5/10 “Hubie Halloween” surprised me. Now don’t get me wrong, this is a typical Adam Sandler movie. The plot is ridiculous, over the top and completely outlandish. Character development is nonexistent. The humor is largely childish. Sandler is back to doing a strange voice and somehow always gets a woman who is way out of his league. This is a very formulaic movie that is overall dumb. That being said, the surprising thing was how much I enjoyed it and the fact that it despite some of the crudeness, it teaches a nice moral lesson by the time the movie ends. Sandler mainly seems to play these stupid characters but they are equally likeable, as is Sandler himself so it makes the pill so much easier to swallow. I grew up on several Halloween themed comedies as a kid but I feel like there aren’t many of those made today. Despite this by no means equating to being a new, modern classic Halloween comedy, it was refreshing to see a new movie in this genre. There were a few laughs to be had, some amazing cameos (Sandler is always able to attract his friends and big name talent) and great call backs to previous Sandler films that were pretty delightful. Visually, the Halloween setting provides for some creative lighting, sets and costumes and the music is expectedly spooky and fun. As mentioned earlier, unlike most Sandler movies, this one has a moral message about kindness and anti-bullying that was emotionally heartwarming. So maybe this movie won’t get any Oscar nominations and it has some questionable CGI (objects are constantly being thrown at Sandler’s character and they are all obvious CGI, including when he pukes near the beginning of the movie which was the most obviously fake moment). And maybe Julie Bowen (who I love) plays a character who isn’t developed and seems overly obsessed with Hubie for no reason. The movie is really juvenile and ridiculous but that’s what we’ve come to expect from Sandler and company and you should know what you are getting into from watching the movie’s trailer. Despite the flaws, the likeable, charming cast, a few moments of laughter, fun setting, amazing cameos, solid pacing and emotional moral message add up to a silly Halloween movie that is enjoyable, festive and fun. You could definitely do a lot worse this Halloween so give it a shot with your expectations in check and you can (Hallo)ween yourself off of some horror films for a change.
#ChildrenOfTheCornMaze / #ReservoirWerewolves / #JuneBloodSquibb / #EightCrazyFrights / #ScaryHubie / #HubieLewisAndTheClues
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