Mutant Reviewers from Hell do
"Are you or are you not the black angel of death?"

1996 PG-13 / Comedy Directed by: Penelope Spheeris Starring: Chris Farley, David Spade, Tim Matheson

Tagline

There's one in every family.

Summary Capsule

Sarcastic weasel must keep fat idiot from ruining nice brother's campaign

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DVD

Justin's Rating: Gnaw on my skull a little and see how YOU like it!
Justin's Review: In the entire lexicon of cinema, there really only stands two movies that can boast, with utter sincerity and honest integrity, that they star both David Spade and Chris Farley. Snarky and fat, dumb and sarcastic, you probably think that they're the most understated (pick one: comedic genius/work of the Devil) of the 20th century. Since 50% of this duo is dead, you can only relive their on screen hilarity with either Tommy Boy and Black Sheep or that weird woman who reads Tarot cards with a Jamacian accent on TV.

"Like monkeys in heat, overweight individuals who scream and jump around a lot are funny."

Tommy Boy's modest success spurned several mad scientists to throw copies of the tape into cloning vats in order to earn cheap, filthy, wonderful wads of cash. Unfortunately, a corn dog fell into the vat as well, so we end up with not-quite-a-clone, not-quite-a-sequel, not-quite-as-funny, but still enjoyable Black Sheep. The characters haven't changed too much, so those of you with brain and nose disorders are safe for the time being. Mike (Farley) is the dumb but energetic brother (not son) of a governor candidate (not wealthy auto parts owner). Steve (Spade) is assigned as Mike's keeper, this time going on a camping trip (not road trip, although that does come in toward the end) to keep the embarrassment to a minimum.

Like monkeys in heat, overweight individuals who scream and jump around a lot are funny. While having good intentions, Mike always manages to do the worst thing possible for his brother's campaign. And you know with Farley, you're going to get a lot of whole-mouth screaming, red faces, sheepish grins, large scale destruction, small scale self-destruction, and acting that comes straight from the school of electrocution. While accidentally high, Farley "rocks the vote" in a particularly memorable fashion.

He is, therefore, a large target for Spade, who is sarcastic AND a loser in about every movie he's been in. Condescending as usual, he snarks off everyone from a military survival nut to the hillbilly residents of Washington state. The two become reluctant friends, naturally, and have to solve the Secret of the Twin Towers, naturally. Wait, that might be the Hardy Boys. Listen, I'm really tired right now and I had some bad White Castle ratburgers, so I'm not in the mood to get so-called "facts" right!

May I take this opportunity to say that the world in general needs to be appreciative that we have an actor like Gary Busey (who plays Sgt. Drake Savage). Any time you need a generic bad guy who's lost a few marbles, call Busey! I sometimes wish he was available to rent, in case I wanted to impress some girl by appearing More Sane.

If you listen to anyone else, you'll probably be told that Black Sheep is a terrible movie with no redeeming value other than keeping you off the streets or out of prison. This might be true, except that you must remember that all critics have been paid off to bash every SNL star movie that has come out from 1985 until 2300. I happen to have laughed at BS. With it, also. Spade and Farley are a good matchup, and there's nothing like seeing a fat man bag a bat. Ultimately, I think the nicest thing that can be said about Black Sheep is that it makes a good epilogue to Tommy Boy.

Kyle's Rating: I’m so glad I’m an only child
Kyle's Review: In case no one has ever told you this, please heed my words: Tommy Boy is the greatest film ever to star Chris Farley and David Spade. I mean, it’s an incredibly funny comedy. The bit with the bong, a slimy and slick Rob Lowe, the strong and lovely Julie Warner, the raw charisma of Spade and Farley... Tommy Boy resides in a special place in the hearts of each and every one of us. It’s brilliant, it’s funny, and it’s touching.

"Black Sheep has only one thing going for it: Tim Matheson, God among men and composed purely of shiny blazing starlight."

Black Sheep, on the other end of the spectrum, is still funny but it’s not as effective, or as smart, or as touching, or as memorable as Tommy Boy. It’s like some movie dude figured that Farley and Spade were all that made Tommy Boy great, without bothering to see the film to learn that Tommy Boy had a great script and a great cast backing up the SNL duo.

Other than the fat guy and the skinny guy, Black Sheep has only one thing going for it: Tim Matheson, God among men and composed purely of shiny blazing starlight. Tim Matheson, who was not only Otter in Animal House but also the devious Alan Stanwyck in Fletch, portrays the brother of Farley and the candidate raring to become the next governor of Washington. Can Tim hope to win the race, with the evil current governor doing everything to stay in office and with Farley doing his best to help his brother yet failing at everything and making his every action look like some type of illegal activity? Probably, but I’m not going to give away the whole thing in this review. Suffice to say that there is enough political intrigue to satisfy your brainy intellectual friends and enough toilet-brained foolishness to keep you happy if you rent it for a party.

