Black Sheep

Starring: Chris Farley, David Spade, Tim Matheson, Christine Ebersole, Gary Busey
Directed by: Penelope Spheeris
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Comedy
1996

Times Seen:
Tim: 2


Summary: A candidate (Tim Matheson) for governor struggles when his brother's (Chris Farley) bumbling ways continually jeopardize his candidacy.

Review:

Tim: The pairing of Chris Farley and David Spade worked well in 1995's Tommy Boy, so why not bring them together again? Unfortunately, this film is even worse. Black Sheep is a fairly unfunny, stupid comedy that doesn't do a great job of entertaining. I wish this movie was better, but it's simply far too forgettable.

The plot should seem pretty familiar at this point. David Spade is tasked with keeping Chris Farley under control, but things go awry and hilarity ensues. The problem is that this movie just isn't very funny. Sure, it's somewhat amusing to see Farley get himself into trouble, but eventually, all we're left with is "watch the fat guy fall down!" That brand of comedy is certainly on a lower level. The whole movie feels tired and redundant. It's as if we've seen this all before.

I didn't really care for the characters much at all. Farley's character is presented as this massively bumbling idiot, but the movie tries to tell us he has a heart of gold (he cares about orphans!) so we'll like him more. This does not work very well at all. I also never really got a good grasp on Spade's character. He plays him with his trademark aloofness and that "I'm better than everyone else around me" shtick, but that doesn't exactly connect him well with the audience. That being said, there are some legitimately good moments between Farley and Spade. These two comedic actors work well together, and several of their humorous exchanges represented the best moments of the film.

The biggest problem with this movie is the script. The story is just too paper thin, and there's too many plot holes. So often, comedies seem to think they have to go to absurd lengths to get laughs. This movie just takes too many absurd paths, which break the illusion of reality, so the whole thing just seems silly. For example, there's a great scene of a huge boulder falling into a house Farley and Spade are staying in. This creates some memorable, funny moments. However, the lead up and the explanation of how this happened is just so weak and absurd that it renders the whole thing silly. There's far too many weak moments in the script for this to have been a good movie. The ending of the film ends in expected ridiculous fashion. Comedies need to remember that you can be funny and still make a realistic film.

In theory, I do like the pairing of Chris Farley and David Spade. I just wish the end result had been better. Black Sheep is a complete misfire. The film isn't particularly funny or memorable. The whole thing feels like a rushed, lackluster effort. I did not have much fun watching the film and the viewing experience wasn't particularly enjoyable. This is a film I've seen twice, and I really don't ever want to see it again.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 5



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: Tommy Boy, Joe Dirt