Black Sheep | 
| Director: Penelope Spheeris
Actors: Chris Farley, David Spade, Christine Ebersole, Gary Busy, Toby Scott Ganger
Studio: Paramount
Category: DVD
List Price: $9.98
Buy Used: $0.87
You Save: $9.11 (91%)
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Rating:  57 reviews
Sales Rank: 22546
Format: Closed-captioned, Color, Dvd, Subtitled, Widescreen, Ntsc
Languages: English (Original Language), French (Original Language), English (Subtitled)
Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Region: 1
Number Of Discs: 1
Running Time: 87 Minutes
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 7.4 x 5.3 x 0.6
MPN: 097363324249
ISBN: 0792181735
UPC: 097363324249
EAN: 9780792181736
ASIN: B00005JL1T
Theatrical Release Date: 1996
Release Date: July 16, 2002
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Editorial Reviews:
Amazon.com
Chris Farley plays the disaster-prone brother of a gubernatorial candidate in Washington State. Though he is well meaning, the havoc he creates on the campaign trail is drawing press attention, so a snotty aide (David Spade) to the politician is dispatched to keep the big lug under control. Spade's character initially insults his charge as often as possible, but over time, the two bond and end up becoming a part of the final election push. Farley and Spade have some very funny moments, but overall the film feels rushed and poorly planned. Constant changes in character and script happen recklessly and randomly so that nothing ever really makes sense; the film keeps changing the rules by which it plays. --Tom Keogh
Product Description
PARTY-ANIMAL MIKE DONNELLY MAKES A SERIES OF WELL-MEANING BUT EMBARRASSING MISTAKES THAT CAUSE HIS BIG BROTHER'S GUBERNATORIAL CAMPAIGN SO MUCH TROUBLE AND AIDE IS ASSIGNED TO BABY-SIT. GOOD LUCK!
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| Customer Reviews: Read 52 more reviews...
 Black Sheep - Blu-ray Info May 30, 2009
LGANS316 (Tokyo Japan)
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
Version: U.S.A / Paramount / Region Free
MPEG-4 AVC BD-25 / AACS / High Profile 4.1
Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Running time: 1:26:27
Movie size: 21,506,525,184 bytes
Disc size: 23,583,129,856 bytes
Total bit rate: 33.17 Mbps
Average video bit rate: 25.96 Mbps
Dolby TrueHD Audio English 3220 kbps 5.0 / 48 kHz / 3220 kbps / 24-bit (AC3 Core: 5.0 / 48 kHz / 640 kbps)
Dolby Digital Audio Spanish 640 kbps 5.0 / 48 kHz / 640 kbps
Dolby Digital Audio French 224 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 224 kbps / Dolby Surround
Subtitles: English, English SDH, French. Portuguese and Spanish
Number of chapters: 17
Blu-ray: A hilarious Farley/Spade film but a blu-ray that is bare bones! May 19, 2009
Dennis A. Amith (kndy) (California)
In 1996, "Saturday Night Live" comedians Chris Farley and David Spade teamed up once again for "BLACK SHEEP". With the success of "Tommy Boy" (1995), the stars joined "WAYNE'S WORLD" director Penelope Spheeris ("Little Rascals", "Beverly Hillbillies", "The Decline of Western Civilization Part II and Part III", etc.) and writer Fred Wolf ("Joe Dirt", "Without a Paddle", "Strange Wilderness", etc.).
The film was not well-received and the late film critic Gene Siskel said this film was one of the two films he has ever walked out on. The film grossed around over $32 million during its theatrical run.
The film revolves around Mike Donnelly (Chris Farley), the loving brother of Al Donnelly (Tim Matheson) who is running for Governor of Washington. Unfortunately, Mike is very clumsy and seems to have his share of bad luck.
