Adam Sandler, in collaboration with Netflix, presents the film 'Hubie Halloween'. A family comedy on the theme of Halloween and a magical thermos in our spoiler-free review.

American film critics are calling Adam Sandler's new project Hubie Halloween a complete hack job. Indeed, after the success of Uncut Gems, everyone expected a breakthrough, something unusual, memorable, or at least a fun Halloween story. But they got none of that. The new comedy is completely devoid of ambition, yet it sets itself an obvious goal: to make you laugh by any absurd means possible. Perhaps Sandler is no longer interested in working in new genres, as he skillfully reuses old tricks from the 90s. But let's take it step by step.

About the Plot

Adam Sandler wrote the script for Hubie Halloween himself, in collaboration with Tim Herlihy, known for other joint projects with the comedian like Happy Gilmore and Just Go with It.

Salem resident Hubie Dubois is a good-natured simpleton and a huge Halloween fan, as well as a perpetual object of ridicule for both adults and children. Every year, when his favorite holiday arrives, Hubie, with all his civic responsibility, keeps order in the town, while the police are at their wit's end trying to get rid of this conscientious citizen's constant reports. But this time, real disappearances are happening in Salem, and Hubie turns out to be the only witness to the events.

Warning: the mystery of the kidnappings here frankly doesn't work; there's not even a hint of an internal detective story. There's no tension, and the film itself feels drawn out.

In the film Hubie Halloween from Netflix, they did a decent job recreating the atmosphere of autumn and the holiday: great sets, color grading, costumes, and the cozy town itself. But what's disappointing is that the essence of the film isn't to illustrate the character's journey or some battle against the backdrop of a spooky night in Salem, but rather to show a cool guy who is laughed at by absolutely everyone, even the priest. And that's it.

About Hubie

Sandler's character certainly won't join the ranks of memorable roles in his career. He's completely ordinary. The only unusual thing might be his thermos, which all social media users are already joking about. You have no idea what's inside it.

Besides being a Halloween fanatic, the main character is also a local snitch, a kind of people's police officer. It's clear why the whole town despises him.

Hubie was supposed to be a satire of horror films that were so popular in the 80s and 90s. Or at least a satire of satire (like the Scream series). But in the end, most of the jokes are not related to the theme of Halloween or the supernatural.

Where to Laugh?

The film Hubie Halloween is called a family movie, yet all the jokes are about genitals, erections, farting, and insults towards the hero. You definitely can't watch such a movie with children, or rather, they definitely won't understand the jokes. Even the main character's mother changes several t-shirts with crude slogans throughout the film.

Is the film completely unfunny? Overall, no; even in the first half hour, there's something to laugh and smile at. But it's more from absurdity than from good jokes. For example, the neighbor kids go from throwing food and toilet paper at Hubie to flaming bags of poop and an axe.

What About the Guests?

It seems Sandler put more effort into assembling a star-studded cast with cameo roles on screen than into writing the plot and jokes.

Steve Buscemi plays the role of a strange neighbor here, and Rob Schneider plays an escapee from a mental hospital. Julie Bowen from Happy Gilmore once again becomes Adam Sandler's love interest.

Also among the stars brought in are Kevin James (Hitch, Grown Ups, and Pixels), Maya Rudolph (Away We Go, Grown Ups, Bridesmaids), Tim Meadows from SNL, Michael Chiklis (American Horror Story, Vegas, No Ordinary Family), basketball player Shaquille O'Neal, and a dozen other familiar faces.

Since Hubie Halloween is considered a family film, for children and teenagers they squeezed in a young star from Stranger Things — Noah Schnapp and Paris Berelc from Alexa & Katie.

Conclusion

Perhaps it will be hard for us to understand that in small American towns, everyone has known each other since school and, essentially, knows your entire life. If the whole school laughed at you, then after graduation, the whole town will point fingers at you. Meanwhile, Hubie just ignores everyone and lives for pleasure, or maybe he's just simple-minded. This is a thinly veiled moral that they wanted to reflect in the film Hubie Halloween.

This is a movie that is perfect for watching in the background while you do something else. But nothing more.