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By STEVE PERSALL
© St. Petersburg Times, published November 10, 2000
A lot of people love Adam Sandler, and the worst mistake he makes is knowing it. Sandler gets a bit arrogant when paying too much attention to the laughter, believing anything he does is funny and people who don't like it are idiots.
Little Nicky should snap Sandler back to whatever passes for reality in his world. All he needs to do is listen to the silence of moviegoers stunned by this shoddy comedy.
Sandler is smart enough to know a few million fans will turn out at the box office this weekend just because his name is on the marquee. He doesn't realize yet that it takes only one or two rip-offs to make those sheep flock somewhere else. Okay, maybe three or four, considering how easy they've been to please.
This time, Sandler plays Nicky, son of Satan, completely lacking any of the goofy charm that made The Waterboy and The Wedding Singer tolerable. His face, usually a mask of infantile tantrum, is hidden behind greasy bangs and a shy posture. Sandler is a sucker for stupid accents, and Nicky's nasal wheeze quickly wears thin.
The plot surrounding this anemic role is downright dumb. Nicky's demonic dad (Harvey Keitel) is ready to retire, and two other sons (Tiny Lister, Rhys Ifans) want control of the family business. When they're denied, the brothers invade upper Earth, pulling pranks to throw the balance of good and evil out of whack.
Nicky is dispatched by Satan (Harvey Keitel, embarrassed, let's hope) to retrieve his brothers and resume the flow of tormented souls to hell -- a.k.a. the ticket line for this movie.
Little Nicky is a series of disconnected gags designed to offend, but rarely sharp enough to be given such credibility. Jabs at organized religion, demonic messages hidden in music and a wheelchair posse crashing into a bus are the high points. Talking dogs that copulate, a man with female breasts implanted on his head and Dana Carvey's mugging are the lows.
Cameos are a constant crutch for director Steven Brill, giving Little Nicky the desperate aura of another Cannonball Run. A few, like Dan Marino and Ozzy Osbourne dealing with the devil, are cleverly constructed. Others, such as Regis Philbin, Quentin Tarantino and Henry Winkler, are simply name-droppings to raise smiles of recognition, not wit.
Sandler is entitled to a few mistakes in his career, but the cavalier sloppiness of Little Nicky is a bit alarming. He doesn't even seem motivated enough to repeat himself, much less apply any new comic ideas. Nobody with such a limited range of talent should take anything for granted when it comes to pleasing an audience.
Little Nicky
Grade: D
Director: Steven Brill
Cast: Adam Sandler, Harvey Keitel, Patricia Arquette, Rhys Ifans, Tiny Lister, Kevin Nealon
Screenplay: Tim Herlihy, Adam Sandler, Steven Brill
Rating: PG-13; profanity, sexual situations, violence
Running time: 90 min.