Starring: Norm MacDonald, Dave Chappelle, Elaine Stritch, Danny DeVito, Daniel Benzali, Sherman Hemsley, Sarah Silverman, Malcolm Stewart, Lochlyn Munro,
Review: An overworked and underappreciated chauffeur Willard Fillmore (Norm MacDonald) decides to get revenge on his callous employer, Miss Crock (Elaine Stritch), by dognapping her prized pooch and holding the fuzzy fleabag for a huge ransom. With the help of his best friend Rusty (Dave Chappelle) the two botch their own scam and accidentally lead Crock to believe it's Willard that's been taken. So naturally, the dumb duo decide to get macabre mortician Grover Cleaver (Danny DeVito) to provide a dead body so the boys can fake Willard's death and take off with the ransom. Simple enough, right? It's quite possibly the perfect plan... to get everyone involved seriously Screwed!
I remember going to see this forgotten comedy in the theaters back in the year 2000. I was a huge fan of comedic geniuses Norm MacDonald, Dave Chappelle, and Danny DeVito, so naturally I thought Screwed would be a sure-fire comedy masterpiece. Well, it does have it funny moments, but ultimately this one is a huge disappointment.
I think the biggest problem of the movie is its script and the fact that it moves much too fast for anything to really resonate with the audience. The movie is too concerned with the plot and not the jokes. All three lead actors, and the legendary Elaine Stritch, are all game for this cartoonish comedy, but the movie doesn't take the time to care about anything that's going on or any of the characters. It's like a live-action cartoon where all of the characters a one-dimensional and only do things because the script tells them to do so.
I really don't get how this one missed in such a big way. After all, it was written and directed by Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski. They're the writing team that brought us Ed Wood, The People vs. Larry Flynt, and, most recently, Dolemite Is My Name. They know comedy. They can write comedy. Maybe they just can't direct comedy. I really expected more from them.
I did enjoy my recent re-watch after the death of Norm MacDonald. His energy and comic timing are wonderful in this flick, along with Dave Chappelle. Watching the two of them act hysterical as things go from bad to worse in this movie is always worth the price of admission. Elaine Stritch's crotchety barking is hilarious, and Danny DeVito's creepy character is so odd that it makes me laugh, but he almost seems to be in a completely different movie altogether. And the dognapping scene gets me every single time!
I can't really recommend this one; unless your are die hard fans of Norm MacDonald, Dave Chappelle, Elaine Stritch or Danny DeVito. This is certainly not for everyone, but I still do enjoy it's odd comedic flavor. Now, if you're just looking for a run-of-the-mill comedy you might feel like you got Screwed if you catch this one.
Fun Fact: A picture, widely distributed on the Internet, features the name of this movie sandwiched between Erin Brockovich (2000) and My Dog Skip (2000) on a marquee, thus spelling out the phrase "Erin Brockovich Screwed My Dog Skip".