Hubie Halloween is the latest Adam Sandler Netflix original film, and it’s better than most of the ones that have gone to the streamer, especially The Ridiculous Six. While the world is in such a downer mood, this movie offers some much needed harmless fun and silly comedy. The best way to go into this movie is to leave your expectations at the door and not take it too seriously.
Suppose you take this kind of movie seriously; then you won’t get any enjoyment out of it. It sticks to the classic Sandler formula – a humble basic story about an odd yet lovable main character that finds himself in the middle of a series of hilarious problems. Along the way, he runs into other weird, zany characters, and madness starts.
The movie follows Hubie Dubois, who, despite his devotion to his hometown of Salem, Massachusetts, and its Halloween celebration, is a kooky resident figure of mockery for kids and adults alike. But this year, something is going bump in the night. He finds himself entangled in a real murder on Halloween night, and it’s up to Hubie to save Halloween.
I’m a massive fan of the Sandman and his antics, enjoying some of his lesser work that many tend to hate, so I tend to go easier on him than most critics and the general audience. I grew up on him, and his comedy so his work holds a special place for me. Now I’m not saying this comes even remotely close to his best work, but it’s far from his worst. But, it’s a HUGE step down from his career-best result in last year’s Uncut Gems, but that’s not what I was expecting with this film.
I wanted some fun Sandler man child antics with some outrageous Halloween comedy, and I got that. I had a perfect time with this one, and real Sandler fans will enjoy it because, for me, his films tend to be mindless escapes from all the seriousness of the world.
There is also an amusing cameo that’s a callback to one of Sandler’s early films that I loved, and I think most will recognize right away. In actuality, there are a few of them, but this cameo is the most noticeable one. It was a fun trip down memory lane for a vast Sandler fan like myself.
The movie is directed by Steven Brill, who’s directing Sandler for the 6th time, having previously directed him in Little Nicky, Mr. Deeds, The Do-Over, Sandy Wexler, and the comedy special Adam Sandler: 100% Fresh, and I have to say this is one of their better collaborations. Obviously, with most Sandler comedies, the directing isn’t anything special. Still, due to its entertaining premise and being a Halloween film, this one did offer Brill more to work with than usual.
Sandler, as usual, co-wrote the script himself this time around with frequent collaborator Tim Herlihy. Sandler and Herlihy have collaborated for some of Sandler’s best films such as Happy Gilmore, The Wedding Singer, Big Daddy, and The Waterboy. While this doesn’t reach the levels of those, it very much features some great lines and humor that most of Sandler’s recent output has been missing.
Sandler does that infamous voice he’s used in a lot of films that not everybody likes. I enjoyed the voice and caught myself doing it a few times while watching the movie. The character worked for me. But similar to the voice, his performance will only work for you if you like seeing Sandler act like a man child. Suppose you don’t like it when he acts like this, and when he uses the voices, it will seriously take away from your enjoyment. Yeah, I know he’s phoning it in here, something Sandler himself admits he does a lot, but after he was snubbed earlier this year for his work in Uncut Gems, I’m not even mad at him for wanting to take it easy.
I enjoyed seeing Julie Bowen reunite with Sandler for the first time in 24 years since Happy Gilmore, although their chemistry here wasn’t that good. I didn’t fully buy their romance or Bowen’s character being into Hubie romantically. I say this despite liking the character, but it’s the truth. Her character was wasted, given her decade long work in Modern Family, we know she is incredibly talented. But the sole purpose of her character is to be one of the few characters who are lovely to Hubie and be the woman of his dreams.
It wouldn’t be a Sandler film without him including some of his friends. The features familiar face as Kevin James, Maya Rudolph, Steve Buscemi, Rob Schneider, and Tim Meadows, and while they do what is expected of them, the highlight for me is Oscar nominee June Squibb. She plays Hubie’s mother and steals every scene she is in. She wears many funny shirts during the movie, including one that says “boner donor.” The way she acts in this is similar to the humor in her Oscar-nominated performance in Nebraska, just in a more low brow way.
It was also a lot of fun to see Ray Liotta play such a douchy character in a comedy like this. It’s 100 times more fun than seeing him play another corrupt cop figure, which is the character he’s been typecast in for the last 20+ years.
I did have some issues with the film because it does rehash some old material that Sandler has done better before. There was also the terrible choice to slap the fakest beard I have ever seen on Kevin James, making it look like he was playing a pretend cop even more than he already did in the Paul Blart movies. While I enjoyed the premise and the execution, I would have liked a bit more for the most part. I felt some of the scenes were just excuses to have characters mock Hubie for the sake of laughs.
During the end credits, the movie features a very touching tribute to Cameron Boyce, who passed away last year and had played Sandler’s son in the Grown Up films. The dedication, which includes a picture of the late actor, reads, “Gone way too soon and one of the kindest, coolest, funniest, and most talented kids we knew. You live on forever in our hearts and are truly missed every day.” He was meant to play the bully in this film, so I loved that Sandler found a way to pay his respects. He cast Boyce’s Jessie co-star Karan Brar in the role I know must have meant a lot to Karan to play it in his honor.
It won’t be for everybody, especially if you’re not a fan of Sandler, but if you want some harmless fun and to get into the Halloween spirit, then this 90-minute comedy might do the job for you.