While Al is giving a speech, Mike who is driving a rundown vehicle with a loudspeaker (asking for people to vote for his brother). But the neighborhood dogs are following the vehicle, so Mike decides to find a way to ditch them. First he starts yelling into the mic with no success and then he starts to outrun them. Unfortunately, he loses control of the vehicle and destroys parking meters, cars and runs straight into the town's movie theater, right in front of where his brother is giving a speech.
Al's political campaign manager Roger Kovary (Timothy Carhart) advises Al that his brother is bringing shame to the campaign and that he may need someone to watch over him. So, Steve Dodds (David Spade), a campaign aide volunteers to watch over Mike.
Steve's first impression of Mike is in disbelief as he is covered in oil and slams the hood of the car he is repairing on his own fingers. During a campaign promotional, Mike tries to help an old couple with their groceries (even if they don't want it) and gets his tie caught in the trunk and is dragged all over the parking lot. When Steve goes to pick Mike up, he accidentally hits a veteran's car, Drake Sabitch (Garey Busey). Because of that, Sabitch steals Steve's car.
Now, it seems that with Steve near Mike, he may get a taste of his bad luck. To make things worse, Mike gets in more trouble as he tries to stop kids from drinking alcohol and ends up being photographed by the local paper as a guy who supports underage kids from drinking. Mike is fired from the county's REC center.
Noticing Mike's continuing troublesome nature, Governor Evelyn Tracy (Christine Ebersole) who is running against Al, decides to go dirty in her campaign and bring shame to Al Donnelly by framing Mike with an accident. Hoping that Mike would be a distraction to her rival.
Tracy has two men commit arson by burning the REC center but to make it look like Mike did it as retaliation for being fired. Steve arrives to the scene and is shocked to see the whole REC burning and is not too sure if Mike did it or not, even if Mike tells him that he didn't do it. Fortunately for Mike, his cop buddy Robby Mighuem (Grant Heslov) arrives to the scene first and tells Mike to leave and he won't tell anyone that they were at the premises.
Roger advises Al that because of all the trouble Mike is bringing to the campaign, his idea is to have Mike brought to an area where he can't cause any trouble since they are now in the final stage of the campaign, weeks before the election date. So, Steve brings Mike to a secluded area in the mountainside and with nothing but a cabin nearby, what problem can the two have? Unfortunately, with Mike's bad luck, trouble will always follow.
Can Mike stay away long enough from making things worse for his brother's campaign?
VIDEO & AUDIO:
"BLACK SHEEP" is featured in 1080p High Definition and because the film was shot primarily outdoors, the picture quality features a lot of vibrant colors. Typically with many films released between the late 80's and mid-90's, there is a softness that comes with the picture quality on Blu-ray, and color is often muted. But for this 13-year-old film, picture quality is pretty good compared to the original DVD.
Audio is featured in English 5.0 Dolby TrueHD (and French 2.0 Dolby Surround and Spanish 5.0 Dolby Digital). The film is primarily front channel heavy and as a comedy film, is primarily dialogue based. But because you have well-known rock n' roll director Penelope Spheeris in control, her films tend to utilize music and in this case, during the grunge era, this film features the band Mudhoney. Dialogue is clear and there are a few cases of action sequences, especially during a scene when a big boulder crashes down into the cabin that Mike and Steve are staying in. But for a comedy film, audio quality is satisfactory.
Subtitles are featured in English, English SDH, French, Spanish and Portuguese.
SPECIAL FEATURES:
The "BLACK SHEEP" Blu-ray Disc release does not contain any special features.
JUDGMENT CALL:
"BLACK SHEEP" is a film that you either love or hate. Where SNL alumni Mike Myers and Dana Carvey dominated the early 90's with "WAYNE'S WORLD", SNL team Chris Farley and David Spade followed in the mid-90's with a few films.
Chris Farley's comedy is self-deprecating as he knows how to utilize his body weight to showcase clumsiness and moronic behavior quite well for the role of Mike Donnelly. Where David Spade is more calm and collected in this film, Farley really goes all out and he makes his scenes of bad decision making seem plausible because he is so clumsy.
