Let it be known that Adam Sandler always delivers on a promise! After delivering one of the best performances of 2019, Sandler proclaimed he would make one of the worst movies of all time if he didn’t get an Oscar nomination. The Academy took the bait, not nominating the man, so 9 months later, we are birthed Hubie Halloween. Ok, it’s not the worst movie I’ve ever seen, but it’s closer to the “Sandler Family & Friends Vacation Package” than “Billy Madison” unfortunately.
Salem Massachusetts has its fair share of scary history, witch burnings et al. So Halloween must be doubly scary there, with police on high alert at all times on All Hallow’s Eve. Enter Hubie Halloween (Sandler), a simple man who loves Halloween like everyone else, but also wants everyone to be safe. So he patrols the streets with his swiss army thermostat and bicycle to keep the town he loves safe while also enjoying the holiday. Hubie’s biggest test might come this particular Halloween, when an escaped patient from a mental institution threatens his town, including his mom (June Squibb) and his secret crush (Julie Bowen).
One of the great reviews of the recent Sandler movie drivel comes from Breakfast All Day’s Matt Atchity. During a scathing Grown Ups 2 review, Atchity pointed out how Sandler’s humor has shifted toward recognition humor, where simply identifying the cameo or movie reference is what’s supposed to be funny. The actor doesn’t have to be funny or anything; they just have to hang out and be there, with the movie giving them a little stage to exist. Hubie Halloween unleashes this type of humor in droves, staging one Sandler family & friends cameo or Sandler movie history moment every few minutes. When not distracting you with cameos (of which two, inlcuding the very first seconds into the movie, is kinda funny, and that’s really it), the rest of the movie’s jokes involve Adam Sandler humiliating himself for your entertainment: he dons the stupid voice, falls every 15 minutes in a funny way, and reacts like a crazy person when he gets scared. Exactly 2 running jokes are funny: Hubie’s ability to dodge random objects thrown at him, and Steve Buscemi’s random shadydoings. Most of the rest of the humor is for what I assume to be people half paying attention to the screen while the movie is on.
So if the movie’s that bad, you might wonder why the movie isn’t rated worse. Well, that’s because Hubie Halloween is shockingly sweet for a Sandler film. I think Sandler since becoming a dad has probably seen how bullying can affect a child and cause them immense pain. In this movie, the big problem the town of Salem has to overcome isn’t a literal monster, it’s the monster inside. All the scary people really tend to be all the people mocking Hubie, going to strange ends just to make him feel bad. And there’s poor meek Hubie, taking it, and moving forward, comfortable in his own skin, and kind to a fault. As a result, he is loved by the people that matter, and has the ability to win the hearts of the mean people. It’s obviously not subtle, but subtlety isn’t why you’re streaming Hubie Halloween. I would strongly consider showing this to children as a PSA about the power of being good and doing good things (the only real crude joke are the shirts June Squibb wears). The movie ends with a lovely shout out to the late Cameron Boyce, who worked as a child with Sandler on a bunch of his films.
Hubie Halloween will not become a holiday staple I watch again and again, but as I wound down before bed when I watched it, that’ll do just fine. It looks as if Sandler got to basically get paid to vacation with the people he loves filming this thing. No matter how bad this movie is, it’s hard to fault the guy for wanting to hang out with his loved ones and help out some people trying to make in in Hollywood. Thanks Hubie, I guess?