The Master of Disguise on DVD

Dana Carvey’s attempt to be a man of 1000 faces makes the worst mistake a comedy can: it isn’t funny.

Despite that, Carvey - or someone connected with the production - managed to have enough clout to get good actors like Brent Spiner on board, as well as some high profile cameos you wouldn’t expect to show up here - such as former Minnesota governor Jesse Ventura.

They mustn’t have read the script before accepting, or owed someone a big favor…

Carvey is Pistachio Disguisey heir to the Disguisey family’s grand and honored tradition of being Masters of Disguise, kind of crime fighting super heroes without the super powers. As far as Pistachio is concerned, dis guise a doofus in the extreme, a klutzy waiter working in his father’s Italian restaurant because his father (James Brolin) has turned his back on the family tradition and kept it hidden from his son.

But dad’s old nemesis (Spiner) returns and kidnaps him and his wife, forcing Pistachio’s grandfather (Harold Gould) to show Pistachio who he really is and to mentor him into mastering disguises.

Not a bad concept, but ham handedly executed. For one thing, there’s far too much of Pistachio and far too little Master of Disguise. You can count the character changes Carvey does (and, to be fair, he does them well) on one hand. Most of the time he’s the innocent idiot Pistachio.

Carvey’s Turtle Guy is okay, though it looked funnier in the commercials and it went on too long; his George W. Bush is okay - and, surprisingly, doesn’t make the leader of the free world out to be a boob or moron, unlike most mainstream media portrayals of Bush. His best disguises are Gammy Nums Nums and Terry Suave, both of whom (unlike Turtle Guy) could be quite believable in their situations.

The best thing about the movie is Brent Spiner, who practically steals his scenes as the megalomaniacal villain with a penchant for pooting after his maniacal laughing fits. That gas passing was the best joke but, unfortunately, they beat it to death.

Perhaps the closest comparison one can make to Pistachio Disguisey is Peter Sellers’ Inspector Clouseau, but the difference was that Sellers had Blake Edwards directing and co-writing. Carvey, who has a background of being quite funny and of creating funny characters, co-wrote this mess, so we guess everyone can have an off day.

Anyway, this movie is really a waste of time. If you want to laugh, try looking elsewhere.

At least, at 80 minutes, it’s short.

The DVD we received is also substandard in the fact that it’s Pan&Scan version (no widescreen was available), so owners of 16x9 widescreen TV’s will be forced to stretch/zoom the picture to fill their screens (or else risk damaging them). Other than that, the picture quality is very good, with bright and rich colors and plenty of detail.

Audio is Dolby Digital 5.1 surround and it’s also fine, though there isn’t a lot of surround.

For extras (hey, the disc has to be worth something!), you get a running commentary by director Perry Blake and star/co-writer Carvey. There are also alternate and deleted scenes with intros by Turtle Guy himself (joy!), and three featurettes: "Man of a Thousand Faces" (costumes/makeup), "The Magic of Disguise" (visual EFX), "Identity Crisis" (behind the scenes). These are actually the best parts of the disc, though don’t believe them when they tell you how great and funny the movie is.

Also on tap are music videos and trailers.

The Master of Disguise, from Columbia Tristar Home Video
80 min. Pan&Scan (not 16x9 TV compatible), Dolby Digital 5.1 surround
Starring Dana Carvey, Brent Spiner, Jennifer Esposito, Harold Gould, James Brolin
Produced by Sid Ganis, Alex Siskin, Barry Bernardi, Todd Garner
Written by Dana Carvey & Harris Goldberg, directed by Perry Andelin Blake

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