Eight Crazy Nights
Who doesn’t love a good movie to get into the holiday spirits? Well, if you need that little boost before celebrating Eight Crazy Nights is NOT the movie for you.
But if you’re searching for a couple good laughs, Adam Sandler at his best, and some singing, then you’ve come to the right place.
This film is, in its own way, a brilliant contrast to the normal animated holiday movie. Happiness, joy, family, love, these are what we’ve come to expect to feel watching a wholesome holiday film. Eight Crazy Nights, however, seems to focus on sadness, misery, loneliness, hate and is anything but wholesome. Adam Sandler’s character Davey Stone — a drunk, slightly charming man in his early thirties who never got his live together — finds anger and malice in every action he or others perform. In the song “Davey’s Song” the line “I hate love, I hate you, I hate me” sheds a little light on who Davey is as a person, and how destructive he can be. During this song, Davey is seen smashing snowmen, assaulting townsfolk, and harassing reindeer; he even destroys two ginormous ice sculptures. After a court hearing, he is stuck with community service as a basketball referee-in-training under an elderly, eccentric basketball ref Whitey Duvall (also voiced by Sandler). During his community service Davey must change his ways or else be sent to prison.
Sandler both wrote and produced this gem, putting his best foot forward. His stride alone, however, is not big enough to give the audience a proper film. Sandler needs the help of his usual comrades in comedy, including: Rob Schneider (Chinese waiter, narrator), Jackie Sandler (Jennifer), Jon Lovitz (Tom Baltezor), and Kevin Nealon (Mayor). Even though it is an animated film, you can feel the genuine connection that the actors have, which creates a greater emotional relationship with the characters. Together with his team, Sandler manages to make a film that is less cringe-worthy than Going Overboard and more mainstream than Little Nicky.
Nothing screams the holidays like court cases and threats, but what really makes Christmas Christmas and Hanukkah Hanukkah is the warm feeling that you feel when celebrating. Eight Crazy nights has this feeling, it wraps you up fully in a nice, toasty blanket of happiness and forgiveness, then suddenly sends you out in the cold, with nothing but soul crushing emptiness to keep yourself warm. Why? because that’s just who Davey is. This movie is a roller coaster constantly shifting between happiness and sadness. One point Davey will be charming and fun, then, suddenly, he will be cold and mean. This allows the audience into the mind of the main character, while understanding how those around him feel. If you asked for a ride on an emotional roller-coaster for Christmas save Santa a trip and watch Eight Crazy Nights.
