Opening

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Black Sheep (1996)

tomatometer

50

Average Rating: 4.3/10
Critic Reviews: 6
Fresh: 3 | Rotten: 3

No consensus yet.

audience

70

liked it
Average Rating: 3.2/5
User Ratings: 116,717

My Rating

Movie Info

Handsome, smooth-talking Al Donnelly (Tim Matheson) has everything going for him. A politician, he is engaged in a heated gubernatorial race with the feisty Governor Tracy (Christine Ebersole), a tough old bird who doesn't hesitate to play hardball with opponents. Unfortunately for her, things are looking good for Donnelly. Fortunately she finds his Achilles' heel with his young brother Mike Donnelly (Saturday Night Live alumnus Chris Farley), a fat slob gym teacher and hopeless imbecile who

PG-13,

Comedy

Fred Wolf

Jul 16, 2002

Paramount Home Video

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Cast

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All Critics (35) | Top Critics (8) | Fresh (10) | Rotten (23) | DVD (9)

A little comedy that succeeds in its modest aim to provide 87 minutes of harmless diversion.

June 18, 2002 Full Review Source: San Francisco Chronicle
San Francisco Chronicle
Top Critic IconTop Critic

Works as well as it does because the anarchic, high-energy spirits of Farley and Spheeris lock into each other perfectly.

February 13, 2001 Full Review Source: Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles Times
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Yeah, I giggled a couple of times. But I suspect you will giggle more if you are male, age 15-27ish.

January 1, 2000
Houston Chronicle
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Black Sheep is bleatingly awful as it reteams Chris Farley and David Spade, the poor idiot's Abbott and Costello, in a comedy so desperately inept it makes their previous effort, Tommy Boy, look like a minefield of high wit.

January 1, 2000 | Comments (3)
USA Today
Top Critic IconTop Critic

They're certainly no Aykroyd and Belushi, or even Myers and Carvey, but Farley and Spade manage to wring humor from a series of juvenile setups and predictable pratfalls.

January 1, 2000 Full Review Source: Washington Post
Washington Post
Top Critic IconTop Critic

may not be remembered as a masterful comedy classic, but for the college humor crowd with a relatively safe PG-13 rating, it's a fun diversion

November 23, 2009 Full Review Source: 7M Pictures
7M Pictures

It's nice to see the two together, practicing their easy screen rapport--and no doubt more so given Farley's untimely passing--but Black Sheep is still a clunker. [Blu-ray]

June 19, 2009 Full Review Source: Groucho Reviews
Groucho Reviews

painfully unfunny

May 3, 2009 Full Review Source: Filmcritic.com
Filmcritic.com

Though not always in good taste, this tongue-in-cheek parody of the horror genre is sophisticated and clever enough to earn the appreciation of the egghead cult crowd.

October 4, 2007 Full Review Source: NewsBlaze
NewsBlaze

Though not always in good taste, this tongue-in-cheek parody of the horror genre is sophisticated and clever enough to earn the appreciation of the egghead cult crowd.

June 22, 2007 Full Review Source: DallasBlack.com
DallasBlack.com

The goofy "Tommy Boy" chemistry seems forced a second time around.

January 12, 2006 | Comment (1)
Capital Times (Madison, WI)

the most charming of Farley's screen efforts, but it's too bad he wasn't around long enough to make anyting better

October 1, 2005 | Comment (1)
Scene-Stealers.com

Exactly what you expect

February 2, 2003
Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC)

A transcendent comedy starring one of the top - but most tragically fated - comedy teams of all time.

December 24, 2002
Arizona Daily Star

Audience Reviews for Black Sheep

Made simply because 'Tommy Boy' was an unexpected success, clearly somewhat rushed and not fully thought through. I have read that 'Paramount' just wanted to team Spade and Farley together again asap, so we have this blunt comedy.

The idea isn't too bad, its all about a political campaign battle between the brother of Farley's character and the wholesome all American 'Evelyn Tracy' played by Christine Ebersole. As you can guess Farley's character is a clumsy embarrassment to his brother (played by Tim Matheson) and inadvertently causes all manner of horrendous goofs whilst in the public eye. This of course puts his brothers campaign in jeopardy of which his rival tries to take full advantage of.

Same old Farley I'm afraid which isn't too bad if you like the guy. I have said before and I'll say again I do like his antics, he is a funny fella and his films are nice feel good films where you can forget about any troubles you have. I also like how he tends to play the everyday man, regular Joe's, makes you connect with him that bit more.

Despite liking Farley this film does feel very forced with very little to show. The laughs are few and far between and what we do get is light at best. There are whole segments in the film where nothing really happens, the sequence where the pair find a bat in their wood cabin and spend almost ten minutes of the film dealing with it. There is a lot of lame filler which really has nothing to do with the plot, its just there to try and gain a laugh whilst padding out the film, or so it seems.

Even as a Farley fan I found it hard to enjoy this, there really doesn't seem to be any point to Farley and Spade being together here and half of what happens is irrelevant. I can't complain too much because this is obviously a dumb comedy, its not suppose to be anything else, but even so it feels very cheap and half hearted. In the end it really does feel like the two leads were simply thrown together for a fast money spinner off the back of a much better earlier comedy.
February 10, 2013
phubbs1

Super Reviewer

"I liked it better the first time when it was called Tommy Boy!" was the general response to this film when it came out. Yes, it does look like a replica of Spade and Farley's previous film on the surface, but the plot and theme are somewhat different. I would recommend that only fans of this comedy duo watch this movie. It's not as good as Tommy Boy, but if you just want more of this duo, you'll enjoy it anyway.
September 6, 2010
ajv2688

Super Reviewer

    1. Mike Donnelly: [after he and Steve narrowly escape Drake's minefield front yard] This guy's got a hell of a security system! [upon seeing the inside of Drake's camper] Ready to start filming, Mr. Stone.
    – Submitted by David E (4 months ago)
    1. Mike Donnelly: [after driving over a bump in the road] What the hell was that?!
    2. Steve Dodds: A chunk in the road or something.
    3. Mike Donnelly: I just chunked in my pants.
    – Submitted by David E (4 months ago)
    1. Governor Tracy: [annoyed] Neuschwander, are you finished stirring that drink or is this some kind of fucking science experiment?
    – Submitted by David E (4 months ago)
    1. Mike Donnelly: [dressed as security guard, talking to a troublemaker] Please move away from this vector and get into another coordinate pronto. There's no access for you in this quadrant.
    2. Tough Kid: Man, why don't you goose-step on down to the women and children over there and give them your little power trip, because they may be impressed by it, asshole!
    3. Mike Donnelly: Young man, I'm gonna twist off your head and spike it onto the floors of a nightmare you can't even imagine! I will dance with you inside the six-sided ring of fire, unless you move from this area, far and fast! NOW! [steam comes from his ears]
    4. Tough Kid: [stunned] Wow. [he leaves]
    – Submitted by David E (4 months ago)
    1. Mike Donnelly: [after seeing Steve's porn stash] Oh, that's sad.
    – Submitted by David E (4 months ago)
    1. Mike Donnelly: HELLO WASHINGTON! [swings and dives into a lake]
    – Submitted by David E (4 months ago)

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Latest News on Black Sheep

November 16, 2005:
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