| Reviews & Columns |
|
Reviews DVD TV on DVD Blu-ray 4K UHD International DVDs In Theaters Reviews by Studio Video Games Features Collector Series DVDs Easter Egg Database Interviews DVD Talk Radio Feature Articles Columns Anime Talk DVD Savant Horror DVDs The M.O.D. Squad Art House HD Talk Silent DVD
|
 DVD Talk Forum |
|
|
| Resources |
|
DVD Price Search Customer Service #'s RCE Info Links |
|
Columns
  
 
|
|
|
Black Sheep
Paramount // PG-13 // July 16, 2002
List Price: $24.98 [Buy now and save at Amazon]
The Movie:
Although I still dislike "Black Sheep", I do have to admit that it's a movie that's grown on me a bit over the years. The film, an obvious attempt to recreate the success of the David Spade/Chris Farley pairing of "Tommy Boy", "Black Sheep" mostly forgot to include that film's humor and heart. Farley plays Mike Donnelly, a good-hearted guy who works at the local recreation center. However, he also happens to screw-up at every attempt he makes to help his brother (played by Tim Mattheson), who's running for Governor in Washington state.
To try and keep his brother out of trouble, Mike is assigned to one of the potential Governor's aides, Steve Dodds (Spade). After it becomes apparent that even Dodds can't keep Mike from getting out of trouble, they find themselves far out of the way, both sharing a cabin in the woods. The cabin sequences, which play like "Tommy Boy" crossed with "The Great Outdoors", are the film's funniest bits.
Much of the rest of the movie - which often involves Farley falling (one sequence that goes on for a few minutes has him rolling down a large hill) and Spade making sarcastic comments with little interest - gets too familiar and repetitive. I will admit I still find some bits funny, such as the cabin sequence and a moment where Mike gets on stage accidentally in place of his brother and makes a complete fool of himself. Spade, on the other hand, gets a few funny moments, but has less to do here than he did in "Tommy Boy". The less said about Gary Busey's role, the better. Director Penelope Spheeris, whose main hit continues only to be "Wayne's World", doesn't do much on her part to liven the action.
Overall, "Black Sheep" is a pretty harmless little 86-minute comedy. A fair amount of it falls pretty flat, but Spade and Farley continued to make a good team here and they do succeed in getting a few solid, silly laughs together.
The DVD
VIDEO: "Black Sheep" is presented by Paramount in 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen. Although there are a few concerns throughout this transfer, this is probably the best that I've ever seen this film look. Sharpness and detail are actually excellent, as the picture remained well-defined and crisp throughout, with nice depth to the image.
As previously noted, a few problems arise during the presentation, but I didn't think they caused much distraction. Some minor edge enhancement was spotted, as were a couple of little specks on the print used. No pixelation or any other faults were seen, though. The film's bright color palette looked well-saturated and never appeared smeared. Black level was solid, while flesh tones remained accurate. Overall, a very nice transfer.
SOUND: "Black Sheep" is presented in Dolby Digital 5.0. This is a surprisingly more active sound mix than I'd expected and quite a bit more enjoyable than the audio for "Tommy Boy". Although certainly nowhere near reference quality, the amount of surround use on this mix for sound effects and general ambience is certainly unusually high for a comedy soundtrack. The music remains crisp and clear, while dialogue sounded natural, too.
MENUS: The menus do boast some slight animation and background music.
EXTRAS: Nothing.
Final Thoughts: If not "Tommy Boy", "Black Sheep" occasionally has Spade and Farley working together well enough to sell a few laughs. Paramount's DVD doesn't offer anything in the way of supplements - a director's commentary or a track from Spade would have been appreciated - but the film's presentation on DVD is probably the best it's ever looked and sounded.
Although I still dislike "Black Sheep", I do have to admit that it's a movie that's grown on me a bit over the years. The film, an obvious attempt to recreate the success of the David Spade/Chris Farley pairing of "Tommy Boy", "Black Sheep" mostly forgot to include that film's humor and heart. Farley plays Mike Donnelly, a good-hearted guy who works at the local recreation center. However, he also happens to screw-up at every attempt he makes to help his brother (played by Tim Mattheson), who's running for Governor in Washington state.
To try and keep his brother out of trouble, Mike is assigned to one of the potential Governor's aides, Steve Dodds (Spade). After it becomes apparent that even Dodds can't keep Mike from getting out of trouble, they find themselves far out of the way, both sharing a cabin in the woods. The cabin sequences, which play like "Tommy Boy" crossed with "The Great Outdoors", are the film's funniest bits.
Much of the rest of the movie - which often involves Farley falling (one sequence that goes on for a few minutes has him rolling down a large hill) and Spade making sarcastic comments with little interest - gets too familiar and repetitive. I will admit I still find some bits funny, such as the cabin sequence and a moment where Mike gets on stage accidentally in place of his brother and makes a complete fool of himself. Spade, on the other hand, gets a few funny moments, but has less to do here than he did in "Tommy Boy". The less said about Gary Busey's role, the better. Director Penelope Spheeris, whose main hit continues only to be "Wayne's World", doesn't do much on her part to liven the action.
Overall, "Black Sheep" is a pretty harmless little 86-minute comedy. A fair amount of it falls pretty flat, but Spade and Farley continued to make a good team here and they do succeed in getting a few solid, silly laughs together.
The DVD
VIDEO: "Black Sheep" is presented by Paramount in 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen. Although there are a few concerns throughout this transfer, this is probably the best that I've ever seen this film look. Sharpness and detail are actually excellent, as the picture remained well-defined and crisp throughout, with nice depth to the image.
As previously noted, a few problems arise during the presentation, but I didn't think they caused much distraction. Some minor edge enhancement was spotted, as were a couple of little specks on the print used. No pixelation or any other faults were seen, though. The film's bright color palette looked well-saturated and never appeared smeared. Black level was solid, while flesh tones remained accurate. Overall, a very nice transfer.
SOUND: "Black Sheep" is presented in Dolby Digital 5.0. This is a surprisingly more active sound mix than I'd expected and quite a bit more enjoyable than the audio for "Tommy Boy". Although certainly nowhere near reference quality, the amount of surround use on this mix for sound effects and general ambience is certainly unusually high for a comedy soundtrack. The music remains crisp and clear, while dialogue sounded natural, too.
MENUS: The menus do boast some slight animation and background music.
EXTRAS: Nothing.
Final Thoughts: If not "Tommy Boy", "Black Sheep" occasionally has Spade and Farley working together well enough to sell a few laughs. Paramount's DVD doesn't offer anything in the way of supplements - a director's commentary or a track from Spade would have been appreciated - but the film's presentation on DVD is probably the best it's ever looked and sounded.
|
| Popular Reviews |
| Sponsored Links |
|
|
| Sponsored Links |
|
|
| Release List | Reviews | Shop | Newsletter | Forum | DVD Giveaways | Blu-Ray | Advertise |
|
Copyright 2024 DVDTalk.com All Rights Reserved. Legal Info, Privacy Policy, Terms of Use,
Manage Preferences,
Your Privacy Choices 
| |||||||