just citing it as another example of the refreshing way Sandler crafted an entertainingly irreverent holiday spoof flick.

Take movies for what they are. If you don't like them, fine - we're all entitled to our own opinions. But to criticize a film for not measuring up to the misjudged idea of what you thought it would be is just plain silly. You'll get no sympathy from me just because you ignorantly plopped your 9 year old kid in front of this movie.

This movie is absolutely hilarious. Although my friends are questioning my character (hah) for loving this kinda-gross, politically incorrect movie, it's the best, and I watch it whenever I need a good laugh. It's definitely not for kids though, and not for the sensitive. Oh, and if you can't stand poop, don't watch it. Hah.

Summary:
The beginning of the story, which is related near the end of the movie, is that of a bright and energetic young man who loses his parents in a tragic accident then undergoes a drastic personality change, turning from the town hero into the town zero. This now grown man, Davey Stone (voice - Adam Sandler), is constantly getting into trouble and doesn't really seem to care.

As the town's Christmas celebrations get underway, Davey creates a ruckus running from the police and lands himself in court, where he is about to receive a strict punishment, only for the local town do-gooder, Whitey (voice - Adam Sandler), to step in and volunteer to reform Davey by making him help referee the youth basketball games (where he used to be the star). The judge agrees and Davey is now forced to spend his time refereeing. Whitey also does his best to befriend Davey, but only really gets the chance when Davey makes a fool out of some guys at the local gym who retaliate by burning down his trailer.

Davey is then invited to and decides to move in with Whitey and his spinster sister, Eleanore (voice - Adam Sandler). Slowly, Eleanore and Whitey work their way into Davey's life, only to burn their inroads when Whitey innocently relates the story of what happened to Davey's parents. As Davey's inability to deal with this part of his past is the cause of his misbehavior, Whitey's recounting of the story turns him back into the anti-social jerk and leads him to rudely criticize Whitey.

Doing his best to brush off the criticism, Whitey then heads for home to get ready for the town's annual Christmas banquet. Whitey, as the town do-gooder, has been trying for years to win the town's prestigious ribbon given for outstanding service to the basketball league. Whitey and Eleanore dress in their finest, fully believing that this year will be Whitey's triumph. When he doesn't win, Davey's haunting criticisms come back and Whitey finally realizes that the townspeople really don't seem to care about him and all of the things he does for them. Crushed, he leaves with Eleanor to find solace in the mall. But Davey, having experienced a change of heart (also in the mall; Adam Sandler must have some strange mall fixation), bursts into the town celebration and gives them a powerful lecture on how they have overlooked Whitey, who has only been nice to everyone his entire life. The townspeople finally come to their senses and realize their mistake. They race to the mall and bestow upon Whitey the ribbons he truly deserves (he gets them from all the years he should have won them, which are all of them), resulting in a rather touching climax where Whitey's years of service are finally recognized.

My Comments:
I almost hate to admit it, but I was actually touched by this movie. It did such a good job of making Whitey a lovable but pathetic character who only experiences frustrating defeats that you can only feel sorry for him. In my more humanitarian moments (like right now as I write this), I am inclined to see Whitey as a representation of the average man (though heavily laden with pitiable characteristics) and this movie as being about how those people who do so much for society are often overlooked. This is especially true considering the person who wins the ribbon during the celebration is a billionaire who shelled out a pittance (for him) to buy a new scoreboard, as compared to Whitey's immeasurable time contributions (basically a variation of the Widow's mite story from the New Testament).

But the movie isn't without its problems. The biggest one is really something my wife pointed out early on: Who is the movie targeting? I mean, it seems most movies have an intended audience and/or a specific genre (action, drama, young girls, etc.), but this one doesn't really seem to have either. Because it's a cartoon you might think young kids. But this is really a cross between the Simpsons and South Park in crudeness, which means you can rule out children under 10. Teenagers may find it too cheesy to bear, and adults likely won't find it initially engaging, meaning you've lost all of your potential audiences. However, if you can make it through the first 30 minutes or so until you really get to know Whitey and fall in love with his character, the movie may suck you in, but you really do have to give it a lot of leeway.

As far as the story goes, it's not perfect and I don't think it has any pretenses to be perfect. Where is Davey's extended family? What happens between him and his former girlfriend? Why is Davey such a jerk? Even without answering these questions, the story works, but it does take a while to get your attention.

Overall, I didn't have very high expectations going into this movie and I really wasn't sure what to expect as it seemed to be some sort of hybrid Hanukah/Christmas movie. I didn't end up loving the movie, but it was better than I thought it was going to be and I was actually touched by the story, though I was touched more by Whitey than by Davey. It definitely isn't a movie for young kids, but some adolescents may enjoy and young adults may as well. It's probably a bit too crass for older adults to appreciate it, but you might be surprised.

I don't know WHY this movie is getting so poo pooed, I'm not a big Adam Sandler fan but I found this movie to be cute, funny & sweet!
It's a cartoon for God's sake!
I thought the animation was great and I adore Whitey! Sue me but I for one LIKED THIS MOVIE! Rasberries to those who OVER analized and critisized it!

This is definitely one of the best movies I've ever seen. Great characters, great animation, great story. It has a moral but is by no means preachy, and is very funny. I would reccomend this to everyone.

This is one of the best idea's in movie history and what's good about it is they got Adam Sandler. If your looking for an animated movie to laugh at and not fell like a little kid get this movie is for you. What's good about this is it's funny and the animation is real good to. The one part you can enjoy most about this movie is it is PG-13 which is rare these days, people want to trip about it mostly parents and when that comes up you wonder if they ever heard of something like rating meaning they tell you who it's for and everything cause it says it on the box it's not for children. This is defiantly a movie to pass the time and escape with they guys who wrote this were daring which is a real good thing. I really enjoy PG-13 cartoon movies cause it can be fun and have a reason for it's humor and it dosen't have to hold back. This is a real good movie so go and get it.

Although, in a certain sense I did not like this movie - one thing that I did find that I did like was that it was entertaining. It's a daring movie that take a rare look at what we've been missing in today's corperate -hectic (kiss butt) culture. And that is emotional honesty. It's like a release, a drug, or even bad music that we enjoy because it allows us to express ourselves for who we know what we are to be what we are, and not necessarily how we act in everyday life. We definately need more movies like this (despite what some critics may say).