Yes, when the sun eventually expands and consumes the Earth, the last living thing on the planet will recall Tommy Boy being the best Farley-Spade movie and all the copies of Black Sheep will be used as a pathetic makeshift barrier against the rapidly growing red sun. That’s really too bad, because there is enough to laugh at in Black Sheep to warrant you wasting your time on it, although one wishes that the great Tim Matheson could be in more movies. So see Black Sheep at least once if you haven’t already, and the next time you’re planning the cast for your next film no matter what the plot, consider Tim Matheson for a starring role. That’s all I ask.

He calls his mop "Loretta" and sings her to sleep every night

Didja Notice? [some sources: IMDb]

• The side of the campaign van reads "Al Donnelly: Total Class"; which has the first two letters in class covered up when he hits the theater.
• The band Mudhoney plays at Rock The Vote. Who remembers Mudhoney?
• Chris Farley uses the same football play with the kids at the youth center -- "32 belly option" -- as he did when he and Rob Lowe went cow-tipping in Tommy Boy.
• They use the same bend of road, over and over, to show car scenes
• When Scott is sprayed with the fire extinguisher, he wears a sweater and tan slacks. When next seen he is still covered in the spray but he is wearing blue slacks and a suit coat over the sweater. After hiding behind the tree, he is again wearing the tan slacks and the sweater, minus the suit coat.

Is It Worth Staying Through End Credits?

No ma'am, no sir.

Intermission! [some sources: IMDb]

Film critic Gene Siskel (RIP) said that this was the first film he walked out on in 26 years of reviewing movies.

Chris Farley died December 18, 1997 due to an overdose. His movie credits include both Wayne's World movies, Coneheads, Billy Madison, and Beverly Hills Ninja. His last starring role was in Almost Heroes (released after his death in 1998), and his last screen cameo was in Dirty Work (also 1998). He was a regular star on SNL from 1990 to 1995, and continues to be shown in archive footage and repeats.

Groovy Quotes

Mike: [telling a dream over the phone] Get this. A corn-fed harvest mouse, a hooker, a nun, a Flemish peasant woman... whips, chains, whistles, yo-yos, a circus midget... my grandmother, riding by on a bicycle giving me the finger, and a duck! I don't know why... are you crying? OH my lord. I am sorry honey, please don't... can you get your daddy on the phone?

[Mike's tie is trapped in the car's trunk, he runs behind]
Man driving car: He must be all hopped up on crack cocaine!
Old lady: Floor it, Harold!

[bat flying around]
Steve: What's that?
Mike: It's Ozzy Osborne!

[Steve is whapping Mike and the bat]
Mike: Why are you hitting me? Ow! It's gnawing at my skull! You're aggrivating it! Why are you kicking me?

Steve: This is great! I've never won three games in a row! I hardly ever play checkers.
Mike: Yeah, well, you know, it's kinda easy to win when you, um... NEVER MOVE YOUR BACK ROW, EVER!!!

Steve: Are you or are you not the Black Angel of Death?
Mike: Without question.
Steve: Don't agree with me. It just pisses me off more.

Mike: Young fella, I'm gonna twist off your head and spike it onto the floors of a nightmare you can't even imagine. I will dance with you inside of the six-sided ring of fire unless you move from here!

Band member: Kick ass, Whitey!

Mike: That's one small step for man, one giant... I have a dream!

Mike: [on stage] KILL WHITEY!

Steve: How could you have such horrible instincts and survive this long?

Steve: This guy is like Leatherface, Chucky, and Jan Brady rolled into one.

Steve: Let's call off Operation: One Of Us Is Crazy and go our separate ways.

Steve: [high on nitrous oxide and looking at a map] Roges? Rudes? How come I can't say that word?
Mike: Roads!
Steve: Rowads! That's a weird word, isn't it?

Steve: I'm surprised we can't count on a guy who lives in a school bus surrounded by mines.

State Trooper: Tell me, officer, do you have any idea how fast you were going?
Mike: Well, I got a 426 hemi here, 3/4 cams, nitro boosters, I can get 'er up to as good as 155! Never do, though, of course, unless I'm chasing a cute chick in a Ferrari! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! I guess I was goin' about... 65, tops.
State Trooper: SEVEN! SEVEN miles an hour! And normally, when I stop people, they pull onto the shoulder! [camera pulls back to see car parked on median]

If you liked this movie, try these:

• Tommy Boy
• Wayne's World
• Dirty Work