Reviews

Like everyone alive in the 70's, I was forced to watch 'Love Boat' from time to time by inconsiderate family members with a penchant for this kind of sap. To this day, 'Love Boat' stands out in my mind as justification for never watching dramatic TV unless 'Twin Peaks' or 'Miami Vice' reruns are showing. I know some folks enjoy this show today for its "camp value". I've never understood that rationale; why would you want to watch garbage just so that you could laugh at it. Do yourself a favour and read a book instead, and no, Cloris Leachman's biography doesn't count.

Are you looking for perfectly structured Mise-en-Scene? How about eloquent dialogue and acting?? No? Neither am I when I sit down and watch a comedy about two looser garbage men played by the Estevez brothers. This flick is what it is, and in that respect, it's amazing. Sure, the last 25mins are total garbage, but what comes before has me and my friends rolling on the floor in hysterics. Here's these two idiots, they seem to have no friends besides themselves, and their relations with women appear to consist of the odd peep into their windows or occasional stalking. They suck at their job, and have the local cops hating them for what appears to be a variety of reasons we are not privy to. What flows within this basic framework is a ridiculous 'adventure' in which the boys attempt to solve a local crime and avoid a murder rap by dragging a dead body around ala 'Weekend at Bernie's". Add to the mix the always amazing Keith David, playing an insane Vietnam vet who is charged with monitoring their activities on the job, but only ends up being crazier than the ?Sheens? ever could be ("Never, EVER, touch another man's fries"). The antics reach a fever pitch when David's character kidnaps the Pizza Boy played by that dude who played 'Chainsaw" in "Summer School". Eventually the dead body dons a Nixon mask, and the traditional "we couldn't think of a funny ending, so here's some lame action sequence" ensues (See "D.C. Cab). I usually stop the film here. You don't need to finish 'Men at Work' to love it. The pratical jokes, the memories of Da-Nang, and of course the infamous Pellet gun, make the first hour worth every minute. A comedy classic ... at least I think so.