Hubie Halloween

Release year: 2020
My Rating: ★★½ out of 5

Tagline: Fear. Less.

Synopsis: Hubie Dubois, despite his devotion to his hometown of Salem, Massachusetts (and its legendary Halloween celebration), is a figure of mockery for kids and adults alike. But this year, something really is going bump in the night, and it’s up to Hubie to save Halloween.

I think that Adam Sandler choosing to follow up his most acclaimed performance of his career with Hubie Halloween, possibly one of his most critically panned movies, might just be one of the funniest things about Sandlerfest. The whiplash of watching Uncut Gems and then Hubie Halloween immediately after was incredible (after a Taco Bell break of course!). It really is the reason why I have grown to like Adam Sandler so much. You may assume you know what you're gonna get, and then the movie and Sandler himself surprises you.

But yeah, Hubie Halloween isn't that good. Still, honestly, one of the more fun Sandler movies as of late. I don't really get the immense hate for this one, but I do have a theory.

I think Adam Sandler gained a new group of fans after Uncut Gems of genuine film lovers (or snobs if you want to view them that way!). A group of people who were like, "Maybe I judged Adam Sandler too harshly. I'm going to give another of his movies a shot, and maybe it'll be a subversive masterpiece." Yeah, Hubie Halloween is no masterpiece. And I don't care, it was pretty enjoyable despite it being objectively not incredible.

This movie feels a bit like it was what all of Sandlerfest was leading up to. You've got a cast of so many of the titans of his movies: Kevin James, Julie Bowen, Maya Rudolph, Steve Buscemi, Tim Meadows, Shaquille O'Neal (Yes, he's a Sandler regular!), and also Rob Schneider. And say what you will about Schneider, I know I have, but at least he's not in brownface here. So now I just have a general "anti-Rob Schneider because he's unfunny" sentiment for this movie, but that's better than I can say about almost every other movie he's in.

And how can I hate on Julie Bowen! I love that she's back after not being in a Sandler movie since Happy Gilmore. I just find her over-the-top love for Hubie really funny especially when the whole town hates him. 

And of course we have the main man, Adam Sandler. I think this is actually one of Sandler's most rootable roles just based on how mean everyone is to him for no reason. Like, he's just a weirdo, so the hate gets a little too much for me sometimes. And Sandler is strange with this role, and, oh my god, have I missed it! Sandler used to do so many more voices, but we saw fewer of them throughout the late 2000s and 2010s.I missed this Sandler! The one who will make the character have one of the weirdest voices for no reason, and you can tell he's trying to hold back laughter the whole time. This is my Sandler. Maybe he's back for good.

All the hate for this movie is from people who don't quite understand, this is the Adam Sandler we should want. Sure Hubie Halloween isn't a great movie, but that's not the important thing. What matters most is that with the last couple movies, it seems like Sandler is having fun again. And when he has fun, we have fun.