There are few if any movies focusing on Hanukah, and if Adam Sandler's 8 Crazy Nights is any indication, then there should be no more movies about Hanukah. Ever. This movie is a piece of garbage, aimed squarely at Sandler's core audience, yet too dumb even for their standards. It takes the typical Sandler formula and twists it around just enough to take what little warmth and geniality there is present in his characters and removes them. The most likely reason this movie is more obnoxious is that it is a cartoon, and people can get away with things in cartoons they cannot do in real life. Like pushing a man in a portable toilet down a hill, spraying water on his feces covered body until it freezes, and watching a heard of smart deer lick it up eagerly. Yeah, dumb movie.
Sandler (Punch-Drunk Love, Mr. Deeds) plays Davey Stone, the local disaffected youth who really is nothing more than an ass. He has always been a jerk around the holidays (well, all year) for reasons that are bound to change once the movie nears its conclusion. At the beginning of the movie, he ruins some large holiday ice sculptures and is bound for severe punishment before Whitey (also voiced by Sandler), a short hairy community activist, says that he wants a chance to reform Davey. Whitey coached Davey a long time ago, and wants the nice Davey back. Whitey lives with his twin sister Eleanore (Sandler again), another weird short person. So Whitey does his best to help Davey, and Davey acts like a delinquent. He meets Jennifer (Jackie Titone, Little Nicky, Big Daddy), a beautiful woman disgusted with Davey's behavior. Apparently, she's not that smart, because she eventually falls for him. There is also a story about how Whitey wants to win an award, but nobody notices the work that he does.
As short as it is, 8 Crazy Nights is still hard to sit through. Yet four people, Sandler, Brooks Arthur, Allan Covert, and Brad Isaacs all share story credit. The script has the feeling of something a bunch of guys thought funny while drunk, unfortunately this time Sandler has the money to make it reality. There are a number of uninspired musical numbers, simple, inconsistent character facial animation, and some tasteless product ads courtesy of director Seth Kearsley. Towering above (below?) everything is Sandler's performance. His Davey sounds (and looks) bored when he should sound mischievous. His performance here ruins any credibility he gained in Punch-Drunk Love. It's curious to think who exactly this movie is for. It is a cartoon, yet definitely not for children. It is too crude and stupid for adults. His trademark humor is not evident either; it is just a guy acting like a jerk.