The Master of Disguise

The Master of Disguise (2002)

Genres - Comedy  |   Sub-Genres - Family-Oriented Adventure, Family-Oriented Comedy  |   Release Date - Aug 2, 2002 (USA)  |   Run Time - 77 min.  |   Countries - United States  |   MPAA Rating - PG
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Review by Derek Armstrong

If a movie centering on Dana Carvey wearing funny costumes sounds like a joke, well, it's not. Jokes have at least the possibility of being funny, unlike Master of Disguise, a reeking slice of desperation that feels like the 12:55 skit on Saturday Night Live, stretched out over 70 minutes. When the movie's end credits start rolling at minute 71, it launches an unwanted eight-minute cavalcade of Carvey outtakes, which feature mostly characters that weren't good enough for the woefully low standards of the regular storyline. The outtakes also feature quite a lot of Jennifer Esposito cracking up over Carvey's antics, as though the filmmakers insisted on proving that there are people who find Carvey funny. If watching Carvey indulge his most Z-grade impersonations weren't bad enough, his Pistachio Disguisey is an impersonation itself, a collection of lazy Italian mannerisms and vocal quirks, but played like a feeble autistic. Esposito seems like the only sane person in the movie, though Brent Spiner would be the next closest, appearing as a villain prone to bouts of maniacal laughter capped by flatulence. The only thing remotely resembling humor comes when Carvey dresses up like a freakish turtle man to gain entrance to the elite Turtle Club, but only because it's so spastic and oddball that it's impossible to look away from the screen. Viewers fond of Carvey from Saturday Night Live should keep an especially wide berth. Master of Disguise will only crush those positive feelings.