Director: Genndy Tartakowsky
Starring: Adam Sandler, Selena Gomez, Andy Samberg, Kevin James
Running time: 91 minutes
Certificate: PG
Synopsis: Deciding that all monsters shouldn’t have to live in fear of humans, Count Dracula builds a secluded hotel for monsters only. However, on his daughter’s 118th birthday a human manages to enter the hotel and Dracula must get rid of him before anyone finds out…
HOTEL TRANSYLVANIA has been a highly-anticipated film, and there were many roads down which the writers could have taken the concept. So which road did they decide on? Unfortunately, it’s the one taken far too many times before. The characters are exactly as we’ve seen them before, and strikingly similar to other animated films. The film’s inherent message is also familiar: don’t hate people (even if they are responsible for your mother’s death).
Some films get away with being bad because they’re not meant for an adult audience. HOTEL TRANSYLVANIA could be given the benefit of the doubt if it was entertaining for children, but it isn’t. Similarly, poor stories can sometimes result in good films, but HOTEL TRANSYLVANIA relies on big names like Adam Sandler and his protege Andy Samberg to bring in the audience, but nobody bothered to make sure the HAPPY GILMORE-genius and SNL alum were funny as well as bankable.
Humour is spread out across the film, but predictably, it’s not particularly funny humour, just rude. Jokes about penises shrinking in cold water, and saggy old breasts are both painfully repetitive but also inappropriate for a younger audience. If you have expectations that this film will amuse you, drop them now, because it simply isn’t. Frankenstein, voiced by Kevin James, raises a chuckle at one point, but sadly his New York-accented bride (played by Fran Dreschre) does nothing but annoy. She sure the voice for comedy stereotypes, but the schtick is as current as CeeLo Green’s ‘funny black guy in the background’.
Thankfully, HOTEL TRANSYLVANIA picks up the pace towards the end, but it’s roughly 90 minutes too late. There are a few highlights though, which include Adam Sandler not sounding like his usual self, an auto-tuned Selena Gomez, a rocking-out Lonely Planet band member and some Dracula-rapping, but ultimately it’s a slow starting, hit and miss affair with a complete lack of imagination.
HOTEL TRANSYLVANIA arrives in cinemas 12th October.
