Movie review: Hubie Halloween
Adam Sandler's Netflix deal has been good for both him (he is in a far happier place creatively) and those who have to watch him.
The Netflix horror comedy Hubie Halloween is not great but not as terrible as Sandler could be.
And if you are under 15 –or older and miss the Ernest movies from the 90s – this might be a new seasonal classic.
For the rest of us, while saying the titular character's name Hubie Dubois is oddly enjoyable, this is another Sandler character with a mushmouthed voice to get on the nerves.
He is the self-appointed Halloween monitor of Salem, Massachusetts, a lonely man-child with a Doraemon-level multipurpose thermos.
He is bullied by the entire town – younger co-workers, old classmates, current school kids, even the priest – and every bike ride is a gauntlet of dodged projectiles. But this Halloween, his "skills" are actually needed.
Laughs are not huge, but there is the occasional giggle – such as Hubie's mum obliviously wearing T-shirts emblazoned with double-entendres. There's also a perfectly timed moment with a gravedigger.
Taking place over one night, the plotlines include stray teens, a possible werewolf, an asylum escapee and mysterious disappearances.
It is all over the place in tone and plot, but it has got a heart at its heart and a message that is hard to begrudge.
Rating: PG13
SCORE: 2.5/5
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