Adam Sandler's Eight Crazy Nights is a 2002 American animated musical comedy with Adam Sandler about the magic of the holidays. It was produced by Sandler's production company Happy Madison and was distributed by Columbia Pictures. While the movie has the look and feel of a Christmas special, it contains a great deal of scatological jokes and references to mature topics. It is also Adam Sandlers first animated film.
The film's title is taken from a line in Sandler's series of songs called "The Chanukah Song" that compares the gift-giving traditions of Christmas and Chanukah: "One day of presents? Hell no we get eight crazy nights!"
Plot
In the small town of Dukesberry in December 2001, Davey Stone (voice of and resemblance to Adam Sandler), a drunk troublemaker with a long criminal record, is arrested for not paying for his drinks and four scorpion bowls to the Chinese waiter Mr. Chan (voiced by Rob Schneider). He is about to be sentenced to jail time when Whitey Duvall (also voiced by Adam Sandler), a 70-year-old volunteer referee from Davey's former basketball league comes forward at his trial. The judge (voiced by Norm Crosby), at Whitey's suggestion, sentences Davey to be a referee-in-training for the Youth Basketball League under Whitey as his community service. The judge warns him for the last time, if he breaks one more law, he will be sentenced to ten years in prison.
The next day, Davey referees his first game, which proves itself disastrous: at Whitey's insistence that he remove his shoes, Davey kicks them off, smashing the glass on an overhead lighting fixture with one and striking the timekeeper with the other. During the game Davey mocks an obese child, infuriating the attending parents, whom Davey taunts into hurling food products from the concession stands onto the court (which sends Whitey into a grand mal seizure, frequently seen throughout the movie), and unfairly ends the game. For the sake of relaxation, Whitey takes Davey to his favorite place: the mall. There they meet Jennifer Friedman (voiced by Jackie Titone), a childhood crush of Davey's, and her son, Benjamin (voiced by Austin Stout). As before, Davey finds himself attracted to Jennifer, but Whitey reminds him that he lost his chance with her 20 years ago.
After an increasingly chaotic relationship between both Davey and Whitey, things seemingly come to an end when Davey's trailer is destroyed by arson, after he and Benjamin bet against two people at a local rec center, and winning the bet by beating the people in shirts-and-skins basketball. The only thing he rescues from his burning trailer is a Hanukkah card from his parents. Whitey opens his home to Davey, who grudgingly accepts the invitation; also living in the house is Whitey's diabetic fraternal twin sister Eleanor (also voiced by Adam Sandler). The Duvall household has many complex rules (referred to by Whitey as technical fouls), which prove themselves extremely irritating. However, he seemingly overcomes them, and begins to turn his life around.
The morning of Dukesberry's "All-Star Banquet" dawns with Whitey's hopes to win the coveted "Dukesberry Patch", which is seemingly impossible. The morning goes terribly bad, as Whitey reveals Davey's difficult past: his parents, on their way to an important basketball game, were hit by an oncoming truck, which slid on a patch of black ice into traffic. The experience made Davey the delinquent that everyone has come to know. To Whitey's shock and horror, Davey enters a terrible rage, and stalks away, infuriated. That night, while Whitey and Eleanor are preparing for the local ceremony, in a drunken stupor, Davey breaks into the mall, to yell at Jennifer (who is obviously not there). Once he has entered, the logos and products of various stores come to life, begging him to let his bottled up grief and pain out by crying. He refuses, until they open the Hanukkah card from his parents. In the card, the parents sing to him, telling him to never change and that they love their "12 year-old boy." After finally letting out his pain, the police arrive, but Davey manages to escape, planning to relocate to New York City.
En route to New York, while passing the "All-Star Banquet", the bus is forced to stop: a single thumbtack had popped all eight of the back tires (a hint at the miracle of Hanukkah). Davey realizes what he must do: he goes to the banquet, but is stopped by the deer and he forces him to give himself a wedgie so they'll trust him enough to let him go in and apologize. He watches from outside the Banquet Hall to apologize to Whitey, only to see that the "All-Star Patch" has been given to local Tom Baltezor (Jon Lovitz), and that Whitey (who was crushed) has left. Davey, realizing something must be done, enters, and speaks to the townspeople (nearly getting arrested in the process), convincing them that Whitey truly deserved the award.
After leaving the Banquet, Whitey goes to the deserted mall to pray; he has decided that he will move to Florida, where he knows that, in such a large environment, it would be okay to go unnoticed. Just then, Davey appears with the entire town apologizing, they offer not only the 35th, but all patches to Whitey. Davey and Jennifer are together, and Whitey got his patch. Whitey is so overjoyed at finally getting his coveted patch that he goes into another grand mal seizure, that he calls "the happiest seizure of my life".
Voices
Songs
- "Davey's Song" - Davey
- "At the Mall" - Whitey
- "Patch Song" - Whitey
- "Long Ago" - Davey, Jennifer, Whitey, and Company
- "Technical Foul" - Davey, Whitey, and Eleanor
- "Intervention Song" - Davey and Mall Logos
- "Bum Biddy" - Davey, Jennifer, Benjamin, Mr. Chan, and Company
- "The Chanukah Song, Part 3" - Adam Sandler feat. Rob Schneider and the Drei-Dels
Product placement
The film includes a scene/song where numerous mascots of popular businesses come to life and attempt to force Davey to confront his past. These characters include the Foot Locker referee, the KB Toys soldiers, Miss See's of See's Candies, the Victoria's Secret gown, the Panda Express panda, the Radio Shack Walkie Talkie, the Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf cup, and a gigantic bottle labeled GNC.
Featured brands
Rating
Rated PG-13 for frequent crude and sexual humor, drinking, and brief drug references.
Reception
The film was not well received by most critics, garnering only 13% positive reviews on Rotten Tomatoes [1]. It came in at fifth place on its opening weekend among U.S. box office, making only $14 million since its Wednesday launch. Despite a budget of $34 million, it only grossed a total of $23.6 million in North America and a total of only $23.8 million worldwide before leaving theaters after nine weeks.
In spite of the negative criticism, Adam Sandler won a Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Award for Best Voice in an Animated Movie in 2003.
See also
External links
