[REVIEW] Hubie Halloween (2020) Beneath The Surface Lies An Encouraging Message On Kindness!

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“If I don’t get it, I’m going to come back and do one again that is so bad on purpose just to make you all pay. That’s how I get them,” - Adam Sandler 

Before Adam Sandler's Oscar snub for his performance as the jeweler with a gambling problem Howard Ratner in Uncut Gems, the actor and comedian promised that he would provide us with an intentionally bad movie should he not get his desired win. Fast forward to the present day, was Sandler able to deliver with his latest Netflix original, Hubie Halloween? Well, I suppose that it all depends on how you choose to look at it.

On the surface, Hubie Halloween may seem as if it's nothing more than a rather childish attempt at getting a few cheap laughs while adding in a spooky, supernatural twist for the fall season but hidden beneath all of that lies a surprisingly solid and encouraging message on the importance of kindness.

The Positive

It's October 31st in Salem, Massachusetts, and Hubie Dubois, the town's devoted community volunteer is preparing to do what he does every year, ensure that everyone has a very happy but also safe, Halloween. But when Hubie notices some rather strange, and potentially supernatural occurrences throughout the area, he's forced to step up to the plate and become the town hero that he was destined to be.

With Hubie Halloween, Adam Sandler returns to Netflix with his faithful comedy crew consisting of Kevin James, Steve Buscemi, Robert Schneider, and a cameo from Ben Stiller, briefly reprising his role from the 1996 Sandler movie, Happy Gilmore.

In addition, this film is overflowing with Disney Channel alumni such as Bradley Steven Perry (Good Luck Charlie), Peyton List and Karan Brar (Jessie, Bunked), and China Anne McClain (Ant Farm and Descendents 2&3) and that's just to name a few.

Written by the iconic duo of Adam Sandler and Tim Herlihy, Hubie Halloween is a movie that I can't seem to describe as anything other than "ridiculously stupid" but that doesn't necessarily mean that I didn't enjoy it. This film is self-aware and thrives on its own stupidity in a cringe-worthy, yet humorous way and doesn't try to be something that it's not.

“You see Hubie, true bravery is being kind. Even to those who are being cruel to you." - Mrs. Dubois 

As someone who loves a good laugh, there were plenty of moments within this movie that I enjoyed and found to be quite humorous, even if I am a little embarrassed to admit it because most of them were rather dumb and immature. In fact, Hubie Halloween is completely immature from the very moment it begins but for the most part, it worked.

This movie features the kind of humor that is entertaining when you just need to turn your brain off for a little while and have a laugh, in that case, it should provide you with that certain amount of mindless fun, at least, that's what it did for me!

But there is an encouraging message hidden within all of the aforementioned mindless, immature humor, centered around the idea of kindness; Hubie Dubois is continuously mocked by those around him because of his unusual behavior and it's because of their cruelty and judgment toward him that they neglect to see what an incredibly selfless person he really is, who truly has everyone's best interest at heart.

Throughout the entire film, we're shown that Hubie's main goal is to make Halloween safe for his fellow citizens in Salem. He may come off as paranoid at times but ultimately his peculiar actions come from a place of concern for others despite the mistreatment that he receives from them; Hubie Halloween provides us with the reminder that choosing to spread kindness regardless of how people may or may not treat us can be the ultimate act of bravery.

The Negative

It's a bit tricky to address my complaints about this movie because when it comes down to it, the lines between what I liked and disliked are actually quite blurred. I did enjoy the goofy, immature humor that was used throughout, however, several times that did transition over into more crude humor which I didn't enjoy nearly as much; some moments were funny but for the most part, the others were cringe-worthy and just plain awkward to watch.

I thought the use of language, mild adult themes, and crude humor wasn't really necessary or even humorous enough to justify being in this movie. I personally think that Hubie Halloween could have benefited from lowering its rating and being marketed as a more family-friendly film since the whole thing had a certain amount of innocence to it, and let's not forget about that surprisingly good message. This movie was right on the cusp of appealing to a larger audience the entire time so I felt that seemed like quite the missed opportunity.

Conclusion

Hubie Halloween certainly isn't what I would call a good movie by any means but that being said, not every movie has to be good in order to be enjoyable and serve a purpose. I enjoyed it for what it was despite being filled with some rather cringe-worthy moments because for the most part, it made me laugh and that's all I could really ask of it!

I'll be giving this film a rating of three out of five stars. It's very weird, pretty crude, and most definitely juvenile but overall should provide you with a laugh or two as long as you don't take it very seriously, not even the movie does, so neither should we!

So, what did you think of Hubie Halloween? Were you entertained? Or, did you think it was just plain stupid? There's really no wrong answer here, so be sure to let me know by tweeting me over on Twitter @RR_Everything! There I talk about all sorts of shows and movies and give updates on future reviews and projects. Hope to speak to you soon!

[REVIEW] COBRA KAI (2018-) Is Nostalgia Done Right!

"Strike first, strike hard, no mercy." Cobra Kai is nostalgia done right and a dream come true for those of us who are on #TeamJohnny! 

Originally debuting on the streaming service known now as YouTube Premium (formerly YouTube Red), Cobra Kai has skyrocketed in its popularity since the recent move to Netflix. With this series, we see the legendary rivalry between Daniel Larusso and Johnny Lawrence of the 1984 classic, "The Karate Kid" continue. This sequel is full of nostalgia but serves much more of a purpose than simply reminding people of their youth. 

I couldn't be more thrilled about this show moving over to Netflix because aside from the obvious, YouTube Premium didn't offer a single thing that had me interested enough to pay for yet another streaming service and it's clear that a lot of people felt that same way, too. 

