 |
|
Blacksheep Review Is there anyone still out there who remembers when Penelope Spheeris was cool? It's been a while since her landmark documentaries, The Decline of Western Civilization and its sequel, The Metal Years. But since then, it's been a long slide toward oblivion: Wayne's World, The Beverly Hillbillies (which, I must admit, I liked), The Little Rascals and now, hitting bottom, Black Sheep. Chris Farley and David Spade, the "Saturday Night Live'' team that showed promise in the surprisingly funny Tommy Boy, are completely at sea in this script by Fred Wolf (currently head writer for "SNL,'' which should prove how far gone that show is). Farley plays Mike Donnelly, the doofus brother of Washington state gubernatorial candidate Al Donnelly (Tim Matheson). Urged to get Mike out of the way before he screws up the campaign, Al assigns campaign lackey Steve Dodds (Spade) to ride herd on the klutzy Mike. It ain't easy -- mishaps stick to Mike like magnets on a refrigerator. Through all the stoner jokes and pratfalls, I laughed precisely once in Black Sheep. It was when Mike and Steve enter the home of a deranged Vietnam vet played by Gary Busey (with new dental work that looks as if he just bit into a whole box of Chiclets). Mike looks at Busey's military decor and says, "Ready to start filming, Mr. Stone.'' There -- now you've heard the best of Black Sheep, so you won't get fleeced at the box office. |