A gubernatorial candidate hires a wormy special assistant whose only job is to make sure the candidate's well-meaning but incompetent brother doesn't ruin the election.A gubernatorial candidate hires a wormy special assistant whose only job is to make sure the candidate's well-meaning but incompetent brother doesn't ruin the election.A gubernatorial candidate hires a wormy special assistant whose only job is to make sure the candidate's well-meaning but incompetent brother doesn't ruin the election.
Branden Morgan
- Fan
- (as Branden R. Morgan)
Toby Ganger
- Tough Kid
- (as Toby Scott Ganger)
- Director
- Writer
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaFred Wolf, who did punch-up work on Tommy Boy (1995), claimed the studio told him to "deliver a finished script by midnight on Sunday, the last day Chris was contractually allowed to get out of the movie. If I didn't have a finished script, any finished script, they were going to sue me." Wolf wrote 45 pages in a weekend, and dropped the script off at Paramount 15 minutes before his deadline.
- GoofsWhen Steve and Mike are playing checkers, Steve takes 1/2 of a double jump the second half of which would have resulted in a king. The rules of checkers would have required him to finish the double jump.
- ConnectionsFeatured in Showbiz Today: Episode dated 5 February 1996 (1996)
- SoundtracksBackslider
by V. Todd Lewis (as Todd Lewis)
Performed by The Toadies (as Toadies)
Courtesy of Interscope Records
Featured review
Black Sheep is one of the two films in which Chris Farley stars alongside the constant sarcasm of David Spade (the other being Tommy Boy, which is almost as funny), and the results are childish but endlessly amusing. Farley plays Mike Donnelly, the younger and nuttier brother of Al Donnelly, who is campaigning to be governor of Washington. Mike's seemingly constant screw-ups, which cause serious havoc during his brother's campaign, provide for the majority of the comedy in the film. There can be no mistake that this is entirely slapstick comedy, but it succeeds very well because Farley can pull it off so well. The hopelessly geeky Spade balances out Farley's hyper-activity with his collected but nerdy performance, leaving us with an odd couple that could be called a slightly less mature version of that of the late Walter Matthou and the later Jack Lemmon (a moment of silence for Matthou, Lemmon, and Farley, would be in order about now
).
It is strange that such an immature film could deal so extensively with a relatively serious subject as politics and still manage to keep the slapstick successful, especially since there are moments of real emotion in the film. Gary Busey appears in a small but very effective and amusing role as Sgt. Drake Savage, a military-minded guy who ultimately seems to have a heart of gold. The interactions between him and Spade are some of the funniest moments in the film, along with the constant humor that seems to always be emanating from Farley. The cabin scene with Mike and Steve (Spade) is especially amusing ("I got dibs on top bunk!").
I am not going to attempt to say that Black Sheep is a truly intellectual film, nor is there anything particularly amazing about the script or direction, but the comedy is excellent, there can be no mistake about that. I mean, Tommy Boy and other movies, like Major Payne, are no cerebral workouts either, but the comedy is there. That's the reason to watch these movies, and to their credit, you can tell that just by looking at the cover. You probably won't learn anything or see the portrayal of many serious issues in a movie like Black Sheep, but you will laugh heartily and you will remember it for that.
It is strange that such an immature film could deal so extensively with a relatively serious subject as politics and still manage to keep the slapstick successful, especially since there are moments of real emotion in the film. Gary Busey appears in a small but very effective and amusing role as Sgt. Drake Savage, a military-minded guy who ultimately seems to have a heart of gold. The interactions between him and Spade are some of the funniest moments in the film, along with the constant humor that seems to always be emanating from Farley. The cabin scene with Mike and Steve (Spade) is especially amusing ("I got dibs on top bunk!").
I am not going to attempt to say that Black Sheep is a truly intellectual film, nor is there anything particularly amazing about the script or direction, but the comedy is excellent, there can be no mistake about that. I mean, Tommy Boy and other movies, like Major Payne, are no cerebral workouts either, but the comedy is there. That's the reason to watch these movies, and to their credit, you can tell that just by looking at the cover. You probably won't learn anything or see the portrayal of many serious issues in a movie like Black Sheep, but you will laugh heartily and you will remember it for that.
- Anonymous_Maxine
- Jul 24, 2001
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Details
Box office
- Gross US & Canada
- $32,417,995
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $10,593,609
- Feb 4, 1996
- Gross worldwide
- $32,417,995
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