In what has to be one of the shortest, non-animated feature films to be released this decade, former "Saturday Night Live" performer Norm MacDonald follows a long tradition of cast members from that show who've made a go at moving up to the big screen. Of course, MacDonald isn't testing the cinematic waters with "SNL" as a fallback cushion should this effort prove less than successful. After all, NBC west coast honcho Don Ohlmeyer recently fired him from that program. Unfortunately, that and their repeated caustic barbs at each other makes for a much more interesting story than what's offered here.
While most everyone has probably thought at some point in their lives that they'd like to get even with someone who "wronged" them in the past, this film has promise -- albeit limited promise. Even so, it essentially comes across as a lowest common denominator film that features a bland series of revenge vignettes that will probably appeal to fans of movies such as "Black Sheep" and "Tommy Boy." To everyone else, it offers a few laughs, but suffers from unoriginal, anemic writing, mediocre at best directing, and performances honed at the Institute of Caricature Acting (the I.C.A.).
Now, don't get me wrong -- I'm not above laughing at dumb or bawdy humor. It's just that a little of this film's material goes a long way and most of it's unfortunately mundane. If your idea of big laughs comes from shots of dogs (or other animals) humping other dogs, a man speaking in a high voice after having his crotch squeezed, or jokes originating from brief pedophilic behavior or implied gang rape in jail, then this pic's for you.
As directed by Bob Saget (yes, the former star of TV's "Full House" and host of "America's Funniest Home Videos," who makes his feature film directing debut with this movie) and written by Frank Sebastanio (a writer on TV's "Saturday Night Live") and Fred Wolf ("Black Sheep," cowriter of "Tommy Boy" and a former writer on "SNL"), the film offers just a bare bones plot upon which is hung a surprisingly boring series of revenge tactics. If you're going to make a film like this, the antics should be wildly inventive. Instead, Saget and company have delivered such imaginative feats like putting popcorn into car engines, planting dead and smelly fish throughout a home, and spraying paint on windows and walls. Now that's some funny stuff -- if you're in the fifth grade.
Not surprisingly, the performances are on par with the script and aren't much more than cardboard characters. As the lead performer, Norm MacDonald has a certain charm and an okay deadpan pause that he uses effectively when not delivering occasionally funny one-liner wisecracks. Even so, it's not hard to see why "SNL" rarely allowed him to wander from his "Weekend Update" desk.
The rest of the performers, including Artie Lang (the late night TV show "Mad TV") as Mitch's buddy, Jack Warden as a horny old man, and Christopher McDonald as a villainous tycoon, are mediocre, as are some smaller parts and cameos from the likes of Adam Sandler and John Goodman, although one with Gary Coleman (from the old TV show "Different Strokes") is quite funny. The late Chris Farley once again is wasted in yet another over acted role (that's supposed to elicit laughs from having part of his nose previously being bitten off by a prostitute) and Chevy Chase's movie career continues to plummet in his near humorless role as a gambling addicted surgeon.
While I found a few bits to be marginally funny, one's reaction to the film will depend on their appetite for low brow, sophomoric humor (and repeated shots of MacDonald being tossed into a trash dumpster or repeatedly landing in a belly flop on the sidewalk). As Don Rickles asks MacDonald in the end credit outtakes about how he got to star in a film, you'll probably be asking yourself the same question. Unless you're a huge fan of MacDonald's wisecracking delivery, you'll probably want to skip this mercifully short film.
To make matters worse, the film's transfer to video is well below the quality of what most have come to expect from the DVD format. Considering the film's failure at the box office, it's not surprising that the supplemental materials (trailer, 2 page booklet) aren't particularly noteworthy.
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