In Little Nicky, Adam Sandler plays the sweetest of three sons of Satan (Harvey Keitel), who's got to go to Earth and retrieve his nasty, power-hungry brothers lest they take over Hell and make it a thoroughly evil place. As with Sandler's other films, this weird premise (based oh-so-loosely on King Lear) is just an excuse to trot out a hodgepodge of comic bits and cameo performances. Admittedly, a lot of the jokes don't work (there was no need to repeat the one about shoving a pineapple up Hitler's ass), but the ones that do tend to be more memorable than the ones that don't, making for a pretty funny movie, when all is said and done. Sure, it's hard to overcome Sandler's speech impediment du jour, not to mention that romantic subplot with Patricia Arquette, but it can be done by focusing on the brilliant cameos by Regis Philbin, Reese Witherspoon, Ozzy Osbourne, and Henry Winkler (especially when he's covered with bees), as well as one of the funniest uses of a scene from De Palma's Scarface in years. Supporting Sandler throughout are two very funny heavy metal disciples and a bulldog named Beefy (voiced by Robert Smigel, the man behind Triumph the Insult Comic Dog). And, in an almost unrecognizable cameo, that's Clint Howard as the cross-dressing fetishist named "Nipples." --Andy Spletzer

Continuing in the tradition of his hits THE WATERBOY and HAPPY GILMORE, Adam Sandler stars in LITTLE NICKY, a supernatural comedy about Satan's geekiest son. Nicky (Sandler) is relieved when his father (Harvey Keitel) decides to continue as ruler of the underworld for another 10,000 years instead of picking one of his bullying brothers, Adrian (Rhys Ifans) or Cassius (Tom "Tiny" Lister), to reign. Adrian and Cassius, hungry for power, decide to travel to New York City in order to spread Hell on Earth. Only Nicky can stop them and save his father--and the world--from his brothers' evil schemes. But Nicky has no idea what to expect from New York City, and he has to deal with new activities such as eating, sleeping, and meeting a new girlfriend, Valerie (Patricia Arquette). His friends Mr. Beefy, a talking bulldog, and John and Peter, a pair of hardcore heavy metal fans, try to help Nicky stand up for himself and eventually save the universe. LITTLE NICKY features a cast of regulars from other Adam Sandler movies, plus a hilariously bizarre sense of humor that allows all sorts of odd and twisted things to happen.

None of Satan's sons are good enough to retire except Nicky - but he lacks any evil whatsoever. For Nicky to release his evil he has to get his brothers to leave hell and so freeze the wall of fire that lets people into hell...

Artist(s):

FEATURE FILM

Director:

Steven Brill

Producer:

Robert Simonds; Jack Giarraputo; Alan Covert

Screenwriter:

Adam Sandler; Tim Herlihy

Editor:

Jeff Gourson

Costume Designer:

Ellen Lutter

Executive Producer:

Bob Engelman

Production Designer:

Perry Andelin Blake

Music:

Michael Dilbeck

Duration:

90

Age Restriction:

12

Subtitles:

English

Video Encoding:

16:9 Anamorphic Wide Screen

Rating:

12

"...[A] family-friendly comedy....Embraces turn-of-the-century self-help ideology in a crushingly sincere masculine bearhug..."

2000-07-07 00:00:00
New York Times

"...Spirited performances and funny moments..."

2001-01-01 00:00:00
Sight and Sound