A Trip Down Nostalgic Lane: Reviewing "Black Sheep" (1996)

What could possibly go wrong?

Black Sheep rolled into theaters in 1996. Mike Donnelly’s older brother, Al, is running for governor. Mike wants to help him, but he is clumsy with a capital C. An assistant is hired to look after Mike, which only adds to the chaos in the lead-up to the election.

Black Sheep was the first Chris Farley movie I watched this past year, and I only wrote a 100-word review for it because I thought it was your average senseless comedy. Now that I have researched more about the film, along with Farley’s short-lived career, Black Sheep has a new impact on me.

I have become a fan of the late Chris Farley. Farley was a natural at comedy, but his dramatic abilities were overshadowed. His kind-hearted nature is my favorite trait about him, and it shows through in his performances.

Compared to Tommy Boy, Farley has somewhat more of a dramatic performance as Mike. Scenes that recognized this were when he had to pack up the rec center, and a serious conversation with his brother. I noticed even when Farley showed distaste for his movies, he still gave a genuine performance.

Farley passed on Black Sheep twice because he wasn’t fond of the script. Most of his performance in Black Sheep contains his routine comedy: being loud, running into things, and ‘fatty-falls-down,’ as Farley called it. Sadly, he was upset by the final product, which made him relapse into drinking.

Farley and Spade were a dynamic duo of the '90s. As their second film to share the big screen, their chemistry and never-ending name-calling are hilarious. I can’t stop watching the scene where they battle against a bat. Spade fought for a bigger part in the movie. His scenes are reduced to mere scrappy moments where he could have been in a scene.

No movie goes without a supporting cast. Black Sheep credits Tim Matheson, Christine Ebersole, Garey Busy, Grant Heslov, and Timothy Carhart. Some may recognize David St. James as a gullible cop before his days as the hotheaded Mr. Howard on iCarly. No small part ever goes unnoticed.

The sibling relationship between Mike and Al (Matheson) is so endearing. One thing about Farley’s movies is how they represented positive relationships. Robbie’s (Heslov) kindness is another example. The storyline between Mike and his young student, Scott Colleary (Michael Patrick Carter), deserved a larger arc.

However, tensions rose during filming. There were creative disputes between Farley, Spade, and director Penelope Spheeris. After reading about Spheeris’s direction, opinions, and ideas, she wasn’t the right person to direct this film. She actually told Spade that she didn’t think he was funny, and disregarded their Farley and Spade’s dynamic in Tommy Boy.

After watching Black Sheep a couple more times from my initial watch, I liked the comedy more. It finds its own chaotic rhythm. This is the type of comedy we don’t have anymore. Comedy doesn’t need to be consistent.

Scenes sometimes feel stitched together rather than organically connected. The comedy is repetitive and goes on too long. I did like the comical instrumental music additions in the bat scene and hill tumble.

As the story goes, writer Fred Wolf had to meet a demanding deadline to hand the script into Paramount. Not much happens in scenes. If you start watching any clip, the film looks like it’s a camping trip gone wrong between Farley and Spade.

Black Sheep has become a guilty pleasure for me. Comedies are great medicine, and this film is fun to watch. It carries the legacy of Chris Farley.