THE FILMS:

Easy Money (1983 - directed by James Signorelli):

Rodney Dangerfield is never not funny, no matter the film. Easy Money is not among his best works, which include Caddyshack and Back to School, but provides a comically exasperated Dangerfield, who this time plays a hard-living father - Monty Capuletti - forced to give up his vices in order to receive a large share of his late mother-in-law's estate. An early problem with Easy Money is the plot: The film spins its wheels for a half-hour or so before hinting at the central conflict. Career actress Geraldine Fitzgerald plays the grouchy M-I-L, who thinks her daughter could do better than a boozing, gambling, smartass. The codicil requiring Monty give up his current lifestyle is a final jab from the grave, but Monty decides to give it a go for his wife (Candy Azzara) and kids (Jennifer Jason Leigh and Lili Haydn). There's also an extended subplot about daughter Allison's (Leigh) marriage to wacko Julio (Taylor Negron), which is decidedly not the film's best card.

The late Roger Ebert called Easy Money's plot "a line to hang gags on," which is a better description than any I could have mustered. Dangerfield is often hilarious here, but his performance feels tempered, even in this R-rated film, as if some of his scenes were trimmed to dial back his irreverence. This is the way I feel about the overall film, too, and I wouldn't be surprised if a lot of footage ended up on the cutting room floor. The pace is disjointed, and there are many detours that result in dead-ends. Director Signorelli, who worked extensively on "Saturday Night Live" in the decades following this film, could have pushed this material farther. Very few scenes push the comedic envelope, though the drunken driving scene with Dangerfield and Joe Pesci, who plays a similarly irresponsible blue-collar joker, probably wouldn't fly today. God bless the '80s. *** (out of *****).

Men at Work (1990 - directed by Emilio Estevez):

Emilio Estevez directs, writes and co-stars with brother Charlie Sheen in this uneven comedy about two garbage collectors who witness a murder. Carl Taylor (Sheen) and James St. James (Estevez) work the night shift, bitching and bickering and attracting the attention of local blowhard cop (John Putch), who dislikes their cavalier attitudes. The guys break up a domestic disturbance by shooting at a man (Darrell Larson) with a pellet gun, but soon witness this same man get strangled by two unknown assailants. They later discover the body in a metal drum, and ask Vietnam vet Louis Fedders (Keith David) for help, fearing the pellet-gun wound will implicate them in the man's murder. This set-up and follow-through are a bit too complicated for their own good, but this premise at least allows Estevez and Sheen to riff off of one another for 90 minutes.

The Brothers Estevez play well together, and their performances are the best part of Men at Work. Sheen has made a career delivering witty, dry, deadpan humor, and this complements Estevez's slightly more subdued comedy. The film finds it's footing mid-step, but falls apart again at the climax. The larger conspiracy does not really matter, and I grew a bit tired of Men at Work in the final reel. This PG-13 film might have played better with an R-rating, as both leading men are certainly up to the task of pushing the boundaries of good taste. Estevez has directed only a handful of films, and he is obviously learning the ropes here. If anything, Thanksgiving with the Estevez family must be a hell of a thing. *** (out of *****).

THE BLU-RAY:

PICTURE:

Both films appear on a single, dual-layered Blu-ray disc, and each sports a 1.85:1/1080p/AVC-encoded transfer. Easy Money is the expectedly grainer and grittier of the two, and there is some minor print damage throughout. Colors are reasonably well saturated, and black levels are resolved. Shout Factory skips the digital noise reduction pass, and there is a pleasing, filmic appearance to the image. Fine-object detail is decent, but there are the occasional soft shots. Men at Work looks quite good, though there appears to be some slight digital scrubbing baked into the master. Fine-object detail is mostly good, as are texture and sharpness. Black levels impress, and print anomalies are scarce.

SOUND:

Each film is presented with a 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack (with optional English subtitles). These work fine for the material. Easy Money has an early glitch, where the audio cuts out for a brief moment, but the track recovers nicely after that. Dialogue is clear, and the effects and soundtrack are reasonably weighty. Men at Work has more depth, and some of the action effects are quite boisterous in stereo. Dialogue is similarly without distortion.

PACKAGING AND EXTRAS:

This single-disc double feature is packed in a standard case with dual-sided artwork. The only extras are the films' theatrical trailers.

FINAL THOUGHTS:

Shout Factory releases Easy Money and Men at Work on Blu-ray for the first time as part of this double feature. Both films are enjoyable, if unremarkable. Rodney Dangerfield, Emilio Estevez and Charlie Sheen are the best things here, and the plots of these comedies come second to the talent. The A/V presentations are good, and this double feature is Recommended.

Easy Money:

Men at Work:

William lives in Burlington, North Carolina, and looks forward to a Friday-afternoon matinee.