I feel bad for Chris Kattan. Will Ferrell (the less talented of the two) hits with OLD SCHOOL and ELF, while Kattan gets stuck with B-level crap like UNDERCOVER BROTHER and CORKY ROMANO. Keep your agent, Chris, and you'll be the new Dana Carvey in no time.
Which is too bad, since Kattan has the stuff. CORKY ROMANO is by no means a good movie, but he gives it his all. I braced myself for another painfully awful comedy (like VAN WILDER), but although it starts horribly (and at first appears to have the oddest title character since CLIFFORD), it, like A NIGHT AT THE ROXBURY, does get a little better as it goes along.
There are the makings of a decent comedy here; the premise is hardly credible but has promise. Unfortunately, the script is typically lazy, resorting to isolated gags instead of building laughs with smart, character-based humor.
Two sequences are particularly embarrassing. The first, in the vet's office, tries to find humor by having Corky knock over everything. When will hack writers realize that acting funny isn't funny? How are we supposed to laugh when it's obvious that Kattan is intentionally knocking everything over?
The other idiotic scene is the one with Knee High P.I. Here we find characters defying laws of physics and gravity in a sequence of forced slapstick that starts with Corky unwittingly sniffing panties and ends with characters floating in the air. Don't ask me how.
Other quibbles were probably considered by the writers, who just as probably ignored them. No that it matters, but the plot is a total shambles. Some questions: When all is said and done, aren't indictments automatic for both Corky (for impersonating a federal agent) and his family (for most everything in their file)? How did the watch connect to the real criminal? Could any schmuck really infiltrate the FBI so easily? In New York?
But I guess I'll let all this slide (along with the fact that an out-of-control vehicle wouldn't get ten feet in this city), since the movie, with the exception of one shot, was clearly not filmed in Manhattan. IMDb states it was filmed in California, but the outdoor scenes screamed Toronto or something. Wherever it was made, the movie looks cheap (I cite a moment when a gym bench, ostensibly bolted to the floor, wobbles when nudged). Did all the budget go the the B-cast, since we've all seen movies with lower price tags look more polished?
And what about that supporting cast? I like Peter Berg, but comedy is not his strong suit. Doofy fares better, but this Vinessa Shaw chick, if memory serves, gave a better performance as a corpse in EYES WIDE SHUT. I know this is supposed to be a comedy, but, c'mon, isn't she a bit young, naïve, and, well, hot for an FBI agent? And Peter Falk nearly literally slept through his role.
Then there's Chris Penn. Dude, you were in RESERVOIR DOGS and TRUE ROMANCE. Why the hell are you wasting your time in an SNL movie by a first-time director? Your closeted character had such potential but was terribly written, and since you, like Berg, aren't naturally funny you better have a damn good script to get laughs. I wish this movie were more thoughtful with the gay thing, but such weight would seem odd next to Kattan in a Girl Scout uniform.
Which brings me to the good parts. In movies like this you take what you can get, so I admit Corky's undercover outfits gave me a chuckle or two and his affection for ultra-cheesy '80s pop hits ("Take on Me" and the undead DIRTY DANCING theme) were somewhat endearing. And I laughed the most (faint praise) after Frank Drebin-esque verbal exchange about J. Edgar Hoover. But David Garrett & Jason Ward are, natch, no Zucker Brothers (I give you Exhibit B: their next movie is a DEUCE BIGALOW sequel). But then again, the Zuckers, with SCARY MOVIE 3, ain't the Zuckers anymore either, so this train of thought is as pointless as CORKY ROMANO.
3/10
Which is too bad, since Kattan has the stuff. CORKY ROMANO is by no means a good movie, but he gives it his all. I braced myself for another painfully awful comedy (like VAN WILDER), but although it starts horribly (and at first appears to have the oddest title character since CLIFFORD), it, like A NIGHT AT THE ROXBURY, does get a little better as it goes along.
There are the makings of a decent comedy here; the premise is hardly credible but has promise. Unfortunately, the script is typically lazy, resorting to isolated gags instead of building laughs with smart, character-based humor.
Two sequences are particularly embarrassing. The first, in the vet's office, tries to find humor by having Corky knock over everything. When will hack writers realize that acting funny isn't funny? How are we supposed to laugh when it's obvious that Kattan is intentionally knocking everything over?
The other idiotic scene is the one with Knee High P.I. Here we find characters defying laws of physics and gravity in a sequence of forced slapstick that starts with Corky unwittingly sniffing panties and ends with characters floating in the air. Don't ask me how.
Other quibbles were probably considered by the writers, who just as probably ignored them. No that it matters, but the plot is a total shambles. Some questions: When all is said and done, aren't indictments automatic for both Corky (for impersonating a federal agent) and his family (for most everything in their file)? How did the watch connect to the real criminal? Could any schmuck really infiltrate the FBI so easily? In New York?
But I guess I'll let all this slide (along with the fact that an out-of-control vehicle wouldn't get ten feet in this city), since the movie, with the exception of one shot, was clearly not filmed in Manhattan. IMDb states it was filmed in California, but the outdoor scenes screamed Toronto or something. Wherever it was made, the movie looks cheap (I cite a moment when a gym bench, ostensibly bolted to the floor, wobbles when nudged). Did all the budget go the the B-cast, since we've all seen movies with lower price tags look more polished?
And what about that supporting cast? I like Peter Berg, but comedy is not his strong suit. Doofy fares better, but this Vinessa Shaw chick, if memory serves, gave a better performance as a corpse in EYES WIDE SHUT. I know this is supposed to be a comedy, but, c'mon, isn't she a bit young, naïve, and, well, hot for an FBI agent? And Peter Falk nearly literally slept through his role.
Then there's Chris Penn. Dude, you were in RESERVOIR DOGS and TRUE ROMANCE. Why the hell are you wasting your time in an SNL movie by a first-time director? Your closeted character had such potential but was terribly written, and since you, like Berg, aren't naturally funny you better have a damn good script to get laughs. I wish this movie were more thoughtful with the gay thing, but such weight would seem odd next to Kattan in a Girl Scout uniform.
Which brings me to the good parts. In movies like this you take what you can get, so I admit Corky's undercover outfits gave me a chuckle or two and his affection for ultra-cheesy '80s pop hits ("Take on Me" and the undead DIRTY DANCING theme) were somewhat endearing. And I laughed the most (faint praise) after Frank Drebin-esque verbal exchange about J. Edgar Hoover. But David Garrett & Jason Ward are, natch, no Zucker Brothers (I give you Exhibit B: their next movie is a DEUCE BIGALOW sequel). But then again, the Zuckers, with SCARY MOVIE 3, ain't the Zuckers anymore either, so this train of thought is as pointless as CORKY ROMANO.
3/10