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Black Sheep
1996 - PG-13 - 87 Mins.
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| Director: Penelope Spheeris | | Producer: Lorne Michaels | | Written By: Fred Wolf | | Starring: Chris Farley, David Spade, Tim Matheson, Christine Ebersole, Gary Busey, Bruce McGill |
| Review by: John Ulmer |
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In this basic rehash of “Tommy Boy,” an equally unimpressive comedy, David Spade plays an election aide who must watch over a candidate’s brother, Chris Farley, a chubby, loudmouthed, obnoxious, loose cannon. If Farley gets in the spotlight for anything bad, like he usually does, the candidate’s hopes for election are slim. So, Spade has the thankless task of hiding out with the fat man in a cabin somewhere in the middle of nowhere. But, of course, since this is a comedy, Farley gets away, and Spade, who cannot tell him why he’s hiding him without hurting his feelings, drags along after Farley trying to convince him to come back...or something like that…
Despite being directed by “Wayne’s World” director Penelope Spheeris, this film’s very basic and juvenile comedy is nothing good. At all. The jokes (if you can call them that) almost all fall flat, and I rarely laughed.
David Spade’s character is a bland, dull, lifeless and immobile creature who we could not care for one way or another, no matter how bad things get.
Chris Farley is just plain annoying, as always, with his off-the-wall antics and loudmouthed “jokes” that are more outbursts than anything else. I sometimes wonder if fellow “SNL” comedian Mike Myers was playing for more than just a disgusting character when he created Fat Basta^&… for “Austin Powers”?
“Black Sheep” is the kind of movie that no one is talking about the next day. It is utterly forgettable and very, very, VERY basic. It’s not an awful comedy, mind you, because I have seen much worse; however, there is really nothing to recommend about “Black Sheep.”
People said Chris Farley was the next John Candy, but John Candy will never be matched. John Candy’s comedic talent lay in true comedy. He could make us laugh while making us cry. Candy was a good – great – comedian. He had all the traits of a one-in-a-million kind of actor.
Farley, on the other hand, gained his laughs by making stupid outbursts, like “I bought a kite from a bald guy!” that are so odd that people laugh at not because they are funny, but because they are odd.
People should be glad that Farley died, because he would have worn out with America, just like David Spade did; unfortunately, even good “Saturday Night Live” comedians like Dana Carvey, Kevin Nealon (Hans and Franz) etc. are all dying out. It’s too bad that comedians who are usually remembered for being great are people like Farley – annoying, loudmouthed slobs who hadn’t an ounce of real comic talent in them.
I think that people should realize, in the future, that just because a comedian is fat he is NOT John Candy.
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