Blu-ray Review – Little Nicky

Little was expected of 1995's "Billy Madison." It represented Adam Sandler's first starring vehicle, making use of his goofball screen presence and love of juvenile absurdity. The "Saturday Night Live" star wasn't exactly the typical big screen comedian, but Sandler found his way to a decent moneymaker in a delightfully weird endeavor, building on that momentum with 1996's "Happy Gilmore." Sandler had a fanbase, but he turned into a bankable star after the releases of "The Wedding Singer," "The Waterboy," and "Big Daddy," amassing a following that delighted in his bizarre sense of humor, forcing Hollywood to notice the actor and his A-list potential. Such incredible success and studio faith was put to the test in 2000's "Little Nicky," where Sandler and his Happy Madison Productions were entrusted with a large budget for the first time, aiming to create a dark comedy with extensive visual effects while still retaining Sandler's love of stupidity. "Little Nicky" was Sandler's first major bomb when it was released, with its extremity too much for audiences at the time, but the film isn't a creative washout. It's noisy, and the screenplay is too permissive with lame Sandler- isms, but the feature holds together as an interesting experiment in overkill, going for a wild take on hellacious happenings with unpleasant characters, occasionally returning to the comfort of weirdness. It's a tonal gamble that doesn't entirely pay off, but there's some enjoyable anarchy and swift pacing to this ridiculous picture. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com