Master of Disguise
Directed by Perry Andelin Blake
Starring Dana Carvey, Jennifer Esposito, Mark Devine
Rated PG for mild language and some crude humor

Where I'm from you don't have to say that you're a Dana Carvey fan. It's sort of like the kid who came into high school with an anti-Nazi button pinned to his indie-punk gas station attendant jacket. Look, you wanted to say to him, you don't have to express your disapproval of Nazism at this juncture in history. If your clothing and accessories stay away from the issue of National Socialism altogether, it's generally accepted that you don't like Nazis. If you fall on the other side of the fence however, then you might consider putting on a button. Same thing with Dana Carvey. Of course you love Dana Carvey. Of course Garth was hysterical and The Dana Carvey Show was full of overlooked genius. If you don't say anything it's accepted that you agree. But now this. Master of Disguise, Dana Carvey's emergence from a six-year creative abyss, is getting panned. And I mean really panned. Rotten Tomatoes' "Cream of the Crop" rating is a zero. Zero! How is this possible? Could it possibly be that bad?

My answer is no. And I suppose the most fruitful thing to do here would be to defend the film against some of the critical charges, hopefully explaining why someone might still enjoy this movie despite the outrage it's attracted. However, I'm not going to take this too far. The film is certainly a disappointment and it's flaws run neck and neck with its virtues. But was it fun and worth the five bucks I put up to watch it? Yes.

The most common one-line complaint being circulated about the film is that it's "kiddie
fare" or that it "makes no sense." To my mind the former charge is decidedly false while the latter hits what's fun about this movie right on the head. Master of Disguise is a silly comedy, something we don't see much anymore. It's not a clever comedy like Naked Gun and it's not a gross out comedy like American Pie. The film has fun with its freedom and isn't concerned with making the audience feel either smart or naughty when it understands the joke. You don't even necessarily "get" the joke. It's just so silly and ridiculous you have to laugh. An example:

"My house is full of ransackery," - Carvey's Pistachio Disguise repeatedly mutters upon returning to his recently ransacked home.

Okay, so I understand all the words and could maybe forge a primitive humor theory about how "ransackery" isn't a word and therefore breaks a cultural something or other. But what it comes down to is that it's just plain silly and that makes me laugh. It's what he says and it's how he says it. You'll also find things such as Carvey "disguised" as cherry pie filling. Yes it's stupid. But it's also pretty funny.

The next most common complaint I've seen is that the film's plot is just a sloppily knitted excuse for Carvey to do imitations and characters. I'd advise Carvey and nominal director Perry Andlin Blake to plead guilty on that one. The general idea, that Pistachio has a genetically passed down ability to disguise himself as anyone, clearly makes it easy for Carvey to show of his skills as an impressionist. However, given what the film is, I'm all right with that. Carvey's imitations are funny and the characters are so absurd that I couldn't help but enjoy them. (The use of the first person here is very intentional, as matters of comedy are perhaps the most subjective of all when it comes to the arts.) The story is incredibly silly and fails in that it's sort of a Harry Potter parody, but only sort of. I did find it watchable enough however, and any excuse for Carvey to do Robert Shaw sitting in a rowboat is ok with me.

I've also been reading that the film is immature. Well, let's see. You've got four fart joke scenes. Fart jokes, of course, are immature. However, they are perfectly paced and set
up, for whatever that's worth. There's also a poop joke and some food spilling jokes and other gags with less than Monty Python intellectual levels. Make what you will of them. I think some are funny, some are less funny, and some show enough silliness and joy that I don't really care. This being said, there are some intelligent aspects to the movie's humor. The film is very tongue in cheek, often with subtle but very funny choices being thrown into the absurdity. The cute dog who is clearly in the movie just so there's a cute dog is named The Cuteness. When Jennifer Esposito is hired as Pistachio's assistant it's done "despite" her looks while the audience knows full well that she's only in the movie because she's hot. The movie references all kinds of stereotypes but does so with such lightheartedness that it serves as a reminder that it's ok to play with the differences between people. Nothing is to be taken seriously in this and on occasion I find that to be a fairly enlightened position.

In summary, Master of Disguise isn't Carvey's best work by any stretch, but I laughed a lot more watching it than I do during most Hollywood comedies. At the very least the film has no pretensions and wants you to have fun more than it wants you to be impressed. For a silly comedy that's about all I can ask for.

Rating 62%

- Matt