SANDLER’S CHRISTMAS EXPRESS

I have been a fan of the movies Adam Sandler has made to date. Are they cinematic treasures? Heck no! They’re nothing more than fun comedies that make me laugh. And with that in mind, I expected nothing less from this movie, even if it is the animated adventures of a Sandler character.

What I got instead was a mish mash of several movie styles that never quite gels. Sure, it made me feel good by films end but I think that has more to do with my feelings towards sappy movies during the holidays than the movie itself (see review of ELF).

The story revolves around Davey (Sandler) who is the town jerk. Having had the chance to make something of his life, he tossed it all aside one fateful night when his parents died on the way to watch him play in a junior league basketball game. Now the town drunk, a run in with the law is about to land him in jail. Until a kindly, tiny voice speaks up.

Whitey (again Sandler) is the town do-gooder. He has worked forever at the town recreation center with kids playing there since the days when Davey was learning his first jump shot. Whitey sees something in Davey that no one else does and takes a chance on him. He has him turned over to his custody and has him help at the center.

But years of bitterness have left Davey hollow inside. He has no use for anyone. He treats everyone with disdain. He even goes so far as to admit that he hates himself. It isn’t until he meets Jennifer, the girl of his dreams long ago, again and her son that he begins to even consider coming around.

But as fate would have it, things continue to go from bad to worse until Davey makes the decision to leave town behind and make a run for it. On the night when Whitey hopes to earn the towns respect for the years he has given by receiving an award called the spirit patch, Davey hits the road knowing full well that it won’t happen. While Whitey may give more to the town than the people realize, he is one of those faceless people that does it all and receives no praise. And if Davey leaves, it becomes just one more major disappointment in Whitey’s life.

Unless a Christmas miracle could take place.

Now, while the plot of this movie seems quite simple that’s because…well…it is. Surrounding the story of Davey and Whitey are the small tales of the rest of the townsfolk. The adventures and predicaments that the pair gets involved in as well as musical numbers fill it out as well. And what would a Sandler film be without tons of crude humor? If toilet humor (and in some cases here I mean that literally) offends or disgust you then this movie is not your cup of tea.

While I enjoyed the comedy here as well as the animation and story beneath it all, I found that there was too much mean spirit running throughout for me to embrace it. The joy of the film does not come about until the final moments of the film, long after we have been bombarded with the cruelty over and over again. The ending does raise that warm fuzzy feeling inside but at what cost to get there?

This is one movie that will have a hard time finding an audience. Most people over 12 aren’t that interested in animated films. And those over 30 will not find the gross out humor all that great. But there are a few of us twisted people out there who will enjoy this one even if not making it a regular Christmas treat. Watching it once may be enough. But it is definitely for selective tastes.