Black Sheep (1996)

Chris Farley plays the disaster-prone brother of a gubernatorial candidate in Washington State. Though he is well meaning, the havoc he creates on the campaign trail is drawing press attention, so a snotty aide (David Spade) to the politician is dispatched to keep the big lug under control. Spade's character initially insults his charge as often as possible, but over time, the two bond and end up becoming a part of the final election push. Farley and Spade have some very funny moments, but overall the film feels rushed and poorly planned. Constant changes in character and script happen recklessly and randomly so that nothing ever really makes sense; the film keeps changing the rules by which it plays. --Tom Keogh Amazon.com

mad

Black Sheepi got this movie 3 days ago and when i went to watch it the movie skipped 3 to 4 times while i was watching it. i think that if people are goign to sell their movies they need to watch them and make sure that the movie is in good condition September 8, 2008

funniest movie ever

This movie is a must see for everybody. I purchased this friends and family to watch and I purchased a copy for myself. Its just hillarious and a must see. I watched it 3 times already and am planning on watching it a lot more. September 29, 2007

Not quite "Tommy Boy" but still funny.

Al Donnelly (Tim Matheson) is trying to get elected governor of the state of Washington, he hires campaign aid Steve Dodds (David Spade) to keep an eye on his brother Mike (Chris Farley) and keep him out of trouble until the election is over. But it isn't going to be easy, until soon they discover something shocking going on about the election from governor canidate Governor Tracy (Christine Ebersole) for they need the help of former soldier Drake Sabitch (Gary Busey) to prove that she's a crook.

Although no where as great as Farley's "Tommy Boy", this is an enjoyable and funny political comedy. You get to see Spade and Farley get into all sorts of funny situations especially Farley getting hurt like the part where he gets his necktie stuck to the back of a driver's car, if you like a good laugh this could be it but don't expect it to be "Tommy Boy 2".

The DVD is pratically bareboned but the transfer and sound are good. March 16, 2007

Chris Farley...we miss you!!

This is a great movie for many reasons. First, it's hilarious. Second, we all goof up at some time in our life and feel like the black sheep of the family, of our company, of our group, of our (you fill in the blank). If you liked Tommy Boy, you'll like Black Sheep as well. January 31, 2007

Re-making TOMMY BOY Without Actually Re-making It.

After their extremely funny and very successful comedy smash TOMMY BOY, Chris Farley and David Spade joined forces again and came up with BLACK SHEEP, a movie that can almost best be described as a TOMMY BOY wanna-be. In BLACK SHEEP Chris Farley plays Mike Donnelly, a simple-minded, klutzy, and sometimes off-the-handle troubled youth worker who is an embarrassment to his older brother Al (Tim Matheson) who is running for the governor of Washington. Mike really wants his brother to win and does everything he can to campaign for him, but his best intentions always seem to bring about disastrous results. In an attempt to keep Mike in check, Al's campaign managers assign aide Steve Dodds (David Spade) to take Mike to a cabin in the mountains and keep him from causing any trouble. This proves impossible to do, and Mike continues to get into trouble. However, along the way Steve and Mike uncover evidence of a fixed election and set out to bring justice.

BLACK SHEEP is a water-downed version of TOMMY BOY. Chris Farley plays the dufus relative of a person of power. David Spade plays the person assigned to watch over him. The family's power is lost and Chris and Dave go on a road trip to re-establish the family's position. There are some funny moments in BLACK SHEEP, but some of them are direct copies of jokes from TOMMY BOY, while most of the others just aren't all that funny. The similarities between the two movies don't stop there. Farley plays the same football play with his youth center kids as he does while cow-tipping in TOMMY BOY and the car that Farley and Spade's characters drove in TOMMY BOY can be seen parked in front of the youth center that Mike Donnelly works at. There are even a couple of times in the movie where Farley almost refers to Spade's character as "Richard" (the character Spade played in TOMMY BOY).

I'm a fan of Chris Farley. I think he was a comic genius that never achieved his full potential. He lost his life because of an addiction to drugs and that addiction affected much of his later work, including BLACK SHEEP.

I'm not as big a fan of David Spade's, but I do enjoy many of his characters. He is at his best when he's going off on a witty, biting sarcastic rant or when he is playing over-the-top characters (e.g. MEET JOE DIRT). Unfortunately in BLACK SHEEP he really doesn't get to do either and it affects the quality of the movie.

Overall, BLACK SHEEP is just an average comedy that borders on below average. The presence of Farley and Spade keep it from falling below the brink, but just barely. It's a far lesser movie than TOMMY BOY, but it is a film that illustrates the decline and fall of Farley as both a comedian and a person struggling with addiction. October 25, 2006

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