For Adam Sandler fans, "Little Nicky" is cause for celebration. His most expensive film ever gives him an enormous canvas to work with, and his consistently vulgar antics should please his ardent followers. For the rest of us, "Nicky" is still a devilishly good comedy loaded with clever gags and memorable one-liners.
"Nicky" is a movie that, for some people, simply mentioning its title, naming a few cast members, or describing the plot is sufficient to induce vomiting. Don't be fooled: This is a solid black comedy. It has some weaknesses in terms of storyline and performance, but the jokes tend to be genuinely funny and the plot twists keep viewer interest high.
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Satan (Harvey Keitel) has a dilemma: his 10,000-year reign is coming to an end, and he is supposed to choose which of his three sons will inherit his throne. When he decides to keep it himself, this angers his two rebellious sons, Adrian (Rhys Ifans) and Cassius (Tom Lister, Jr.). Cowardly Nicky (Adam Sandler) is the only satanic son who doesn't seem opposed to the decision, and he is sent on a mission to stop the rebel sons from creating hell on earth and committing patricide.
On his noble quest, Nicky bumbles his way around the Big Apple with the help of a horny talking bulldog (voice of Robert Smigel) and a number of other odd characters. He accidentally dies several times before getting the hang of earthly existence and learning to "release the evil" within and confront his brothers.
Despite its myriad of positive aspects, a main fault is in some weak performances. Sander and co-writer Tim Herlihy practically waste Patricia Arquette as Nicky's mousy, low-key love interest by giving her virtually nothing to work with. Keitel is a bit too dramatic as the dark prince. At times his performance looks like it would fit better in a "Faust" adaptation than a crass comedy.
The worst offender is Sandler himself. "The Waterboy" proved that his characters with speech impediments and mental handicaps could be amusing for a while, and then just get irritating. His Nicky character is highly sympathetic and likeable, but his skewed facial expression and flawed speech get real old real fast. His acting gets better as "Nicky" goes along, but this glaring weak link keeps Steven Brill's movie from being great.
On the plus side, there are several hilarious cameos that catch the viewer completely by surprise, particularly those of Ozzy Osbourne and Dana Carvey. Rodney Dangerfield is also great as the father of Satan, and Clint Howard (director Ron Howard's brother) has one of his most disturbing roles ever with a perversely funny bit part.
Intelligence is the last thing one would expect from a Sandler comedy and, while this one tries to live up to that expectation, it is surprisingly sharp. Its less-than-subtle commentary about how hedonistic and doubtful we're becoming as a society is impossible to miss.
The script provides its real core as it jumps from supernatural planes to mortal ones with ease. It's challenging to mix humor with such dark thematic elements (it's hard to find humor in the end of the world), but "Nicky" pulls it off.
Brill integrates "Nicky'"s heavy metal soundtrack well into the film. Although it is implied that hell's dominions love heavy metal and rock and roll, the only music in the film that is demonstrated to have hidden satanic messages is a classic album by Chicago!
The spectacular computer effects are also great. They give the inferno an epic scope and allow some mind-bending bodily contortions to take place.
Although some gags look like they were cut or trimmed down to avoid an R rating, "Nicky" pushes the boundaries of its PG-13 rating to the outer limits, running rampant with crude sexual humor, bizarre nudity and several brief stripteases, much alcohol consumption and abuse of other substances and enough profanity to make a demon wince.
But the ending and the film's positive message are so disarming the vulgarity is acceptable and not as abrasive as it could have been. Scenes such as Nicky's revelation about his mother's true identity and his meeting with her are heartwarming to a cheesy extreme.
For so many reasons, "Nicky" is well worth watching. It just might leave you with a newfound respect for God and a sudden craving for Popeye's chicken (beware product endorsements!). "Nicky" is indeed flawed, but it won't burn you.
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