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Master of Disguise
Columbia/Tri-Star // PG // January 28, 2003
List Price: $26.98 [Buy now and save at Amazon]
The Movie:
I'm always hearing people say, "whatever happened to Dana Carvey?" Aside from the occasional "Saturday Night Live" rerun, the comic had seemingly disappeared. When "The Master of Disguise" was announced, many - both young and old - seemed thrilled (this is the only explanation for how this film actually made as much at the box office as it did) that the comic would again be returning to the screen and bringing some of his most memorable characters along.
I'd recently commented on the comic's brillance after watching a repeat of "Saturday Night Live" where Carvey played George Bush, who turned - in the skit - a presential address into an infomerical. The genius of Carvey, so visible on "Saturday Night Live" and even in the "Wayne's World" films, is almost completely lost here. A film made for children (although likely for those three and under), "Disguise" relies heavily on bathroom humor and surprisingly (given the fact that Carvey co-wrote), there's very little funny about either the dialogue or the way that these jokes are presented.
The film stars Carvey as Pistachio Disguisey (that name is a good example of the film's humor), a waiter with a terrible Italian accent. His father was formerly a "Master of Disguise" and ended his career imitating Bo Derek. But, when Pistachio's parents are kidnapped by their old enemy, Bowman (Brent Spiner), Pistachio's uncle (Harold Gould) arrives to teach him the secrets of his father's skills at disguise.
He hires an assistant, Jennifer (Jennifer Esposito), who looks like: she's scared by the strangeness of the other characters, so normal that she's from another movie and lastly, just plain bored. Esposito's a fine actress that deserves better. Spiner's character, a villian who laughs until he farts, could probably also do a lot better.
Given the film's astonishing $39 million gross, I think the fact that people wanted to see Carvey in a strong return to form is confirmed. The fact that the end product is considerably less funny than Carvey's prior solo trilogy of "Opportunity Knocks," "Clean Slate" and "Trapped In Paradise" is certainly saying something. Maybe Carvey was looking for a film that would stop people from asking where he's been all these years. Directed by first-timer Perry Blake, the film is strictly on the level of straight-to-video fare, cutting together a bunch of bits in an attempt to fill out the running time, which doesn't even make it to 70 minutes (although it feels like twice that & there's also 10 minutes of outtakes at the end and a few more minutes of Carvey's character being chased around by a midget for no apparent reason).
I must admit, though, there were a few laughs in the film, although they made up as much time as most trailers do. Carvey's George Bush still gets a terrific laugh, while a short imitation of Robert Shaw in "Jaws" is also amusing. Still, only a couple of minutes worth of screentime in a film that often has Carvey playing the incredibly annoying Pistachio. Cameos from Gov. Jesse Ventura, Bo Derek, Jessica Simpson and Olympic sprinter Michael Johnson, but this film should certainly be an embarassment to everyone involved, even those in for a few moments.
The DVD
VIDEO: "Master of Disguise" is only presented by Columbia/Tristar in a 1.33:1 pan & scan presentation. While it's unfortunate that no anamorphic widescreen presentation has been made available, the picture quality of the pan & scan presentation is just okay. Sharpness and detail are no more than fair, as the picture often appears a bit on the soft side, with only a standard amount of fine detail visible.
The picture quality does suffer from a few other concerns, as well: some light edge enhancement is occasionally visible, as are some slight traces of pixelation and grain. The print generally looked crisp and clean, although a few very minor specks occasionally showed through. The film's bright color palette looked vivid and nicely rendered throughout, with no noticable smearing.
SOUND: "Master of Disguise" is presented in Dolby Digital 5.1, but this is mostly a 3.1 presentation, as there's really no surround use of note. Audio quality is depressingly okay, as all of the dialogue is clearly understood.
EXTRAS: Believe it or not, director Perry Blake and actor Dana Carvey actually attempt to explain themselves on a full-length commentary track. The two really don't offer any interesting information about the production, instead joking about what's on-screen and trying to explain some of the jokes, which are painfully obvious, anyways. The two seem to think they've created a comedic masterpiece, which is unbelievable.
Also included are 5 deleted scenes (including a terrible alternate ending with Pistachio as Captain America), with new intros from the Turtle Guy character, who is nearly as annoying as Pistachio. Also included are three featurettes, trailers for "Master of Disguise", "Little Secrets" and Kermit's "Swamp Years", along with a music video from B2K.
Final Thoughts: There's far better family fare available than this, such as "Stuart Little 2", "Ice Age" or even "Lilo and Stitch". Aside from a few minor laughs, "Master of Disguise" lacks any successful humor and Carvey is certainly capable of far better. Columbia/Tristar's DVD edition does provide some minor supplements, but the audio is uninspired (even for a comedy) and the presentation is pan & scan. Not recommended.
