I'm writing this on what could possibly be the hottest day since UK temperature records began so I shall try and be quick! Yesterday I was feeling very hungover and so needed something simple and easy to watch. I decided on Adam Sandler's Hubie Halloween, a comedy horror, directed by Steven Brill (Little Nicky) that I hoped wouldn't be too bad, Sandler hardly has a great record when it comes to his films.
Hubie Dubois (Sandler, who also co-wrote the film along with Tim Herlihy) is a dim witted man who has made himself the self appointed monitor of his beloved town of Salem. The highlight of his year is Halloween, a day that he travels around the town seeking to make sure everyone has a good time and follows the rules. Unfortunately for him, nearly everyone in the town dislikes him, despite being mercilessly bullied and teased by those around him he remains resolute in his dedication to ensuring everyone is happy. One Halloween a man escapes from a nearby mental asylum, that coincides with a spate of disappearances over the night that Hubie discovers. With friends few and far between, the man puts it upon himself to solve the mystery.
Initially I figured this would be as bad as I feared. It took a while to get used to Hubie and the odd way he speaks, felt slightly wrong that Sandler was playing a mentally challenged man for comedy effect. However, I came to really like the character in some ways, Hubie Halloween is a feel good comedy that actually contains much less threat than its storyline would suggest. Hubie may be a bit of an idiot but his earnestness and likeability are important here. There were quite a few notable names among the cast, a guest appearance from Ben Stiller (Zoolander), elsewhere there is Shaquille O'Neal (Scary Movie 4), Rob Schneider (The Hot Chick), Kevin James (Mall Cop), Ray Liotta (Goodfellas), Steve Buscemi (Reservoir Dogs) and even Noel Schnapp (Stranger Things), that last one feeling strange to be in a modern day setting with normal hair. In addition, this features a gigantic cast of characters, which makes sense as the film mainly takes place on the streets of Salem during their Halloween event. For this type of film you don't need amazing actors, but to be fair everyone here seemed suited well for their roles with no one really standing out or getting overshadowed by anyone else.
The comedy was where I was not sure I wouldn't have an issue. While I never found any of the film laugh out loud funny there were a few recurring jokes that were amusing. The main one being that wherever Hubie cycles he is being pelted with objects from people off screen, these include all amounts of dangerous things, from watermelons to cinder blocks, rocks, traffic cones and even a flaming spear at one point. Hubie carries with him a flask that is continually shown to have different secret functions to it like a loudspeaker, hoover and mixer, I thought that was a fun object for him to have with him. There is a tiny amount of gross-out humour, something that I never like. I would say probably less than 5% of the movie's jokes come from this thankfully, though I almost switched off the film when Sandler is projectile vomiting within the opening few minutes. On the horror side of things it wasn't bad. There was a subplot involving a possible werewolf, the disappearances, and of course the escaped patient from the psychiatric hospital.
Hubie Halloween was inoffensive but it worked due to how likeable the protagonist was, and the feel good aspect of it that really went well with me feeling slightly sensitive due to my hangover. Visually this is great, the set dressing for the buildings and streets of the town were never anything short of amazing. The horror here is slight, as may be expected, and the jokes do not always land but I would be lying if I didn't say I enjoyed this. Hubie Halloween can currently be streamed on Netflix.
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