Eight Crazy Nights


Eight Crazy Nights is a 2002 American animated musical comedy-drama Christmas and Hanukkah film directed by Seth Kearsley and produced, co-written by, and starring Adam Sandler in his first voice-acting role. The film is animated in the style of television holiday specials and, unlike most mainstream holiday films, centers on Jewish characters during the Hanukkah season, as opposed to the Christian celebration of Christmas.
This is also Happy Madison Productions' first animated film. The film's title is taken from a line in Sandler's series of songs called The Chanukah Song that compares the gift-giving traditions of Christmas and Chanukah: "Instead of one day of presents, we get eight crazy nights!" A new version of The Chanukah Song also plays over the film's closing credits. It has been called the best known Hanukkah film.
The film has received a cult following, especially among those in the Jewish community, as it is one of the highest-profile and most-known Hanukkah films.

Plot

In December 2001 in the small fictional town of Dukesberry, New Hampshire, Davey Stone is a 33-year-old Jewish alcoholic troublemaker with a long criminal record whose antics have long earned him the community's animosity. Davey is arrested for refusing to pay his bill at Mr. Chang's Chinese restaurant, attempting to evade arrest, stealing a snowmobile, and destroying festive ice sculptures in the process. At Davey's trial, Whitey Duvall, a 70-year-old volunteer referee from Davey's former basketball league, intervenes. At Whitey's suggestion, the judge sentences Davey to community service as a referee-in-training for Whitey's Youth Basketball League. Under the terms of the community service, if Davey commits a crime before his sentence is completed, he will serve 10 years in prison.
The next day, Davey's first game ends in disaster. After Davey causes disruptions and torments an obese player for his gynecomastia, Whitey suffers a grand mal seizure, and the game is abruptly halted, Davey forfeiting it to the opposing team for the sole purpose of making said obese player cry. Attempting to calm Davey down, Whitey takes him to the mall, where they meet Davey's childhood friend Jennifer Friedman and her son Benjamin. Whitey reminds Davey that he lost his chance with Jennifer 20 years earlier, but Davey secretly still has feelings for her.
As time progresses, Davey and Whitey's relationship becomes more strained. Whitey's various attempts to encourage Davey are met with humiliation and assault—including but not limited to Davey knocking Whitey into a porta-potty then spraying him with a hose when he climbs out, causing him to be frozen in defecation for several hours before a group of grazing reindeer licks him out. When Davey gets home his trailer is being burned down by a man who lost a basketball match to him earlier and was forced to chew on a jock strap. Davey runs into the burning trailer to rescue a Hanukkah card from his late parents, then watches the trailer burn down. Whitey opens his home to Davey, who reluctantly accepts; also living there is Whitey's diabetic fraternal twin sister Eleanore. The Duvall household has many complex rules, to which Whitey refers as technical fouls. Davey seemingly overcomes them and starts to turn his life around.
But Davey's progress in reforming stops short when Whitey recalls what happened two decades ago: En route to one of Davey's basketball games, his parents were killed in a car accident when a truck skidded on black ice and swerved into them, and Davey learned of their deaths when the police showed up at the end of his game to inform him. Devastated by the loss of his loving parents and leaping from foster home to foster home, Davey spent the next 20 years numbing his pain with alcohol and petty crime. Uncomfortable with this reminder of his tragic, painful childhood, Davey loses his temper and insults both Whitey and Eleanore and Whitey kicks Davey out, much to Davey's relief.
Davey spends the rest of the day drinking, and that night he breaks into the closed mall. In his drunken stupor, he imagines the logos of various stores coming to life and confronting him about his inability to grieve for his parents, which they identify as the source of his alcoholism. He finally opens his parents' Hanukkah card, which contains a heartfelt message praising him for being a good son, and two photos: one of a young Davey and Jennifer at one of their basketball games, and one with his late parents. Davey finally cries and comes to terms with his loss. Just then the police arrive to arrest him, but he escapes and boards a bus to New York City. En route, the bus is forced to stop when a single thumbtack in the road punctures all eight rear tires. Reminded of the Miracle of Hanukkah, Davey walks off the bus, intending to find Whitey and make amends with him.
Davey finds Whitey at the All-Star Banquet, an annual town celebration in which one member of the community is recognized for positive contributions to Dukesberry with the "Dukesberry All-Star Patch" which Whitey has wanted for 35 years. When Whitey is passed over for seemingly the final time, he decides to move to Florida and live the rest of his life in anonymity. Risking arrest, Davey enters the hall and informs everyone of Whitey's many selfless contributions to Dukesberry throughout his life. The ashamed townspeople acknowledge the error of their decision. Davey leads them to Whitey, who has gone to the mall with Eleanore to "speak to it" one more time. The townspeople thank Whitey for his service over the years and the Mayor officially grants him the Patch Award. All 34 previous recipients of the awards give theirs to Whitey. Davey and Jennifer reconcile and Whitey goes into a seizure, which he calls "the happiest seizure of my life!"

Cast

;Store logos
The film was animated by Anvil Studios, A. Film A/S, Bardel Entertainment, Goldenbell Animation, Marina Motion Animation, Spaff Animation, Tama Production, Time Lapse Pictures, Warner Bros. Animation, Y. R. Studio, and Yowza! Animation. It was the only animated film that Adam Sandler worked on until Hotel Transylvania in 2012, and remains the only traditionally-animated film to have his involvement.
Seth Kearsley revealed in an email to Doug Walker that certain elements of the movie that were notorious, specifically the feces-eating deer scene and even Whitey's voice, were intended to be cut, but were kept due to "focus groups" who had seen the film, as well as the fact that the product placements were used without permission.

Reception

Box office

Eight Crazy Nights came in at fifth place on its opening weekend among U.S. box office, making only $14 million since its Wednesday launch. It only grossed a total of $23.6 million in North America and negligible foreign box office receipts, for a total of only $23.8 million worldwide. This made Eight Crazy Nights become a box office bomb, losing an approximate at lowest $10.5 million to up to $44.6 million.

Critical response

The film received largely negative reviews. Rotten Tomatoes gives the film a rating of 12% and an average score of 3.1/10, based on 109 reviews, with the consensus saying "Sandler returns to his roots in this nauseating concoction filled with potty humor and product placements." Top film critic Roger Ebert gave the film two out of four possible stars and derided the movie's dour tone, saying that "The holidays aren't very cheerful in Sandlerville." However, on his review program, co-host Richard Roeper gave the film a "Thumbs Up!" Sandler won a Kids' Choice Award for Best Voice in an Animated Movie in 2003 and was nominated for the Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Actor, along with Mr. Deeds.

Home media

Eight Crazy Nights was released November 4, 2003 on VHS and single- and two-disc edition DVD. The two-disc "special edition" features deleted scenes, several audio commentaries, and Sandler's short film "A Day with the Meatball", among other special features. A Blu-ray version of the film was released on December 13, 2016.

Awards

;Kids' Choice Awards, USA 2003
AwardCategoryNomineeResult
Blimp AwardFavorite Voice from an Animated MovieAdam Sandler

;Razzie Awards 2003
AwardCategoryNomineeResult
Razzie AwardWorst Actor and Most Flatulent Teen-Targeted MovieAdam Sandler For Mr. Deeds and Eight Crazy Nights

Soundtrack

The soundtrack of the film was released on November 27, 2002 by Columbia/Sony Music Soundtrax. The soundtrack contains every song in the film, including the new installment of "The Chanukah Song" and a deleted song, called "At the Mall", sung by Whitey as he strolls through the mall in an alternate opening, which is included in the DVD release.