CORKY ROMANO (2001). 1/4 star out of 4. Starring Chris Kattan, Vinessa Shaw, Peter Falk, Peter Berg, Chris Penn, Fred Ward, Richard Roundtree, Matthrew Glave, Roger Fan and David Sheridan. Written by David Garrett & Jason Ward. Directed by Rob Pritts. Rated PG-13. Approx. 88 minutes.
It's too bad. I was all set to blame Lorne Michaels for another comedic disaster starring a Saturday Night Live cast member when I noticed Michaels name does not appear anywhere in the credits.
OK, Lorne, you're off the hook for this one.
But someone needs to take the blame for foisting Corky Romano on an unsuspecting public.
Corky Romano stars Chris Kattan, one of the less-than-funny SNL cast members, in a movie that hardly qualifies as a comedy. Heck, it hardly qualifies as a motion picture.
Corky Romano is an embarrassment, a sloppy, sophomoric feature.
Kattan plays Corky as a combination Jerry Lewis-Jim Carrey kind of manchild; a naive innocent, kind of spastic, an uncoordinated idiot. He is an assistant veterinarian as well as the outcast, youngest son of a reputed crime lord, "Pops" Romano (Peter Falk).
Corky is drafted by the family to infiltrate the FBI and retrieve whatever evidence the bureau has on his dad.
Of course it is all implausible nonsense, made moreso by the incompetence of Kattan's Corky, who acts as if he can't even tie his shoelaces.
But, only in the movies, through a crooked computer hacker Corky is renamed Corky Pissant and is a full-fledged FBI operative, skilled in five languages, an Olympic marksman and just a superman among crimefighters.
It numbs the mind to think that screenwriters David Garrett and Jason Ward have such contempt for their audience that they believe any intelligent FBI official would believe a klutzy, nerd such as Corky is a special agent. It's insulting and contemptible.
The screenwriters' plot is predictable; everything can be foretold a reel or three before it happens. They don't create any characters, just throw us familiar types. Illogical and implausible situations abound throughout.
Corky Romano is not funny and lacks any comedic pacing.
Plus Kattan can't carry the movie. He is funny in small spurts, but he does not have the presence or weight to bolster a feature-length venture.
It is sad to see a great actor such as Falk reduced to playing such a stereotypical character, nor is there anything funny about illiteracy nor homosexuality, two areas the writers unsuccessfully try to mine for humor, but come up with only pyrite.
The only good that may come from this entire folly is to give Lorne Michaels second thoughts about mounting any features based on some of Kattan's SNL characters.
Corky Romano is for the dogs, it stinks. It's about as funny as road kill. So, I'd advise you to swerve around it.
Bob Bloom is the film critic at the Journal and Courier in Lafayette, IN. He can be reached by e-mail at bloom@journal-courier.com or at bobbloom@iquest.net. Other reviews by Bloom can be found at www.jconline.com by clicking on golafayette. Bloom's reviews also can be found on the Web at the Internet Movie Database: http://www.imdb.com/M/reviews_by?Bob+Bloom
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