Eight Crazy Nights

It's about time there was a Hanukkah movie. And I'm glad it was this one. I love musicals, especially funny ones. Plus, the Fiddler on the Roof-esque number toward the end of this movie was a scream.

It starts out with Davey Stone causing trouble and wreaking havoc on the town and all the nice Christmas and Hanukkah decorations. He's kind of a Grinch in the beginning. We find out why later, and I'm not going to spoil it for those who haven't seen it. But you can sort of understand why he'd be bitter and mean, even if he does go a bit overboard. Stealing a snowmobile and crashing through the giant Menorah ice sculpture was overkill. But he gets the point across - he's bitter and hates the holidays.

But Davey finally gets picked up and has his day in court. The judge makes him do community service helping Whitey referee children's basketball. At first he acts like a big jerk in front of everyone, and they throw things. But then he starts to warm up to this kid, who just happens to be the son of the girl Davey was in love with when he was twelve. It's all very cosmic, in a Three Stooges sort of way.

Whitey and Elinore are some of the funniest cartoon characters I've seen in a long time. Also, Jon Lovitz's character was good, even if he's only in the movie for a few minutes at the end. And I quote: "When I was a kid, I always dreamed of two things. Learning how to make a hook shot with my left hand,

and becoming a multimillionaire. Well, I guess we all know which one of those dreams came true." Then he puts his left hand on the podium, and it's a hook. Yeah, I guess that left-handed hook shot is out of the question now, huh?

This is a movie worth seeing. I've been watching it for the past week or so, and it's not anywhere near Hanukkah. Just a funny, funny movie.