Weekend Watch: Hubie Halloween
Haunted Happy Madison, anyone?
Image Credit: Netflix
Welcome to the latest edition of Weekend Watch, in which I recommend (or occasionally warn against) movies or TV shows I’ve been checking out. This week, Adam Sandler’s back in comedy territory for Hubie Halloween. But is it a scary delight, or a rotten apple in the candy bag?
The films that Adam Sandler has cranked out under his hefty deal with Netflix have varied in quality to roughly the same degree as those when he was still making movies for the big screen studios. But in the wake of his award-winning turn in the excellent Uncut Gems, this latest offering feels much more like a dodgy piece of candy that has bypassed quality control and rolled off the production conveyor belt into the sawdust on the floor, but somehow still made it into a finished bag of chocolate treats.
Sandler has always been something of a marmite comedian, and I never quite know how I’m going to react to his hi-jinks. I’ve enjoyed his songs, talk show appearances and Saturday Night Live work but for the most part, I feel immune to his particular big screen formulae. Yet I’ve always respected him when he’s tried to stretch himself in films such as Punch-Drunk Love, Funny People and the aforementioned Uncut Gems. Unfortunately, Hubie Halloween represents Sandler and regular collaborators Steve Brill (directing) and Tim Herlihy (co-writing) strictly on autopilot, delivering a basic comedy that has more tricks than it does treats.
All the standard Sandler parts can be found here, just given a coating of Halloween paint. The main man plays an outsider with an odd speech pattern, a loving, supportive mother and a rogue’s gallery of those who would bully him. Indeed, this new film has a point to make about bullying, but never finds anything near subtlety. Also, Sandler has gathered his usual gang of friends and repertory company members, including Kevin James, Rob Schneider, Allen Covert, Tim Meadows, and the usual MVP, Steve Buscemi, who shows up as the mysterious Walter Lambert, who has his own drama to deal with on the night of All Hallows’ Eve. Returning for the first time since Happy Gilmore is Julie Bowen, gamely throwing herself into the mediocre madness. And Sand-fans will be happy with the wealth of call-backs, not the least of which is Ben Stiller popping up early on as Gilmore’s Orderly Hal and a certain urine-stained sheet recognisable from The Waterboy.
This time around, the leading man is Hubie Dubois (handed the cruel nickname “Pubie” by those who choose to mock him), a well-meaning loser who has appointed himself the safety volunteer, a job he takes most seriously on Halloween night. He’s spent years lecturing school kids on candy etiquette – sharing is big with Hubie – and keeping themselves from harm. Otherwise, he works the deli counter at a local store in the town of Salem. And when this year’s spooky night rolls around, he’ll have to contend with an escaped criminal, an unusual new neighbour and the year-round insults that come as standard. Armed only with his surprisingly sophisticated Thermos (in addition to soup storage, it boasts a wealth of gadgetry that would make James Bond jealous), Hubie must overcome the disinterest of the police and an uncaring populace to step in when something beyond the usual pranks starts haunting the town.
It’s fitfully amusing, but mostly smacks of a wasted opportunity, falling back on fart jokes, pratfalls and peeing, none of which can paper over sloppy plotting. If you love what Sandler has produced for Netflix so far, you’ll find something to enjoy. Everyone else? There is a wealth of watchable Halloween films out there, and I’ll recommend a few in an upcoming column.
Hubie Halloween is on Netflix now.