Making the move to the big screen is often a tricky maneuver for the cast members of “Saturday Night Live.”
Sometimes it leads to the type of success enjoyed by Adam Sandler and Mike Myers; multi-million dollar paychecks and a devoted following of fans. Still some are stuck with the fate of Al Franken. Remember “Stuart Saves His Family?” No? Exactly.
“Corky Romano” is Chris Kattan’s effort to secure a film career for when he ends his role on “SNL.” Kattan plays Corky, a naive, clumsy veterinarian with a penchant for 1980s pop music. Life is peachy for Corky until his mob-boss father, played by Peter Falk, asks him for a favor. It seems “Pops” is going to the slammer unless he can send someone in undercover to the FBI and get rid of evidence against the family.
Corky gets paired up with his two bullying brothers, played by Peter Berg and Chris Penn. With the help a hacker, Corky gets into the FBI and then all the crazy shenanigans begin.
To say the plot is far-fetched is a gross understatement; it actually crossed the line into insulting. With this handicap, the director, Rob Pitts, places a heavy burden on Kattan to redeem the film through intense slapstick comedy. This is Pitts’ directorial debut, and it is evident in the sloppy special effects and empty dialogue. He should have tried a few more takes.
The role of Corky wasn’t a stretch for Kattan; he simply fused a few elements from characters in his SNL sketches together. Add a dash of Mango, mixed with the clubber from the “Roxberry,” a pinch of Mr. Peepers and voila – Corky. None of the actors’ performances stood out, and the shallow quality of the characters led to a feeling of apathy by the end of the film.
Most of the comedy was sophomoric or disgusting or both. Flatulence references from Corky’s brothers like “retard” and “fag,” as well as numerous other skits revolving around the region of Corky’s crotch, all prompted more sighs than laughs.
The film changes course dramatically in the last ten minutes. Apparently giving up as a comedy, it turns sentimental and mushy as Corky struggles to remain loyal to both his Mafia family and his new buddies at the FBI.
The movie previews and trailers for “Corky Romano” focus on the question, “Who is Corky?” After seeing the film, one will focus on another question, “How can I get those two hours back that I just wasted?”
