Black Sheep (1996)

Director:

Penelope Spheeris

Writer (WGA):

Fred Wolf (written by)

Release Date:

2 February 1996 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Sport

Tagline:

There's one in every family.

Plot:

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.

Plot Keywords:

Wetting Pants | Marijuana | Critically Bashed | Alcoholism | Brother Brother Relationship

US TV Schedule:

Sun. July 6	10:15 AM	TBS
Mon. July 7	1:45 AM	TBS

Cast

Chris Farley	...	Mike Donnelly
David Spade	...	Steve Dodds
Tim Matheson	...	Al Donnelly
Christine Ebersole	...	Gov. Tracy
Gary Busey	...	Drake Sabitch
Grant Heslov	...	Robbie Mieghem
Timothy Carhart	...	Roger Kovary
Bruce McGill	...	Neuschwender
Michael Patrick Carter	...	Scott Colleary
Boyd Banks	...	Clyde Spinoza
David St. James	...	Motorcycle Cop
Skip O'Brien	...	State Trooper
Branden R. Morgan	...	Fan
'Gypsy' Spheeris	...	Pocket Pool Lady
John Ashker	...	Jim Blaine

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for crude language and humor, drug-related material and sexual innuendo.

Runtime:

87 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

South Korea:15 | Singapore:PG | Australia:M | Denmark:16 | UK:12 | USA:PG-13 (certificate #33985) | Iceland:L

Filming Locations:

Buckley, Washington, USA

Company:

Paramount Pictures

Trivia:

At the Governor's Press conference, the television stations attending are real Seattle TV stations: KING-TV, KCPQ-TV, and KOMO-TV. KOMO even went as far a actually being on location and loaning equipment for the shoot. They have done this before and since: Harry and the Hendersons (1987) and Life or Something Like It (2002)

Goofs:

Continuity: When the boulder hits the cabin, the refrigerator moves forward, along with everything else, and the door flies open. When Mike and Steve walk back inside the cabin, the refrigerator door is magically closed.

Quotes:

[phoning citizens in an attempt to secure votes]
Mike: Hi there, this is Mike Donnelly. I work over here at the recreational center. To be honest with you I pretty much run the place ha, ha, ha. Is this ah Pat Gyles? Good, Good. Hey, hope everything's going great in your fine town of er Avery? Edward! Ha...
[...]

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Saturday Night Live: The Best of David Spade (2005) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Punk

Lame, to put it mildly, but bearable.

There are many words to describe "Black Sheep", and most of them begin with "un" - as in unsophisticated, uninspired, unoriginal. Still, it has some scattershot laughs. Gary Busey, for example, is brilliantly cast as a paranoid Vietnam veteran and comes through with the funniest performance by far. Chris Farley has barely one or two mildly funny moments in the entire film, but he does achieve some touching ones, and his honest efforts to amuse his audience in any way he can at least earn your respect. (**)