Black Sheep (1996)

MOVIE #1,173 •🍿🍿🍿🍿🍿🍿🍿🍿🍿🍿• 10.03.23 50 MOVIES IN 32 DAYS! I stumbled across a New Zealand horror film called Black Sheep from 2006 so I thought it would be fun to revisit this for a little TWO FOR TUESDAY same title double feature. This is the only non-horror movie I’ll be reviewing this month. I haven’t seen this in ages but it was one of those movies I watched A LOT on VHS when I was in high school. It’s often dismissed as a shabby imitation of Tommy Boy but I think that’s selling it short. It might be an inferior film but it’s got a ton of fun stuff in it. The real broad classic goofs — like the bat and the snake scenes, the boulder gag, getting stuck in the voting booth, etc. — didn't really hit as hard but they're fine in the context, almost like an homage to a dying form of comedy.

David Spade is one of the best smarmy straight guys ever and I think he’s underrated in these movies, honestly. And there are a slew of cool supporting performances here (most notably Gary Busey as a deranged, war-obsessed hermit). But the star here is Farley. Duh…


(I'm not sure it's great laughing at this with the knowledge of how he died but such is life.)

I love the little things that barely see like jokes on the page, that we would make us crack up watching this in high school. Like when they first find the bat and goad each other into touching it…


And the white mud/crud line…


There are many other moments like these. It's almost intentionally bad but the delivery is so good. And Farley overacting in the dramatic parts is also the perfect counterpoint to his insane physical comedy. He was a genius.

I need to rewatch Tommy Boy at some point, but this one — directed by the great Penelope Spheeris — holds up despite the atrocious reviews it garnered (A 28% RT score!?). And this tidbit is just completely fucked:

Film critics Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert gave the film "two big thumbs down very big thumbs way down," with Siskel admitting that Black Sheep was one of only three films he ever walked out on, the others being Million Dollar Duck and Maniac. Siskel stated several times that he did not like Chris Farley and thought of him as a terrible actor, stating at one point "Chris Farley is not funny. I knew John Belushi, I knew John Candy, he's no John Belushi or John Candy." Ebert (who gave the movie thumbs down) called it "not only one of the worst comedies I've ever seen, but one of the least ambitious; it doesn't even feel like they're trying to make a good movie." (Wikepdia)

I’m sorry, but how can you not love this…

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Black Sheep is a 1996 American comedy film directed by Penelope Spheeris, written by Fred Wolf, starring Chris Farley and David Spade, co-starring Tim Matheson, Christine Ebersole, and Gary Busey. The film follows a political aide who is assigned to control the brother of a candidate for Governor of Washington, who helps his brother's campaign. It grossed $32.3 million during its U.S. theatrical run. It was released on February 2, 1996.