Little Nicky (UK)

This was adam sandlers first flop since bulletproof.now thats a shame because while the wedding singer was a near classic and big daddy was quite good,the waterboy was his biggest hit and that truly sucked on dvd.this is more adult based humour than before and although its and miss,its more hit.the supporting cast includes harvey kietel.but most of sandlers previous costars turn up in this they include henry winkler and carl weathers.the sound and picture are faultless plenty of extra features.

I`ve been a fan of Adam Sandler`s work
ever since "Happy Gilmore" and have always been entertained by his movies. After watching this for the first time though, I was slightly disappointed and a bit confused. It`s not a confusing film however, it`s just overloaded with characters and incident. It was a lot more enjoyable second time round, because I was familiar with the unusual tone of the film and could properly digest the proceedings.

Although those comments could be interpreted as critical, they could also be taken as a compliment. It depends on your personal preferences because those who watch movies over and over again will get their money`s worth. It`s the combination of so many genre`s that makes this movie a difficult one to swallow. There`s a fish out of water tale, comedy, fantasy, romance and the whole thing is like a kids movie for adults. It`s silly, it`s manipulative and the outcome is obvious from the outset (like all kid`s flicks). Yet it has drug use, lewd conduct and bad language. It`s a fairly bizarre mix and one that many will consider ill-conceived, but those who dislike this offbeat blend probably aren`t in the target audience anyway. I prefer to think of this film as "edgy" and interesting.

Critical derision hasn`t stopped Sandler in the past and where Little Nicky beats all his previous efforts is on the visual front. The sets, outfits and vibrant colours are impressive throughout and the special effects are also well done (purposefully OTT in places too). The soundtrack doesn`t let the side down either, with a moody score blended with a variety of "rock" tracks. The audio can be heard in full DTS if you get this (R2) version!.

The disc itself is a grade "A" quality product all round, with exactly the extras you`d choose to have. Anamorphic deleted scenes, two commentaries, two lengthy documentaries and two music videos (one is hidden in the SF menu). Pleasingly, there are also three trailers not present on the R1 version (woo-hoo!) and don`t forget that DTS audio track mentioned earlier.

So, it`s bit of a strange one really and difficult to recommend. As with all Sandler`s comedies, I feel like I should apologise for the crudeness on his behalf, but if you like base humour then this is a good thing!. The movie won`t suit most tastes and I can objectively say that it`s not "hilarious" or in any way disagreeable either. There`s so much emphasis on the convoluted story that the laughs never come thick and fast. There are a couple of inspired touches, like Nicky`s demonic sleeping "I will eat your heart!" and his general naivety on earth. Basically, it`s overwhelmingly odd the first time you see it (a talking dog?, Hitler`s ass?! etc, etc). It`s so sweet natured though (and lovingly made) that eventually it won me over and repeat viewings have been much more pleasurable.

Why do so many people hate this film? It`s great! Okay, so it might not be so great the first time you see it. But watch it a second time like I did and you may appreciate it more. Especially if you buy or rent this disc. The reasons why later on.

The picture is anamorphic widescreen and is pretty much perfect. There are 3 sound mixes: Dolby 2.0, Dolby Digital 5.1 and DTS. The DTS track is the best although if you do not have DTS capabilities, the DD 5.1 track is perfectly adequate.
The extras are great. There is an excellent 30 minute documentary on the making of the film which includes plenty of behind the scenes footage and cast and crew interviews.

There is also another documentary about the Heavy Metal music genre with interviews from Ozzy Osbourne, Dio and Gene Simmons. This concentrates mainly on Black Sabbath, Dio, Kiss, Ozzy and Iron Maiden although some other bands are mentioned. Although a nice item, there is no mention of Metallica, Pantera and other great bands. The best part of the extras are the deleted scenes. These help make more sense of the film including lots of gags that should have been left in the film. This is the main reason why I wanted to see this film again.

Add two commentary tracks, trailers, music videos, cast and crew bios and great animated menus and you have got EIV`s best disc since Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me. If you didn`t think much of this first time round, give it another chance. You may well like it.

My first reaction when watching this film was, `he’s not going to have that stupid voice the entire way through the movie is he?!` Oh dear... oh dear! Anyway, voices aside, this is a very funny film in places, but I felt it really wasn’t even close to any of Sandler’s earlier films.

However the disc itself is superior to all Sandler’s previous outings (it’s a shame that the others don’t get similar treatment) – video & audio are good, and oh my.. extras? Are those extras I see before me on an Adam Sandler film… surely I must be seeing things!?

Adam sandler can do much better than this. Thats not to say that this is a bad movie cos its not. It is quite funny in places but the movie just didnt appeal to me. I like adam sandler movies but this was no way near as hilarious as Billy Madison and It didnt have the charm that Mr Deeds has. The dvd is a quality package containing quite a few extras. The sound is great and the picture quality too is sharp and detailed. The star-studded cast support the film well. Had it not been for the actors, im sure this movie would have certainly bombed. On the whole this is a decent movie and while most Sandler fans might wanna own this, If you`re not a fan, I suggest renting it.