Adam Sandler on the through line between Canteen Boy and Hubie Halloween
In Adam Sandler’s latest Happy Madison production, Hubie Halloween, the actor plays Hubie Dubois, a lonely, verbally challenged, middle-aged virgin who lives with his sweet mother and seeks to protect others from making Halloween-related choices he sees as amoral or potentially dangerous. Thinking about taking more than one piece of candy from that bowl left out for trick or treaters? Hubie’s going to be there with a spoilsport lesson on Halloween ethics and his big, trusty Thermos full of hot soup.
Compare that to Canteen Boy, one of Sandler’s most beloved recurring Saturday Night Live characters. A Boy Scout with a bit of a holier-than-thou attitude and a wacky voice, Canteen Boy was dismissed and ridiculed by other people for being too much of a goody-two-shoes. And, as advertised, Canteen Boy was always equipped with his trusty canteen.
There are striking similarities between the two characters, a fact that’s not lost on Sandler. As he tells The A.V. Club in the video above, Dubois is definitely Canteen Boy’s spiritual successor—save one major difference. Click through and watch to find out what that is, as well as hear Sandler’s thoughts on equitable candy distribution and what he thinks is the best thing about being an adult at Halloween.
Hubie Halloween will be unleashed on Netflix Wednesday, October 7.