What do a shirtless sushi restaurant manager who bangs his head on tables, a man who eats a fatter man's jock strap and a woman with three breasts nursing three babies have in common?
They're all from Adam Sandler's imagination.
"Adam Sandler's Eight Crazy Nights," caters to a specific younger crowd consisting of those who appreciate the off-kilter but reachable humor that Sandler so effortlessly achieves with quirky characters and absurd situations.
Incorporating dramatic, musical and comedic aspects, the realistic fable-cartoon is not nearly up to par with "Happy Gilmore" but is less hellish than "Little Nicky."
Although the same principles that made "Billy Madison" and "Gilmore" cult classics are in "Eight Crazy Nights," the cartoon form is a less satisfying medium for Sandler's genius. The movie is supposedly animated to avoid the limitations of live-action movies. However, its realistic base does not give much opportunity to take advantage of that freedom. Humor possibilities are lost due to limited facial expression and fantasy/reality dilemmas.
The story gets off to a slow start with an omniscient narrator (Rob Schneider) introducing Davey Stone, the town screw-up who is constantly inebriated. Throughout the movie Schneider's dopey voiceover relays plot information and cracks unnecessary bad jokes. The story undoubtedly could have been delivered more strongly in the first person.
Nothing engaging happens for at least 15 minutes, planting a seed of skepticism before the plot even commences.
When it finally does, Davey's delinquency is consummated in his arrest for an eat and run, and his infamous reputation earns him a 10-year sentence.
