Adam Sandler - love him or hate him, right? Well, your opinion isn't going to be swayed by this bizarre animation feature. An unlikely blend of gross-out comedy, schlocky plot and musical numbers, it's A Christmas Carol meets the Farrelly brothers meets Michael Ball.
Unfussily animated (read: second-rate sketching), it follows Davey (Sandler), a Jewish thirtysomething loser who hates Hanukkah, Christmas and anything else that makes people happy. Constantly in trouble with the law, he's ordered to do community service as an assistant basketball referee in a youth league. Better than prison, eh? Well, that's what he thinks until he meets whiney-voiced Whitey (Sandler again), eccentric head ref...
So what have we got here? There's sarcasm, usually aimed at sending up Yiddish traditions, poo jokes (of course) and the obligatory moral about finding redemption. Fine. Not so fine is having to listen to Sandler warble or the shockingly brazen product placement that tarnishes every scene. Ah, so that's what Hanukkah and Christmas are all about - commerce.
