The main character of the Adam Sandler vehicle 8 Crazy Nights is a thirtysomething delinquent who’s upset that he has no family, so he spends the holiday season destroying Christmas decorations and the lives of everyone around him. Although he’s animated, he looks like Sandler but is thinner and is named Dave (which makes for the disturbing experience of viewing profane behaviour emanating from the guardian of Alvin and the Chipmunks.) Sandler doesn’t turn Dave into a loveable jerk. He’s every bit the scumbag that the other characters keep telling him he is. Since all the humour is derived from this nitwit committing severely disturbed actions, none of it is actually funny. The butt of most of the jokes is an elderly midget named Whitey (also voiced by Sandler), who’s an object of ridicule throughout. This, however, doesn’t stop Sandler from including a musical finale where Dave lectures the townsfolk (and the audience) for not realizing Whitey’s kindness. Running a scant 75 minutes (though preceded by a vanity documentary about Sandler’s dog), 8 Crazy Nights wants to be a crude comedy as well as a heartwarming yuletide treat. It fails at both. This is an earnest Scrooge story with a heart covered in excrement.