As a lifelong resident of Salem, Massachusetts, Hubie Dubois has devoted his life to one purpose:
making sure his neighbors have a safe and happy Halloween each and every year.
Too bad no one returns the favor.Hubie's a well-meaning guy, but he's also misunderstood,
especially when his favorite holiday rolls around.
This year, however, things are a little different.
While Hubie is out keeping the streets safe for trick-or-treaters, people start to go
missing.
"Murder!"
You're going to find a lot to love here: a sweet and earnest main character, plenty of
slapstick, lots of offbeat jokes, and more cameos from comedy legends than you can count.
If you're looking for a Halloween comedy that'll thrill kids and parents alike, it doesn't
get any better than this.
Naturally, Adam Sandler plays Hubie Dubois, who is very much a return to the over-the-top
roles that made him famous in the first place.
In Hubie, you'll find elements of Billy Madison, Happy Gilmore, Lenny Feder from Grown Ups,
The Waterboy's "Bobby" Boucher, and even his classic Canteen Boy character from SNL, right
down to a funny voice.
"We're gonna have a good time, guys."
Sander is joined in Hubie Halloween by Julie Bowen, who worked with Sandler back in the
Happy Gilmore days - in fact, that movie was her second big-screen credit.
She went on to score six Emmy nominations, including two wins, for her work as Claire
Dunphy on Modern Family.
You may also recognize Hubie's mother, who's portrayed by June Squibb.
This is a pretty different role than what you've seen Squibb play before - she's best
known for her part in Alexander Payne's Nebraska, which earned her an Oscar nomination.
Sandler's good buddy Kevin James gets in on the fun as Salem police sergeant Steve Downing.
Noah Schnapp, who plays Will Byers on Stranger Things, brings some youthful energy to the
cast as Tommy, while Alexa & Katie star Paris Berelc appears as Tommy's new girlfriend,
Megan.
Finally, Ray Liotta has a sizable role in Hubie Halloween as Mr. Landolfa, one of Hubie's
most relentless tormentors.
Meanwhile, The Shield's Michael Chiklis plays Salem's resident preacher, comedian George
Wallace plays its mayor, and Kenan Thompson plays one of its other police officers.
That's already a stacked cast, but it only contains a fraction of the famous names who
show up in Hubie Halloween.
Sandler's funniest friends regularly collaborate with him on his films, and you'll find pretty
much all of them in Hubie Halloween.
To start, Steve Buscemi has a significant amount of "scream-time" in Hubie Halloween,
where he plays Walter Lambert, Hubie's friendly new neighbor.
Prolific funnyman Tim Meadows pops up as Lester Hennesey, another one of Hubie's nemeses,
while another SNL alum, Maya Rudolph, appears as his condescending wife.
Frankly, if you like comedy, that's a wealth of riches, and somehow Hubie Halloween manages
to give every single member of its cast at least one big laugh.
With a cast that big, you might think that Hubie Halloween's director would have his
work cut out for him.
Thankfully, Steven Brill has been doing this kind of thing for decades.
If you're a '90s kid, you've definitely seen Brill's work before.
Not only did Brill write the Disney sports comedy The Mighty Ducks, but he co-wrote and
directed the cult classic kids comedy Heavyweights, which stars Ben Stiller as a villainous fitness
coach who buys a weight loss camp for kids.
Brill also has tons of experience working with Sandler and the rest of the Happy Madison
crew.
In 2000, he directed Sandler's devilish comedy Little Nicky, in which Sandler plays one of
Satan's children, and has since re-teamed with the comedian on Mr. Deeds, The Do-Over,
Sandy Wexler, and his comedy special 100% Fresh.
At this point, they work well together, and you can tell.
Hubie Halloween's co-writer, Tim Herlihy, is also very familiar with Sandler's work.
In addition to his 134-episode stint on Saturday Night Live, which overlapped with Sandler's
run for two years, he's written and co-written a number of Sandler's biggest hits, like Happy
Gilmore, Billy Madison, and The Wedding Singer.
"Well I have a microphone and you don't, so you will listen to every damn word I have
to say."
Oh, and Hubie Halloween's other writer?
None other than Sandler himself.
Obviously, Hubie Halloween takes place on Halloween, but it's not just Halloween anywhere.
It's Halloween in Salem, Massachusetts, one of the most popular tourist destinations for
some spooky fun, thanks to the city's bizarre and tragic history.
In the 1600s, over 200 people, mostly women, were accused of witchcraft.
Twenty were found guilty during trials in Salem, and 19 were hanged.
Hundreds of years later, Salem has leaned into its macabre history.
As Hubie Halloween shows, the city has also become an extremely popular tourist destination
during Halloween season.
The Salem that you see in Hubie Halloween is the real thing, too.
The crew filmed on location both there and in neighboring communities, bringing a little
bit of Sandler-style Hollywood glamour to the city.
Thanks for watching.
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