And because of that, many critics tend to be disgusted by this style of comedy, while there are those who saw his comedy as genius and a man who knew how to win the audience. He will be a talent remembered for comedy films like "BLACK SHEEP", "Tommy Boy" and "Beverly Hills Ninja".
With that being said, "BLACK SHEEP" is definitely a film which you can't be too serious about, nor can you be logical and wonder how Mike gets away with all this trouble and destruction. You just take it in as a comedy where you just wonder how far Chris Farley will go with his hilarious and wacky antics.
As for the Blu-ray, if you own the DVD, there is not much extra to expect from this Blu-ray release. There are no special features and the sound is 5.0 Dolby TrueHD (no subwoofer utilization). So, it all comes down to picture quality and if that is enough for you to double dip.
"BLACK SHEEP" may not be for everyone but if you are familiar with the style of Happy Madison Production type of films or Chris Farley films in general, you know what to expect.
A retread, but so what? April 16, 2009
A Hermit (Southwest Pa.)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
"Black Sheep" is merely a retooling of "Tommy Boy," but in cases like this, it doesn't matter. It was made purely for laughs, not to make a statement or impress with a display of great scriptwriting. "Tommy Boy" has a far superior script, and despite several flaws in the screenplay and continuity, it was a genuinely good movie, on every level. This one was simply made for a quick buck, and some laughs. It piggy-backed on the other's success.
First, let me state the obvious: The Spade-Farley team was right up there with all the great comedy teams of the ages. The physical differences, as well as everything else. Spade - short and little, caustic wit, a mean streak, really snarky: Farley - big, obese, low-brow approach (though he himself was bright, he played stupid very well), affable and friendly, a loose cannon. Look at the others - Laurel and Hardy, Abbot and Costello, Aykroyd and Belushi and so on. They fit the template. But it ended way too soon. Farley left us way too soon, and he was one of the funniest human beings of all time. And Spade just added to it.
"Black Sheep" has a fairly simple premise: Mike Donnelly (Farley) is the underachieving train-wreck brother of Al Donnelly, a rare person. He is an actual honest politician. (The writers of this movie wisely avoided party politics; it's up to the viewer to decide who is the conservative and who is the liberal. They avoided this altogether. That would have been a mistake which would have nose-dived this picture right into the ground.) But Mike wants to help his brother win the election, no matter what he has to do to get this done. The story pairs him with David Spade, on a series of misadventures which are genuinely funny, especially as executed by these two comic geniuses.
The opening scene is proof that sometimes pure nonsense, depicted with no explanation whatsoever, can leave one rolling with laughter. Farley is driving the campaign vehicle through town, making announcements to the public about Al Donnelly's candidacy for governer, but for some completely unknown reason, all the unleashed dogs in town are following the truck, barking as if they were on a wild pack's hunt. "...WHAT'S WITH THESE DOGS?!..." He can't shake them, and ultimately wrecks the truck, and suddenly, the dogs just cool it. There's no back story, no explanation, but it is hilarious nonetheless.
Throughout, Farley's "Mike" character suffers mishap after mishap, some of which could result in serious bodily injuries, and where I don't much care for slapstick, it's impossible to not laugh at it all. And Farley often did his own stunts as well. It's amazing, what he put himself through, willingly, to make his audience laugh.
Watching this, the time really does go by, quickly. My god, was Farley funny or what?
 Chris Farley!! April 9, 2009
Jose Lopez (Miami,Florida USA)
What more can be said of a movie that has Farley in It??!! Of course Spade is not needed in my opinion. Farley,Thank God Is in the Movie. And it is because of Him,God Bless/Rest His Soul this movie is hilarious! Farley's antics are wild.
 mad September 8, 2008
Rebecca Snyder (usa)
0 out of 2 found this review helpful
Black Sheepi got this movie 3 days ago and when i went to watch it the movie skipped 3 to 4 times while i was watching it. i think that if people are goign to sell their movies they need to watch them and make sure that the movie is in good condition
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