Eight Crazy Nights
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| Eight Crazy Nights | |
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| Directed by | Seth Kearsley |
| Produced by | Adam Sandler Jack Giarraputo |
| Written by | Brooks Arthur Allen Covert Adam Sandler Brad Isaacs |
| Starring | Adam Sandler Rob Schneider Austin Stout Jon Lovitz Allen Covert |
| Distributed by | Columbia Pictures |
| Release date(s) | 27 November 2002 (USA) |
| Running time | 86 minutes |
| Language | English |
| IMDb profile | |
Eight Crazy Nights is a 2002 animated musical comedy movie with Adam Sandler about the magic of the holidays.
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[edit] Plot
Set in the fictional small town of Dukesberry in December 2001, the movie focuses on Davey Stone, a drunk misanthrope with a long criminal record. Arrested in the beginning of the movie, he is about to be sentenced to jail time when Whitey Duvall, a sixty-nine-year-old volunteer referee from Dave's former basketball league comes forward at his trial. The judge, at Whitey's suggestion, sentences Davey to be a referee-in-training for the Youth Basketball League under Whitey as his community service. But the judge warns him for the last time, if he breaks one more law, he will be sentenced to ten years in prison. The next day, Davey referees his first game, which proves itself disastrous: Davey mocks an obese child, sends Whitey into a seizure (frequently seen throughout the movie), and unfairly ends the game. For the sake of relaxation, Whitey takes Davey to his favorite place: the mall. There, they meet Jennifer Friedman, a childhood girlfriend of Davey's, and her son, Benjamin. As before, Davey finds himself attracted to Jennifer, but Whitey reminds him that he lost his chance with her 20 years ago.
After an increasingly chaotic relationship between both Davey and Whitey, things seemingly come to an end when Davey's trailer falls to arson, after him and Benjamin bet against two people at a local rec center, and winning the bet by beating the people in basketball. The only thing he rescues from his burning trailer is a Hanukkah card from his parents. Whitey opens his and his sisters home to Davey, who (grudgingly) accepts their invitation. The Duvall household has many complex rules (referred to by Whitey as technical fouls), which prove themselves extremely irritating. However, he seemingly overcomes them, and begins to turn his life around.
The morning of Dukesberry's "All-Star Banquet" dawns with Whitey's hopes to win the coveted "Dukesberry Patch", which is seemingly impossible. The morning goes terribly badly, as Whitey reveals Davey's difficult past: his parents, on his way to an important basketball game, were hit by a truck which had fallen prey to black ice. The experience made Davey the delinquent that we have come to know. To Whitey's shock and horror, Davey enters a terrible rage, and stalks away, infuriated. That night, in a drunken stupor, Davey breaks into the mall, to yell at Jennifer (who is obviously not there). Once he has entered, the logos and products of various stores come to life, begging him to let his bottled up grief and pain out. He refuses, until they open the Hanukkah card from his parents. In the card, the parents sing to him, telling him to never change and that they love their "12 year-old boy." After finally letting out, the police arrive, but Davey manages to escape, planning to relocate to New York City.
En route to New York, while passing the "All-Star Banquet", the bus is forced to stop: a single thumbtack had popped all eight of the back tires (a hint at the miracle of Hanukkah). Davey realizes what he must do: he watches from outside the Banquet Hall to apologize to Whitey, only to see that the "All-Star Patch" has been given to someone else, and that Whitey (who was crushed) has left. Davey, realizing something must be done, enters, and speaks to the townspeople, convincing them that Whitey truly deserved the award.
After leaving the Banquet, Whitey goes to the deserted Mall to pray; he has decided that he will move to Florida, where he knows that, in such a large environment, it would be okay to go unnoticed. Just then, Davey appears with the entire town. Apologizing, they offer not only the 35th, but all patches to Whitey. Everything has worked out; Davey and Jennifer are together, and Whitey got his patch.
[edit] Characters
Davey Stone (Adam Sandler) - Delinquent Jewish man who used to be friendly, but became a grouch and a loner when his parents died in a car accident when he was 12. The story is centered on Davey's life.
Whitey Duvall (Adam Sandler) - A tiny, illiterate, balding basketball refree with a heart of gold. He has an odd foot condition (Men's 11 right foot, children's 9 left foot), as well as a very high pitched voice. He hopes to win the "Dukesberry All-Star Patch". He works hard throughout the movie to refocus Davey's life.
