Animation can't save Sandler

I'm going to make this short and sweet. Chances are, if you're an Adam Sandler fan, you'll have already seen this film by the time this review hits the page; for you, I'm so sorry. Yet, through the magic of newsprint, I can spread this warning far and wide to those that have not seen "8 Crazy Nights": DO NOT SEE THIS FETID PILE OF GARBAGE. Got it? Great. Go rent "Billy Madison" instead. \nThe basic "plot" is that Davey Stone (Sandler) is running around his small town creating "mischief" that involves an ungodly amount of agonizing unfunny bodily function jokes. Sandler also pulls an Eddie Murphy and plays two additional characters in addition to Davey, the aged Whitey and Whitey's clueless sister, Eleanore. The trick is, you can completely tell it's Sandler voicing the characters, since altering his unique voice is about as easy as getting IU to a bowl game.\nAnyway, Davey gets arrested, then sentenced to community service with Whitey as a basketball referee for kids games. There he discovers the true spirit of the holiday season, blah, blah, blah...it's a lame takeoff on the old Scrooge theme. I'd suggest you go watch a "Muppet Christmas Carol" or "Scrooged" instead.\nAbout the only saving graces in this movie (besides its delightfully brief 71-minute running time) are the four or five musical numbers. Sandler has been at the musical satire game for a while, and the offerings here are funny, if a little unmemorable. Particularly of note is a new version of his classic "Chanukah Song," which is definitely good for a laugh. Overall, though, this movie is so utterly not worth your time that it's not even funny. Moderately good animation can't save a film with an aimless plot, and the few-and-far-between songs serve only to carry the film to the border between utter worthlessness and dull mediocrity.