Screwed

Director(s) - Scott Alexander (Monsters) and Larry Karaszewski (Beyond Our Control)
Starring - Norm MacDonald (Billy Madison), Dave Chappelle (Halfbaked), and Danny DeVito (Matilda)
Release Date - 2000
Genre - Horror
Tagline - "Everyone gets it in the end"
Format - DVD (Personal Collection)

Rating (out of 5):

     It is amazing what you can find in stores when you go in looking for one particular item and find something completely unexpected.  One evening I was out with my wife and we decided to stop by Big Lots to grab a few things for the house.  She wanted to get a few Easter decorations to place around the house and her classroom.  In the past I have found a lot of unexpected films there but lately all I could find was shit.  However, this trip harvested some great finds.  I found a bunch of horror flicks I have yet to own, as well as, a few comedies I have never seen or heard about.  This brings me to Screwed.  Halfbaked is one of my favorite movies of all time and when I tell people that they looked at me shocked...open mouth and all.  I absolutely love that movie so when I found this movie starring Dave Chappelle I had to have it and for $3 I could not leave it behind.

     The film follows butler and chauffeur Willard Fillmore (MacDonald) as he works day in and out for the evil Miss Crock.  Willard has slaved for Miss Crock for years just like his father before him.  When his father passed away he was buried in his uniform.  Miss Crock is so cheap that she had the uniform removed from his corpse and gave it to Willard to wear.  It is now so old that it is falling apart.  Willard asks for a new one for Christmas and Miss Crock refuses forcing Willard and his friend, Rusty (Chappelle), to resort to drastic measures.  The two decide to kidnap her little dog and hold it for ransom.  During the kidnapping the dog bites Willard spraying his blood all over the wall.  The two are able to wrestle it in to a box before throwing it in back of a van and leaving.  However, the two dumb-asses forget to shut the back door fully and the dog gets out and makes it's way back home.  That morning Crock finds the ransom note and the blood on the wall and assumes that Willard has been kidnapped.  The Pittsburgh police is informed of the kidnapping and gets involved.  Once news breaks out that Willard has been kidnapped the two freak out and try to find a way to solve their problems.  They decide that the best way out is to fake Willard's death and use the ransom money to get away.  They meet mortician Grover (DeVito) and offer him a hefty sum if he will donate a body for his fake death.  Grover agrees and they plan it out.  Willard, while wearing a mask, will pick up the ransom money while Grover drops off the body.  Willard will then meet Rusty at the airport.  Once again things do not go according to plan.  When Willard picks up the money he is jumped by two pre-teen wanna be gangsters.  They stab him in the leg and flee with the briefcase.  The police find him and take him to the hospital where he assumes he is arrested.  While in the hospital Rusty climbs a window to find him.  Rusty thinks Willard betrayed him and upon finding the truth both men freak out and remember Grover was supposed to plant a body meant to resemble Willard.  However, Grover is an idiot and plants an elder man's body with Willard's wallet in his pocket.  Now the police think the elderly man was responsible for the kidnapping.  Now Grover thinks Crock and Willard pulled one over on him and kidnap Crock.  Willard escaped from the hospital with Rusty, get arrested, and then escape the jail and try to save Crock.  However, before they find her they are greeted by one of the little boys and his mother with the briefcase.  The mother made him return it to the rightful owner.  The two think they got the ransom money but when they open it they find it filled with paper and cabbage.  The two track down Grover and are able to get Crock back...alive and they discover that Crock's trusted assistant stole the real briefcase and replaced it with the one Willard has.

     This movie really surprised me.  I did not expect this movie to be worth a damn due to the fact I never heard of it.  I am even more shocked that this movie had a theatrical release and I had no idea about it.  The movie has some decent acting.  I like Norm MacDonald and do not take this the wrong way but I don't like him in the lead role.  His acting is good but his style does not fit a lead role.  It is also nice to see Danny DeVito not act but just be himself.  He is one creepy little man and I honestly love him.  I can not think of any film he was in that I have seen that I did not like him in it.  The story is nothing clever but it works well for the film and is great for a comedy.  Finally, this film had a lot of great laughs.  I was surprised at how many times this movie made me laugh.  The laughs were nothing light either.  When this movie makes you laugh it is side splitting laughter and not a light chuckle.  Overall, this is a solid comedy that I am surprised it is unknown to the general public.  I recommend this one.