Hubie Halloween (Movie Review)

I've never really considered myself a fan of Adam Sandler, even though I really enjoyed The Wedding Singer all the way back in 1998. There's just something about his particular brand of comedy that seems to rub me the wrong way. But following his brilliant performance in Uncut Gems last year, I'd started to view the comedic actor in a new light. Which, admittedly, is the only reason why I had given Hubie Halloween a shot, his latest collaborative effort with Netflix.

Hubie Halloween stars Adam Sandler as Hubie Dubios, a man that has more in common with Courage the Cowardly Dog than any French artist or athlete you might be thinking of. He is the literal joke of the town of Salem, serving as perfect fodder for their various jokes and pranks. And who can blame them? Not when he still lives with his mother and carries around a surprisingly versatile thermos. But just like every other man-child in these types of movies, he's of course got his heart in the right place, and we're expected to root for him as a result.

Every Halloween, Hubie assigns himself the task of town monitor, making sure that the townsfolk conduct themselves in a safe and orderly manner, as they go about trick-or-treating. Except this year, the festivities are affected when a dangerous inmate with ties to their town escapes from a nearby mental institution, and people start disappearing. Now Hubie must summon up enough courage to get to the bottom of the mystery, before he falls victim as well.

Hubie Halloween finds Adam Sandler at his most obnoxious, which can either be a good or a bad thing, depending on how much affinity you have for such roles. Unfortunately, I didn't have any, and I was immediately turned off by everything from his adopted accent to the over-the-top antics on display. This was obviously another kids movie at its core, but even those have gotten way more sophisticated than this over the years, which is my way of saying even kids deserve better.

That said, there were a few laugh-out-loud moments in Hubie Halloween. And the comedic ensemble they had managed to gather for the film is enough reason to give the movie a watch. But your enjoyment of the film as a whole depends on how funny you consider watching adults behaving like children, or worse, like complete idiots. And I just didn't happen to subscribe to any of that during this particular outing.