To Hell and Back Little Nicky
By Ross Anthony
Be prepared to spend the first twenty minutes in humor hell, where several big name actors flop over gags that can't beat a rubber chicken on the funnymeter. Wait, I take that back, a ghoul with breasts on his head is pretty funny.
Adam is the daft third son of the current reigning devil. The older two sons missing a chance at dad's throne decide to escape on up to Earth, freezing the fiery gates to hell and leaving pops to decompose appendage by appendage for a full week. Adam is the only one who can save dad. He must bop on down to Earth, capture his brothers in a whiskey flask and bring them both back to Hell before the seventh day.
The film takes a break from being horrible once Adam gets "down to Earth." Here the film is still not good, but lovable despite - and the hearty-laugh to wincing-groan ratio improves as well. Several very funny bits coaxed audible chuckles from this narrow-eyed crowd. Managing to avoid a slip back into the horrible, "Little Nicky" never breaks into the excellent, or even the very good.
Sort of a "Dogma" lite (way lite), "Nicky" still may capture the amore of a certain party animal crowd just after they've mauled a refer-laced cake seeking only to satiate their craving for the less than silly. Perhaps it'll even become the next "Rocky Horror" - who knows?
Little Nicky. Copyright © 2000. Rated R. * Starring Adam Sandler, Patricia Arquette, Harvey Keitel, Rhys Ifans, Allen Cover, Tommy Lister, JR. Kevin Nealon, Jon Lovitz, Quentin Tarantino, Rodney Dangerfield. * Directed by Steven Brill. * Written by Tim Herlihy, Adam Sandler, Steven Brill. * Produced by Robert Simonds and Jack Giarraputo at NewLine/Happy Madison/REC.
Grade..........................B-
-- Copyright © 2000. Ross Anthony, currently based in Los Angeles, has scripted and shot documentaries, music videos, and shorts in 35 countries across North America, Europe, Africa and Asia.
For more reviews visit: http://www.RossAnthony.com
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