LITTLE NICKY RATING: 6.5/10 --> So-so
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There are two kinds of people in this world: those who like Adam Sandler movies and those who don't. I dig his humor, have enjoyed most of his films and consider HAPPY GILMORE as my personal favorite. I don't believe him to be the messiah of comedy or anything, but the man makes me laugh, and that's the bottom line. What I've never seemed to understand is all of those people who claim to hate him but still go to see his movies. Uhhhhm, what's up with that?! If you don't like the music, change the station, right? But crappy trailer and initially annoying voice aside, this film continues the Sandler tradition of comedy, so if you know that going in and enjoy that type of thing, you might as well check this one out as well. And if you don't like Sandler, well...just stop reading this right now.
PLOT: Satan has three sons. Two of them betray daddy dearest and take their evilness to Earth. The third son, the shy, timid boy, must now go to Earth and bring back his siblings before they take over their father's reign. While in New York, the third son meets a nice girl and begins to feel a lot more human.
CRITIQUE: Some of the juvenile, over-the-top, stupid humor in this movie is very funny, and some of it is not. If you have never been a fan of "Adam Sandler" movies, don't bother seeing this one, because it certainly won't make you change your mind about the man or his humor. I personally enjoy most of his films and his persona, and would rate this film as one of his more ambitious endeavors, but far from his most entertaining. Add to that the fact that this film has obviously been written by a few guys smokin' a lot of weed, and you've got the added bonus of many major "head trip" scenes. In fact, there are many things in this movie that are just so over the top, that you're either gonna laugh your head off or dismiss it all as crap on a stick. A man who grows breasts on top of his head. Adam Sandler breaking apart and transforming into a million little spiders with little Adam Sandler heads on all of them. A dog shown "doggying" another dog. For me, some of it was pretty hilarious, and some of it...so-so. Overall, the film did entertain me enough to recommend to Sandler fans looking for a little variety from the guy. Here he's taken his sweet, man-child character that he plays in all of his movies, and placed him inside a preposterous plot involving his father Satan, a talking dog and the greatest product placement advertisement ever used in film! But unlike all of his other films, this one focuses much more on the special effects, which is why it might have lacked more of the big laugh-out scenes.
Another aspect of the film which others may not like as much as I did, is the soundtrack, which was filled, and I mean filled with heavy tunes. Not everyone's taste, I know. I also really liked all of the cameos in this movie, and boy, were there ever a bunch! It seemed as though almost every member of the Saturday Night Live cast from Christmas past made an appearance somewhere in this film (including Chris Farley, who gets a nice posthumous homage near the end of the flick), and even some characters from previous Sandler films. Rodney Dangerfield was tops as the father of Satan, "Even in hell, I get no respect!" For the most part, I went with all of the over-the-top stuff, but some of it just didn't work for me. I didn't think the Quentin Tarantino character was funny at all, and the talking dog also didn't pie my piper. I did really like the angels in Heaven, which was a great scene, with kudos to Reese Witherspoon for taking such a small role and having a lot of fun with it. She played it perfectly. So overall, I guess I'm torn here, folks. I would definitely not suggest that any non-Sandler fans see this movie, because deep down, it's still the same ol' Sandler humor, but I would mildly recommend it to fans of the goof.
One thing that will definitely help you appreciate some of the more outrageous happenings in this movie is the addition of Mary and Jane to your person. The film is just soooooo out there at times! But sober or chemically "enlightened", this film does have enough funny to make for some good times for most Sandler fans. By the way, am I the only one who is hungry for some Popeye's chicken right about now?
Review Date: November 6, 2000 Director: Steven Brill Writers: Adam Sandler, Tim Herlihy, Steven Brill Producers: Jack Giarraputo, Robert Simonds Actors: Adam Sandler as Nicky Patricia Arquette as Valerie Harvey Keitel as Satan Genre: Comedy Year of Release: 2000 ------------------------------------ JoBlo's Movie Emporium http://www.joblo.com/ ------------------------------------ (c) 2000 Berge Garabedian
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