Corky Romano

Starring: Chris Kattan, Peter Falk, Peter Berg, et al.
Director: Rob Pritts

Rating: PG-13

Review Posted: 5.20.02

By John Teves.

Good-natured veterinarian Corky Romano (Chris Kattan) is stunned when he receives a surprising call from his long-lost father (Peter Falk), an underworld crime lord who has been indicted by a grand jury.

With his trial just two weeks away, it looks as if the Mafia kingpin is finally going down. However, he still has an ace up his sleeve - Corky, who was banished from the "family" at a young age, for not fitting in. Corky’s brothers (Peter Berg & Chris Penn) intimidate a computer hacker into creating a fake resume to get Corky into the FBI. The hacker goes overboard, making Corky appear to be a super agent. Corky stumbles into the halls of justice and tries to fake his way through one tough assignment after another while hunting for the elusive incriminating proof of his fathers illegal activities.

Kattan's eye line reinforces the phrase Female Body Inspector.

I try to go into a review without any preconceived notions about what others think. In the case of Corky Romano, to sit down and watch this film you truly have to enjoy the performance of Chris Kattan. Chris Kattan, as we all know from SNL, is a master of physical comedy, bumbling and goofing his way into the hearts of his fans with a Jerry Lewis like performance. If you can tolerate 1 hour and 26 minutes worth of that, then this is worth your time, otherwise forget it.

Corky Romano is one of those throwaway "TV star-to-film plots." I didn't expect anything out of the film so it wasn't very disappointing when I got through it. I thought that the cast provide a nice framework for this film, but not enough to make the film work well. This is definitely one of those “stupid funny films”, which I find myself laughing at the film more than at it’s characters. The rest of the movie is all fart jokes and no-brow gags aimed at the mentality of 10-year-old boys.

Corky Romano is presented in 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen, on this single-sided, double-layered DVD; the widescreen image has been enhanced for 16X9 televisions. Sharpness looked consistently crisp and detailed. I saw no signs of softness or fuzziness, as the movie always appeared distinct and well defined. I saw a few specks here and there, but for the most part, this was a clean and fresh image. Colors looked nicely bright and vibrant. Edge enhancement was occasionally visible, but no other faults were seen. The film's color palette was fairly subdued, as rarely did colors appear that bright or vivid. I noticed no problems related to noise, running, or other issues. Black levels were deep and rich. Ultimately, Corky Romano offered a fairly good visual experience.

This isn't acting. This is pity.

Corky Romano is presented in Dolby Digital 5.1 mix. Like most comedies, the sound field of Romano offered a relatively subdued affair, but the mix provided a reasonably involving experience. For the most part, the rear channels mainly stayed with general ambience, but they came nicely to life on a few occasions. Audio quality seemed to be fairly solid. Some dialogue sounded a bit flat and muddy at times, but as a whole speech was acceptably natural and distinct. Effects also came across as clear and accurate. Overall, this was a relatively modest track.

"Hi, I'm with the SNL."                          "I only watch Mad TV."

There is not much here, except for these:

-Extended Scenes
-Corky Romano: All Access (12 minute making-of featurette)

-Sneak peek trailer for Bubble Boy (no Corky Romano trailer, wow)

Corky Romano is a weak film, but I thought it was likable and enjoyable nonetheless. Should you buy or rent this film? If a night of mindless fun curled up on your couch is what your looking for, then rent this film. Buena Vista's DVD provides decent audio and video, but the lack of supplements is a disappointment. I'd definitely skip this one. While Corky Romano isn’t the worst movie I’ve seen, it still provides a pretty weak experience. The flick generates a laugh or two, but most of it falls flat. Die hard Chris Kattan fans may want to give Corky Romano a look, but I think even they will feel disappointed by it.