‘Black Sheep’ a shear bet for loads of laughs
Comedian Spade wishes you to just ‘be a lamb’ and flock to see
his latest flick
By Sona Stepanian
Daily Bruin Contributor
"Black Sheep" is not "Tommy Boy Part 2."
At least according to actors Chris Farley and David Spade, who
starred in the comedy "Tommy Boy," and reunite in "Black
Sheep."
Spade, who started his career with Farley on "Saturday Night
Live," understands why people may see "Black Sheep" as a sequel to
"Tommy Boy." Both films feature Farley as an unlucky victim, and
are full of his physical comedy coupled with Spade’s sarcastic
humor.
However, the two tried to make "Black Sheep" unique.
"We don’t want to rehash it," says Spade. "I feel like I owe the
people that rented it and went and got a baby sitter and saw
it."
"I don’t want to burn people ’cause I think they’ll show up a
few times," continues Spade. "I admittedly semi gave up on Eddie
Murphy after a few (movies) in a row.
"You like someone so much and you want him to do so well and
after a couple (of films) you kind of go ‘maybe this isn’t so much
for me anymore,’" he adds.
Currently, Spade’s collaboration with Farley seems to be working
well for the comedy duo. "Tommy Boy’s" success sparked studio
interest in the team and the offers for more buddy roles started
coming in.
"They would send us a movie like ‘Waiting to Exhale’ and be like
‘OK, it’s not four girls it’s two, but they’re guys and it’s you
two,’" says Spade with a laugh.
Farley and Spade met in 1990 while working on "Saturday Night
Live."
"We moved to New York together and kind of clung together
there," says Farley, smoking a cigarette.
While working on the show, Farley displayed an exuberant comedic
nature, highlighted by his original characters and celebrity
impersonations, including Jerry Garcia and House Speaker Newt
Gingrich.
Spade also created a long list of memorable characters on the
show. The comedian is best known for his "Buh-byes" as the flight
attendant who can’t wait to get rid of his passengers.
The two made their feature film debut in 1995 as a comedy team
in "Tommy Boy."
"Being able to do it with Chris was safety in numbers," says
Spade. "It was like ‘Look, let’s both go down or both try to do
well in this. If it doesn’t work, we’ll just blame each other and
stop being friends’ and he’s like ‘OK.’"
Their partnership has also sparked comparisons between the two
of them and Mike Myers and Dana Carvey because "Saturday Night
Live" also helped start their movie careers as a comedic duo in
"Wayne’s World."
Director Penelope Spheeris, who also directed "Wayne’s World,"
says "Farley and Spade got along much better than Carvey and Myers.
There was a little more competition with those two. David would
come in and help write Chris’ stuff and vice-versa. They would give
each other lines rather than fighting each other for them."
"I think that it’s more that Chris and I have legitimate
chemistry. I think we were tighter friends going into it," says
Spade. "Mike and Dana were friends, but there was a working
relationship also, and I don’t think that there was as much
chemistry with the two of them as there was with Wayne and
Garth.”
In "Black Sheep," the duo has another opportunity to display
this "legitimate chemistry." Farley plays Mike Donnelly, the
younger brother of a gubernatorial candidate, who only wants to
help his brother’s campaign yet only seems to hurt his chances of
winning. Spade, who plays campaign worker Steve Dodds, is hired to
baby-sit Farley and keep him out of the picture until the campaign
is over.
Along the way, the audience follows Farley through a number of
unlucky and painful series of events, complete with a sequence in
which Farley tumbles down the side of a mountain.
"He always wants me to be mean to him and I go ‘You always get
to be the nice guy and I get to be the asshole,’" says Spade. "But
I gotta watch out for myself so I just can’t be mean. I want to be
funny just to be funny."
In "Black Sheep," both get the opportunity to display their
comedic talents without overshadowing each other.
"I don’t know what it is that makes us work together so well. We
don’t step on each other’s comedy," says Farley. "Maybe we’re
opposites, the age old secret of fatty and skinny."
Spade adds, "Physically we’re different. His type of comedy is
big and broad and loud and mine is smaller and more subtle."
"Black Sheep" may open this Friday, but no plans have been made
yet about a future collaboration between the two. "(After ‘Black
Sheep’) we’re gonna break up and start seeing other actors," says
Spade.
Actors David Spade and Chris Farley strutting their stuff in
"Black Sheep" comedy.
Comments to webmaster@db.asucla.ucla.edu