So being the diehard fan of the first Karate Kid movie that I am, I happily binge-watched both seasons one and two for the first time since YouTube briefly offered them up for free last year. And in preparation for the third season which we, unfortunately, will not see until some point in 2021, I thought I'd take the time to offer up my thoughts on the series thus far!

The Positive

Taking place thirty-four years after the events of the All Valley Karate Tournament in 1984, Cobra Kai follows a down on his luck Johnny Lawrence (played by William Zabka) who is encouraged by his new teenaged neighbor Miguel (Xolo Maridueña) to open up his own dojo after Johnny saves him from a group of bullies by using some of his old karate skills. 

While hesitant at first, Johnny soon makes the decision to reopen the infamous "Cobra Kai" dojo, reigniting the old rivalry between him and his enemy Daniel Larusso (played by Ralph Macchio) in the process. 

The first movie in "The Karate Kid" franchise was focused solely on telling the story from the perspective of Daniel Larusso where Cobra Kai, gives us a much closer look into the life of Johnny Lawrence, (who by the way, disappeared following a brief cameo in The Karate Kid Part II) and his perspective on what went down after their rivalry began, showing us the negative impact that his loss to Larusso has had on his life.   

Being that the first Karate Kid has always been one of my all-time favorites movies, I couldn't be more thrilled that this series exists. Especially because of it focusing so much on Johnny, who I have always preferred to Daniel. If you ask me, Larusso is the true bully in this story and if you don't think so, go rewatch the movie and come back to me, because you just might see that Daniel's lowkey a bit of a jerk, which we see more of in this series.  

For example, as I mentioned earlier, Johnny wasn't doing so well at the beginning of the first season. It's been made clear from the start that he has developed an alcohol problem at some point in his life, and in the first episode was fired from his job as a handyman. He's struggling more than ever to make a living; where Daniel has the picture-perfect life. A wife, two kids, a successful car dealership, but guess what? As soon as Johnny starts to see some success with his dojo, Daniel starts to act a little bit crazy. I'm telling you, it's him, he's the bully.     

But placing my fan theories off to the side for a moment, I have to praise the show's creators (Josh Heald, Jon Hurwitz, and Hayden Schlossberg) for doing such an incredible job of using Cobra Kai to explore both sides of this legendary story. Reminding you that both of these characters, genuinely do view each other as the problem in this feud and that neither of them is really right or wrong per se, they just view things differently.  

The show also highlights both of their individual struggles, giving us a glimpse into Johnny's childhood and seeing how things were for him at home with his step-father, as well as the issues he faces now with his own son, Robby. (Tanner Buchanan) Meanwhile, we're also shown that Daniel's life at home, may not be all that perfect after all, as he struggles through his relationship with daughter Samantha, (Mary Mouser) his rivalry with Johnny, and continuing on in his life without the guidance of his mentor, Mr. Miyagi.  

It's been such a pleasure to watch Ralph Macchio and William Zabka go head to head as these characters once more. The two have terrific chemistry together and you can really feel their hatred for one another all throughout season one; the writing for Johnny and Daniel has been nothing short of phenomenal.    

Even with the more mature route, slightly pushing the envelope of their new TV-14 rating at times, they have done a spectacular job of connecting this series to the movies. I truly do believe that these are the same characters all grown up and following different paths in their lives, and I know that for me if the writing felt even slightly off, it wouldn't have felt as if the movie and the show were properly connected but instead, I've always felt that I could watch The Karate Kid then go into Cobra Kai with them fitting together almost seamlessly.

But in addition to the brilliant writing for our original characters in the franchise, the show has also added several new characters such as Miguel Diaz and Robby Keene, who is the son of Johnny and the protégés of Daniel. Not to mention Samantha Larusso and Tory Nichols all of which who have started rivalries of their own. I've really enjoyed the new characters as well as the actors, not to mention the fact that we see them doing a fairly decent amount of their own stunt work as well, which is always very impressive.  

The Negative

While Cobra Kai has been a welcomed addition to the Karate Kid franchise for me, there has been one thing that I have taken a slight issue with; that being its TV-14 rating. Containing language, mild sexual themes, underage drinking, crude humor, and of course violence, this series isn't quite as family-friendly as the original movies were. 

I myself, am not personally too bothered by the more mature direction that the series has taken. There were a few moments and lines that I could have lived without but they ultimately didn't affect how much I enjoyed the show as a whole. That being said, I'm still not typically a fan of making a show or movie that's connected to a more family-friendly franchise, less family-friendly. 

My father was the one who first introduced me to The Karate Kid back when I was around nine or ten, and I can't help but think about how disappointed I'd have been if I were that age now, realizing there was a series connected to the movies that I wasn't old enough to watch yet. I mean, that'd be kind of a bummer, right?  

For that reason alone, it would have been nice to see Cobra Kai take even just a slightly more family-friendly approach so that parents would feel more comfortable showing their older children the series. It'd have been awesome to introduce a whole new generation of fans to The Karate Kid saga, but that's one unfortunate thing that was missed out on. 

Conclusion

If you couldn't tell by now, I've become quite the Cobra Kai fangirl over this past couple of years, and with good reason, this series couldn't be more deserving of every bit of praise that it has received from fans all over the world and I'm happy to see it gaining such a massive amount of popularity since making the transition over to Netflix!

The first two seasons were nothing short of outstanding and packed full of appearances by original cast members and references to all four movies that had me totally geeking out the entire way through. Cobra Kai is an absolute must-watch for any fan of The Karate Kid!

Be sure to let me know how hyped you are for season three of Cobra Kai by tweeting me over on Twitter @RR_Everything! Twitter is where I talk about all kinds of shows and movies and also post updates on future reviews and YouTube videos, so be sure to follow me if you're interested! And remember...Cobra Kai never dies!