‘Hubie Halloween’: History repeats itself!

Adam Sandler is back. Now, he is a gifted actor who has risen above the screenplay to deliver strong performances as he did in the crime thriller Uncut Gems last year. The big problem is that his list of forgettable films is much longer than that of good ones.

The Steven Brill-helmed film Hubie Halloween is his latest ‘horror’ film unleashed on Netflix which has released his worst in recent times. Sandler also constitutes one half of the writing team, the other half being Tim Herlihy.

The story is set in Salem referred to as the unofficial Halloween capital of the United States. That is where Hubie (Sandler), the tormented Everyman, lives. He is a good soul who is single, hasn’t had sex, rides a bicycle, carries a multipurpose flask, works in a deli, and is looked down upon by almost everybody in the city. People ridicule him, which he tolerates daily. He lives with his overprotective mother, who wears fancy t-shirts and hates those who give hell to her son.

Apart from working in the deli, where he comes across rude people like Mr Landolfa (Ray Liotta), Hubie works as a volunteer who monitors activities in the city during Halloween. His new neighbour Walter Lambert (Steve Buscemi) has lupine qualities, which he discovers to his dismay. Sergeant Steve Downey (Kevin James) is a physically imposing cop who offers him the assignment of Salem’s volunteer protector. Hubie has a crush on Violet Valentine (Julie Bowen), a single woman with three adopted kids.

One day before the festivities, a convict named Richie Hartman (Rob Schneider) escapes from the local mental asylum. This man must be found while Salem readies itself for the big night.

The following day, Hubie sees several episodes of kidnapping while patrolling the city. He believes Hartman is behind these acts. It is soon revealed that the convict had run away from the asylum to look for Lambert, who had escaped from the same place earlier. After that, it is not difficult to figure out who is responsible for these kidnappings.

Uninspired comic writing makes Hubie Halloween a worse-than-mediocre film. The viewer expects witty one-liners but hears none. The twists in the plot are predictable. Sandler is okay as Hubie, and the only actors who make some impact are Buscemi as Lambert and James as Sgt Downey.

Netflix believes in Sandler because it knows that his fans enjoy his terrible comedies too. Hubie Halloween, in other words, is not the last bad Sandler comedy. Expect many more before he gets fed up of himself someday.