Movie Info:
Writers:Fred Wolf
Director: Penelope Spheeris
Cast: Chris Farley, David Spade, Tim Matheson, Christine Ebersole, Gary Busey, Grant Heslov, Timothy Carhart, Bruce McGill, Michael Patrick Carter
Rating: PG-13
Studio: Paramount
Release Info:
Theatrical Release: February 2, 1996
DVD Release Date: May 12, 2009
Online Availability: Amazon for $18.49
I used to love Chris Farley. At one point he was one of the funniest guys on SNL. There was a certain charm to “Fat Man in a Little Coat” and the motivational speaker that lived “Down by the River.” When it came to skits, Farley was the king for a small while. SNL was the perfect venue for him and working with other comedic stars like David Spade and Adam Sandler (Gay Beer, anyone?) made him all the better. However, there is a fine line between a skit and a movie. Farley had a few movies that were funny and then after a short while there became a very noticeable problem.
In every movie Farley starred in he played the nice guy with that patented, puppy dog look. Sure he was a nice guy, but in just about every movie he was a screw-up, slacker that couldn’t do anything right. Now add in the fact that he occasionally falls through things to emphasize that he is a fatty and you have the basis of a Chris Farley movie.
They are funny with moderate laughs and they usually end up with the nice guy winning in the end. It’s like a slapstick Lifetime movie for people that are overweight and that have issues with inappropriate laughter (you know, laughing when someone pokes their eye out. You don’t mean to, it just kind of happens.)
In this particular movie, Spade is involved in politics and Farley is his dimwitted brother that wants to help on the campaign trail. Unfortunately, he’s a bumbling moron and Spade is more ashamed of him than he is happy to have him around. Luckily, Farley isn’t smart enough to figure this out in character form.
You can think I am being harsh but even the actor’s have cracked jokes about their participation in these movies. Black Sheep was almost identical to Tommy Boy except the story didn’t revolve around a political setting and Rob Lowe is missing and replaced with Gary Busey. Otherwise, it’s the same old thing.
The Black Sheep Plot
Mike Donnelly (Chris Farley – Tommy Boy) is a well meaning, but otherwise stupid dolt of a guy. He spends his days driving an ad truck for his successful brother, Al (Tim Matheson), who is running for governor of Washington. Al’s manager, Roger (Timothy Carhart) is worried that Mike is going to do more harm than good after Mike runs the truck into a movie theater. Despite the race against incumbent Evelyn Tracy (Christine Ebersole – Mac and Me) being very important, Al decides not to fire Mike, but instead send him to campaign with one of his campaign staffers.
Steve Dodds (David Spade – PCU) ends up being the unlucky one that takes the job with Mike, merely because it means that he will have a spot on Al’s staff later once he’s won the race. As you would expect from a comedy like this nothing ever goes as planned. Dodds is a pretentious political type being paired with a moron. Naturally, he is not happy to be babysitting. On his way to meet Mike, he hits a recluse that is former military. Drake Sabitch (Gary BuseyDC Cab, Point Break) is crazy and he shows it when he recovers and steals Dodds’ car.
Meanwhile, everything Mike does has a chance of ruining the campaign for Al. He tries to stop some underage kids from drinking, but pictures surface making him look mighty guilty. Next thing you know, he is in pictures with the rec center he works at, burning all around him, and it looks like he’s the culprit there, too. The local cops know that Mike couldn’t have done it, but the voters are filled with suspicion when it comes to Mike and whether or not they should vote for his brother.
This movie is filled with stupid humor. For example, while playing checkers, Mike screams at Steve and a boulder that rests on the top of the hill, falls and collapses on their little shack, leaving them without a house. This leads them to the crazy military man’s pimped out bus to try and sneak in and watch the gubernatorial debate. All is going well until Steve is accosted by Sabitch and Mike has to defend his honor in a fight to the death!
Mike may not be as dumb as he looks though. When he learns that Al’s election may be in danger of sabotage he gets to work to prove his brother is the man that should be governor and that Tracy is a crook. Lord knows he has his work cut out for him, but he tries to make the truth come to light before it is too late.
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Audio/Visual:
Black Sheep offers a surprisingly decent video quality. This is common with a lot of the lackluster films out there, but it’s still worth noting now. This film sports a 1.78:1 aspect ratio with 1080p. The result of this is realistic looking flesh tones, bright colors, and a fair (but could be better) level of detail.
In all fairness, I should state that the level of detail varies throughout the film. At times the level of detail is an excellent representation of Blu-ray capabilities and at other times, detail is basic, at best. The black levels were not as strong as I would have liked for them to be and there was a bit of dirt and minimal grain, but overall this was a decent quality.
The audio is presented in a Dolby TrueHD 5.0 track. Sadly, the dynamic, sound effect strength that you would like to see in a Chris Farley film isn’t really present. The dialogue is crisp and clear, which is good. The problem here is that the overall track is not as strong as it should be. In all honesty, I’ve heard better Dolby Digital 5.1 tracks, and that should never be the case in comparison to TrueHD. In any case, there are Spanish and French Dolby Digital 5.1 tracks included, as well. Subtitles are offered in French, English, Spanish, and Portuguese.
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Bonus Features:
There is not even one special feature presented with the film Black Sheep.
Bonus Features:
Bottom Line:
It is an honest assessment saying that Black Sheep was not Farley’s best work. In fact, this is probably my least favorite of the movies he did that I have seen. There are a few funny moments, but there are not enough of them to sustain an entire movie and call it a comedy. Spade and Farley were always good together, but this is more of the same Farley slapstick. There isn’t one thing here that differentiates his character from any of the other characters that he has played in his average comedy. It’s funny for a few minutes, tiresome in spots, and worth a rental at best.
Overall Rating:
Technorati Tags: Blu-ray Review, Black Sheep, Comedy, Chris Farley, David Spade, Screwball, Slapstick
