“Hubie Halloween” Review

Story posted October 10, 2020 in Arts & Entertainment by Caelan Chevrier.

Adam Sandler returns in director Steven Brill’s comedy horror film “Hubie Halloween.”

The cast is filled with recognizable names including Steve Buscemi, Kevin James, Noah Schnapp, Julie Bowen, Maya Rudolph, Ray Liotta and even an appearance by Shaquille O’Neal. 

Sandler portrays Hubie Dubois, a wholesome man-child that works at a delicatessen and takes the responsibility of being a safety monitor on Halloween night to ensure that everyone practices “good Halloween etiquette.”

Hubie could not be more of a polar opposite character than Sandler’s character from his other most recent film, “Uncut Gems.”

Hubie carries around a swiss army thermos that serves almost unlimited uses from a flashlight, grappling hook, megaphone, flare gun, hairdryer and of course, to hold his soup. It is something that would be expected to see in “Inspector Gadget,” and it is hilarious every time that he takes it out.

Hubie is constantly ridiculed by the whole town who sees him as a loser, except his love interest Violet Valentine, who Hubie has always been too scared to ask out. Every time he rides his bicycle, he is met with children and adults alike throwing food, debris and even a few axes to knock him off.

Hubie wants to be brave and able to stand up for himself but is scared by nearly everything, overreacting and screaming at the top of his lungs at least a dozen times throughout the duration of the film.

As Halloween night progresses, several people throughout the town are kidnapped, and of course, it is up to Hubie to save the town and rescue the missing people. That along with a Steve Buscemi-werewolf on the loose, it is ingenuous chaos on-screen.

The ending and plot twist was slightly corny with the movie trying to teach a lesson of acceptance and treating others the way that you want to be treated.

As a whole, the movie was very enjoyable as everything from the plot, dialogue, costume design and one-liners were absolutely ridiculous. A majority of the comedy comes from fart and sex jokes, but the lowbrow humor somehow has some charm to it.

One may find themselves laughing at moments they know they shouldn’t, moments that are not intentionally funny come off as comical. This is mostly credited to the delivery of lines, and humor so bad that it's good.

Some of the plot lines, such as the romantic one between Hubie and Violet, did not make much sense. But does logic matter in a Sandler movie? The recurring jokes weren’t the best either, especially the one where Hubie doesn’t understand what “boner” means.

The movie ends with a tribute to the late Cameron Boyce, who Sandler was good friends with and was originally going to co-star in the movie.

For those who have liked previous Adam Sandler movies, “Hubie Halloween” is a decent, harmless movie with the jokes being more hits than misses.

Is “Hubie Halloween” here to save 2020? No, not exactly. But the movie is enough fun to keep viewers entertained throughout its entire duration and is a satisfactory moment in Sandler’s discography.

Rating: 3/5

 

Caelan Chevrier is a freshman majoring in journalism. To contact him, email cjc6789@psu.edu.

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Caelan Chevrier

Third Year / Marketing & Journalism

Caelan Chevrier is a third-year student in the Smeal College of Business at Penn State University studying marketing and broadcast journalism with the goal of graduating with a bachelor’s degree in four years. His career goal is to spread informative, meaningful, and entertaining content across various platforms and to be a positive impact on the community. He has also spent time working at WWE in the communications department and writing for The Westport Local Press in his hometown of Westport, CT. If you’d like to contact him, email him at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) or .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).