Jennifer Friedman (Jackie Sandler, but credited as Jackie Titone) - Former girlfriend and teammate of Davey and mother of Benjamin Friedman. She realizes there is still good in Davey, but holds a negative opinion of him because of his refusal to "let out" his grief.
Benjamin Friedman (Austin Stout) - Son of Jennifer and youth basketball player. He takes a liking to Davey, as does Davey to him.
Eleanore Duvall (Adam Sandler) - Fraternal twin sister of Whitey, who wears many wigs. It is a recurring gag that one of her wigs was thieved from her long ago, much to her dismay. She and Whitey live together, and she has not left the house in a very long time.
[edit] Songs
- Davey's Song - Davey
- At the Mall - Whitey
- Patch Song - Whitey
- Long Ago - Davey, Jennifer, Whitey, and Company
- Technical Foul - Davey, Whitey, and Eleanore
- Intervention Song - Davey and Mall Logos
- Bum Biddy - Davey, Jennifer, Benjamin, Mr. Chan, and Company
- The Chanukah Song, Part 3 - Sandler feat. Schneider and the Drei-Dels
[edit] Discontinuity
During the flashback to the night of the basketball game when Stone's parents were killed, it is revealed that Stone was twelve in the year 1981 and that twenty years had passed making the time period of the movie December 2001. However, during another flashback in the "Bum Biddy" song at Whitey Duvall's high school prom, a sign on the door read "Class of 1946". Assuming Duvall was eighteen years old when he graduated and is 69 during the duration of the film, then the time period of the movie would be December 1997.
Another discontinuity is the allusion to the time period in Whitey Duvall's flashbacks. In the film, it is established that that year was 1981; however he does the robot dance after a shot is made at the game (on the night of the death of Davey Stone's parents) to the tune of "Mr. Roboto" by the rock band Styx. "Mr. Roboto" wasn't released until 1983 on the album Kilroy Was Here. Therefore, the song couldn't possibly coincide with Duvall's flashback.
[edit] Product placement
The film includes a scene where numerous mascots of popular businesses come to life and attempt to force Davey to confront his past. These characters include the Foot Locker guy, Miss See's of See's Candies, the Panda Express panda, and a gigantic bottle labeled GNC.
[edit] Trivia
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- Portions of the film bear striking resemblance to other pieces of Sandler's comedy work. For example, the film's name comes from the opening to his "The Chanukah Song" and Whitey is very similar to the character Whitey from the track of the same name on Stan and Judy's Kid. Whitey is also put into real life in Sandler's film Little Nicky, played by Dana Carvey.
- Cole and Dylan Sprouse from Disney's The Suite Life of Zack and Cody play the KB Toys soldiers in the mall scene. The twins are quite fond of Adam Sandler, Sandler being their favourite actor, and they even starred alongside him in their breakthrough film, Big Daddy. They also are featured on a remix to The Chanukah Song. Cole Sprouse appeared in The Chanukah Song Part 2 and Dylan Sprouse appeared in Part 3 with Rob Schneider and Adam Sandler.
- Davey's parents are voiced by Adam Sandler's parents, Stanley and Judy Sandler. This was Stanley's first and last film appearance, he died in 2003 and his memory was dedicated in another Adam Sandler film, 50 First Dates.
- Many of the backgrounds resemble landmarks in Manchester, New Hampshire, where Adam Sandler grew up, such as the Red Arrow Diner. Also, the Dukesberry youth basketball court is almost identical to the JFK Coliseum in Manchester, however, the JFK is an ice rink, not a basketball court.
- Many animation fans have noted the design style of the characters in Eight Crazy Nights is similar to the design style of the characters in The Iron Giant. The majority of the animators that worked on this film were laid off from Warner Bros. Feature Animation (which produced The Iron Giant) and Fox Animation Studios.
[edit] Rating
Rated PG-13 by the MPAA for frequent crude and sexual humor, drinking and brief drug references.
[edit] Reception
The film was not well received by most critics, garnering only 13% positive reviews on Rotten Tomatoes[1]. It came in at fifth place on its opening weekend among U.S. Box Office, making only $14 million since its Wednesday launch. Despite a budget of $34 million, it only grossed a total of $23 million before leaving theaters after nine weeks.[2]
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- Official site
- Eight Crazy Nights at the Internet Movie Database
- Eight Crazy Nights at Rotten Tomatoes
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