I'm always hearing people say, "whatever happened to Dana Carvey?" Aside from the occasional "Saturday Night Live" rerun, the comic had seemingly disappeared. When "The Master of Disguise" was announced, many - both young and old - seemed thrilled (this is the only explanation for how this film actually made as much at the box office as it did) that the comic would again be returning to the screen and bringing some of his most memorable characters along.
I'd recently commented on the comic's brillance after watching a repeat of "Saturday Night Live" where Carvey played George Bush, who turned - in the skit - a presential address into an infomerical. The genius of Carvey, so visible on "Saturday Night Live" and even in the "Wayne's World" films, is almost completely lost here. A film made for children (although likely for those three and under), "Disguise" relies heavily on bathroom humor and surprisingly (given the fact that Carvey co-wrote), there's very little funny about either the dialogue or the way that these jokes are presented.
The film stars Carvey as Pistachio Disguisey (that name is a good example of the film's humor), a waiter with a terrible Italian accent. His father was formerly a "Master of Disguise" and ended his career imitating Bo Derek. But, when Pistachio's parents are kidnapped by their old enemy, Bowman (Brent Spiner), Pistachio's uncle (Harold Gould) arrives to teach him the secrets of his father's skills at disguise.
He hires an assistant, Jennifer (Jennifer Esposito), who looks like: she's scared by the strangeness of the other characters, so normal that she's from another movie and lastly, just plain bored. Esposito's a fine actress that deserves better. Spiner's character, a villian who laughs until he farts, could probably also do a lot better.
Given the film's astonishing $39 million gross, I think the fact that people wanted to see Carvey in a strong return to form is confirmed. The fact that the end product is considerably less funny than Carvey's prior solo trilogy of "Opportunity Knocks," "Clean Slate" and "Trapped In Paradise" is certainly saying something. Maybe Carvey was looking for a film that would stop people from asking where he's been all these years. Directed by first-timer Perry Blake, the film is strictly on the level of straight-to-video fare, cutting together a bunch of bits in an attempt to fill out the running time, which doesn't even make it to 70 minutes (although it feels like twice that & there's also 10 minutes of outtakes at the end and a few more minutes of Carvey's character being chased around by a midget for no apparent reason).
I must admit, though, there were a few laughs in the film, although they made up as much time as most trailers do. Carvey's George Bush still gets a terrific laugh, while a short imitation of Robert Shaw in "Jaws" is also amusing. Still, only a couple of minutes worth of screentime in a film that often has Carvey playing the incredibly annoying Pistachio. Cameos from Gov. Jesse Ventura, Bo Derek, Jessica Simpson and Olympic sprinter Michael Johnson, but this film should certainly be an embarassment to everyone involved, even those in for a few moments.
The DVD
VIDEO: "Master of Disguise" is only presented by Columbia/Tristar in a 1.33:1 pan & scan presentation. While it's unfortunate that no anamorphic widescreen presentation has been made available, the picture quality of the pan & scan presentation is just okay. Sharpness and detail are no more than fair, as the picture often appears a bit on the soft side, with only a standard amount of fine detail visible.
The picture quality does suffer from a few other concerns, as well: some light edge enhancement is occasionally visible, as are some slight traces of pixelation and grain. The print generally looked crisp and clean, although a few very minor specks occasionally showed through. The film's bright color palette looked vivid and nicely rendered throughout, with no noticable smearing.
SOUND: "Master of Disguise" is presented in Dolby Digital 5.1, but this is mostly a 3.1 presentation, as there's really no surround use of note. Audio quality is depressingly okay, as all of the dialogue is clearly understood.
EXTRAS: Believe it or not, director Perry Blake and actor Dana Carvey actually attempt to explain themselves on a full-length commentary track. The two really don't offer any interesting information about the production, instead joking about what's on-screen and trying to explain some of the jokes, which are painfully obvious, anyways. The two seem to think they've created a comedic masterpiece, which is unbelievable.
Also included are 5 deleted scenes (including a terrible alternate ending with Pistachio as Captain America), with new intros from the Turtle Guy character, who is nearly as annoying as Pistachio. Also included are three featurettes, trailers for "Master of Disguise", "Little Secrets" and Kermit's "Swamp Years", along with a music video from B2K.
Final Thoughts: There's far better family fare available than this, such as "Stuart Little 2", "Ice Age" or even "Lilo and Stitch". Aside from a few minor laughs, "Master of Disguise" lacks any successful humor and Carvey is certainly capable of far better. Columbia/Tristar's DVD edition does provide some minor supplements, but the audio is uninspired (even for a comedy) and the presentation is pan & scan. Not recommended.
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