Common Sense Media Review
Poor attempt at holiday humor with lots of iffy behavior.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 14+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Watch
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Adam Sandler's Eight Crazy Nights
Parent and Kid Reviews
Based on 15 parent reviews
Parents say that while the film is entertaining and funny, it is not suitable for young children due to its crude humor, strong language, and themes of alcohol use. Many viewers enjoy the humor and music, but some criticize the character development and overall quality, emphasizing that the film is better suited for older audiences.
- humor not for children
- strong language
- enjoyable for older viewers
- poor character development
- divided opinions
Summarized with AI
Summarized with AI
Based on 42 kid reviews
Kids say this animated holiday film has a mix of opinions; while some enjoy its humor and animation, many find the main character unlikable and the humor inappropriate for younger audiences. The movie is noted for its crude jokes and strong language, making it more suitable for older teens and young adults rather than children.
- crude humor
- unlikable character
- mixed opinions
- suitable for teens
- good animation
Summarized with AI
What's the Story?
Thirty-three-year-old Davey Stone (Adam Sandler) is an angry drunk living alone and hating the community, the holidays, and himself. When his destructive behavior lands him in front of a judge who gives him a jail sentence, Whitey Duvall (also Adam Sandler), the endlessly good-hearted youth basketball coach, intervenes to help Davey find his inner adult. Through flashbacks, Davey at 12 years old (Adam Uhler) is revealed to be a sweet and thoughtful kid with loving parents, a best friend/girlfriend, Jennifer, and a talent for basketball. It was his inability to come to terms with the loss of his parents that took Davey down the path to becoming the heavy-drinking town miscreant. Whitey's attempts to put Davey on the straight-and-narrow path are aided by Eleanor Duvall (also Adam Sandler), Whitey's twin sister, and the reappearance of Jennifer (Jackie Titone).
Is It Any Good?
EIGHT CRAZY NIGHTS is a bit of an enigma. In the Venn diagram of movie-goers, Adam Sandler fans are not an easy overlap with those who cherish holiday musicals. This lame attempt at comedy is more likely to appeal to the former than the latter. Unleashed by the medium of animation, Sandler's raging little-boy humor takes on an aura of threatening menace, tempered only by Davey's 11th-hour revelation, which does little to heal the wounds inflicted along the way. Unlike his personas in The Waterboy, Little Nicky, Happy Gilmore, or numerous Saturday Night Live skits, Davey -- Adam Sandler's proxy -- is seldom the object of the comical abuse, but it's instead the diminutive and furry Whitey who is the town's whipping boy. Though Davey's equal-opportunity hatred is (somewhat) explained, the treatment of the physically challenged Duvall twins by the town rings of a darker, crueler humor.
Families looking for something to watch together should steer clear, unless appreciation of outhouse humor is a family tradition. Clearly, this movie, with its taunting mockery of the physically challenged, its very graphic potty jokes, and its drunken binges also is not for animation fans seeking Disney's sweet concoctions or Pixar's wry wit. Older teens looking for the extreme edge of South Park will not be appeased by the suburban softness of fart jokes. All of this probably narrows the circle of appreciative audience members to those who want to see a feature-length movie along the lines of skits from Spike & Mike's Sick & Twisted Festival of Animation.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about the appeal of gross-out humor. Do you think it's funny? Why, or why not?
On the surface, this is a "holiday-themed" movie, right down to the animation. How is this different from most traditional holiday-themed movies?
Who is the intended audience here? How can you tell?
Movie Details
- In theaters : November 27, 2002
- On DVD or streaming : November 27, 2002
- Cast : Adam Sandler , Jackie Titone , Jon Lovitz
- Director : Seth Kearsley
- Studio : Columbia Tristar
- Genre : Comedy
- Run time : 71 minutes
- MPAA rating :
- MPAA explanation : frequent crude and sexual humor, drinking and brief drug references.
- Last updated : February 24, 2026
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