Hubie Halloween provides goofy humor, life lessons, a tribute to Cameron Boyce

Shannon Maye, Photo and Media Editor

Hubie Halloween was released on October 7, and topped Netflix’s ‘Top 10 List’ the day after. The film, starring Adam Sandler, showcases his talents beyond acting as he contributed as a writer and producer of the movie. The seasonal film is full of good laughs and positive morals, ending with a tribute to Cameron Boyce.

The film takes place in Salem Massachusetts as it follows Hubie, a local citizen who works to keep his town safe on Halloween. Hubie monitors the neighborhood by riding up and down the streets checking in on parties and haunted houses. Even though his intentions are to protect the residents, they often find him irritating, which leads to them bullying him. Meanwhile, a patient from a mental hospital escapes, and residents start to disappear. Hubie becomes the most suitable citizen to find the missing people and protect the town.

Throughout the movie comedy was used to engage the audience. Exaggeration and slapstick were most common, as well as improvisation. In the film, Hubie carries around a thermos that does much more than just keep his soup warm.

In an interview with Screen Rant, Sandler talked about the evolution of Hubie’s thermos:

“We just kept building and building on it… Every day we would go, ‘What about if this happens?’ So, we added about 10 different things to the thermos.”

The thermos quickly changed from normal, to one of the funniest, most intriguing props in the movie.

Even with a focus on comedy and Halloween, the seasonal film conveys a strong message to viewers. Hubie is always kind to his fellow locals even though they don’t repay the favor, repeatedly picking on him. His mother tries to teach him to stand up for himself, but he insists on just ignoring the tasteless behavior, and responding with nothing but goodwill.

“The movie does teach a lesson in making sure you’re as kind as you can be to everyone,” Sandler said. This is an important message for people to embrace and spread to others through interactions with their community.

Another feature was a warm tribute to Cameron Boyce in the middle of the credits. A picture of the actor is shown next to a message that reads, “In loving memory of CAMERON BOYCE. Gone way too soon and one of the kindest, coolest, funniest, and most talented kids we knew. You live on forever in our hearts and are truly missed every day.” Hubie Halloween was filmed in July 2019, and Boyce was originally going to play Mike, a teenager who worked with Hubie at the local deli, and often bullied him. The actor was already friends with Sandler after portraying his son in the Grown Ups movie franchise. Unfortunately, he passed away just days before he was going to shoot the movie.

The role Boyce is now portrayed by Karan Brar. Boyce’s mom Libby Boyce spoke with PeopleTV about re-casting his role.

“Karan [Brar] is his best friend. And, you know, we did ask Adam [Sandler] to cast Karan because that was the only person that could be in that role that wouldn’t break us,” Boyce said.

Hubie Halloween is Sandler’s sixth Netflix Original movie where he stars in the lead role. It’s also his first Halloween movie for Netflix.

In an interview with BGN Sandler said, “I’ve been trying to do a halloween type movie for many years, couldn’t come up with a good idea and then finally we said ‘Hey we don’t have a good idea but let’s do this anyways.”

The movie has earned a positive reaction from most viewers as its light hearted comedy and life lesson satisfies its audience.