or Little Nicky, life is Hell. Literally. He lives in the underworld with his Devil of a
father (Keitel) and his two sadistic brothers, Cassius (Tom "Tiny"
Lister) and Adrian (Rhys Ifans). The Devil isn't such a bad guy, but his two
elder sons are brutish miscreants. When it comes time to bequeath the throne
of Hell, Dad decides that none of his sons are up to the job and announces that
he will stay on as ruler for another 10,000 years.
While Nicky is thrilled to escape the terrors surely in store for him if either
of his brothers should reign, the resolution does not go over well with Adrian and
Cassius. They decide that if they can't rule in Hell, they will create their own
Hell on Earth. Their departure closes the gates of Hell and causes the Devil to start
deteriorating rapidly. If the prodigal sons do not return soon, their father
will die. His only hope is to send Nicky to Earth to bring them back. Nicky
is given a special silver flask to take with him. One drink from it and his
brothers will be trapped inside.
On Earth he receives guidance in the form of a talking dog named Beefy
(voiced by Robert Smigel), a former pal of Satan's. He also makes some human
friends along the way, including two Satan-worshipping headbangers and a pretty
wallflower named Valerie (Arquette).
When Nicky sacrifices his life for Valerie, he goes to Heaven and meets
his mother, an angel (Reese Witherspoon). She tells him he can defeat his
brothers by "releasing the good" inside. In the final showdown in New York's
Central Park, Nicky must fight the powers of darkness for the sake of Hell, Earth
and the lives of everyone he loves.
Hatin' the son of Satan
With its abundance of special effects and visual wizardry, Little Nicky
is perhaps Adam Sandler's most ambitious undertaking yet. The box office success
of previous vehicles like The Waterboy and Big Daddy proves
that he has a significant following of loyal fans. It's a safe bet to say that
those same fans will find Little Nicky entertaining too. Those who
don't find his bawdy sense of humor funny, however, should probably stay away.
Though it's obvious the filmmakers are trying very hard, most of the jokes
fall flat and induce more groans than they do laughs. A talking dog, even a
lecherous one, just isn't as funny as it was back in the day before modern
technical advances made such sights commonplace. Many of the gags, such as an
overly long sequence at a Harlem Globetrotters game, do little to advance the
wafer-thin plot and induce more groans than they do laughs.
As far as performances go, none of the characters is very intriguing to
watch. Sandler sustains the same screwed-up face and raspy voice throughout
the entire film. It's an irritating gimmick that didn't work well in The
Waterboy and doesn't work any better here. As the Devil, Harvey Keitel
just seems to be going through the motions, as if he didn't realize he was
supposed to be in a comedy. With the exception of Reese Witherspoon, who
shines as a bubbly teen angel, the supporting cast is lackluster as well.
The only slightly interesting thing about the film is the nonstop parade
of inexplicable cameos, ranging from celebrities like Regis Philbin, Dan Marino
and Ozzy Osbourne (all playing themselves) to Saturday Night Live veterans like
Dana Carvey, Jon Lovitz and Kevin Nealon (in character roles).
