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"CORKY ROMANO"
(2001) (Chris Kattan, Peter Falk) (PG-13)

Alcohol/
Drugs
Blood/Gore Disrespectful/
Bad Attitude
Frightening/
Tense Scenes
Guns/
Weapons
Moderate Mild Heavy Minor Heavy
Imitative
Behavior
Jump
Scenes
Music
(Scary/Tense)
Music
(Inappropriate)
Profanity
Mild None Mild None Moderate
Sex/
Nudity
Smoking Tense Family
Scenes
Topics To
Talk About
Violence
Moderate None Minor Mild Heavy


QUICK TAKE:
Comedy: A good-natured but bumbling veterinarian goes undercover as an FBI agent to steal files indicting his mob father and must then live up to the high expectations created by his forged resume.
PLOT:
Corky Romano (CHRIS KATTAN) is a mild-mannered and good-natured veterinarian who believes that his father, Pops (PETER FALK), is in the landscaping business. Thus, he's shocked when he gets a call to visit him and learns that his father, his right-hand man Leo Corrigan (FRED WARD), and his siblings, Paulie (PETER BERG) - the functionally illiterate brother - and Peter (CHRIS PENN) - the repressed homosexual - are all involved in the organized crime world of racketeering, prostitution and underground casinos.

It seems that Pops, who's now fallen ill, has been indicted by a grand jury that has some sort of incriminating evidence on him. Realizing an informant has stung him, he's decided to put one of his own men undercover into the FBI and steal that evidence. The only problem is that the Feds know and can recognize all of the Romanos, except for Corky who was kicked out of the house long ago.

Accordingly, and despite nearly everyone's reluctance to have him be the mole - Corky agrees to pose as an FBI agent, complete with a forged badge and resume. Unbeknownst to Corky, however, that's made him out to be a super agent, and thus Director Howard Shuster (RICHARD ROUNDTREE) assigns Corky to work with Agent Kate Russo (VINESSA SHAW) in catching the Night Vulture, the biggest heroin supplier on the East Coast.

Under the guise of Agent Pissant, Corky stumbles and bumbles his way through one assignment after another - always coming out looking good and/or highly efficient despite himself. He then sets out to find the evidence against his father, all while working with fellow agents Bob Cox (ROGER FAN) and Terrence Darnell (DAVE SHERIDAN), falling for Russo, and finding himself under the suspicious eye of senior Agent Brick Davis (MATTHEW GLAVE) who knows something's not right with the new agent.

WILL KIDS WANT TO SEE IT?
Those who are fans of Kattan, anyone else in the cast, or of goofy comedies, just might.
WHY THE MPAA RATED IT: PG-13
For language, drug and sex-related humor.
CAST AS ROLE MODELS:
  • CHRIS KATTAN plays a good-natured if naïve veterinarian who reluctantly agrees to go undercover as an FBI agent and steal evidence that indicts his mob father with various wrongdoings. Bumbling and stumbling his way through one assignment to the next, Corky eventually grows as a person, standing up to his brothers and making everything right in the end.
  • PETER FALK plays the ailing patriarch of the crime family who uses some profanity and politically incorrect jargon about his sons.
  • PETER BERG plays one of Corky's brothers who uses profanity, represses his homosexuality and belittles Corky.
  • CHRIS PENN plays their other brother who's functionally illiterate and likewise belittles Corky.
  • VINESSA SHAW plays an FBI agent and straight arrow who's trying to exist and make her way through the male-dominated agency.
  • RICHARD ROUNDTREE plays the director of the FBI office who's oblivious to Corky's ruse.
  • MATTHEW GLAVE plays a no-nonsense FBI agent who's on to Corky's ruse, but can't quite prove it. He uses some profanity and becomes increasingly frustrated with everyone heaping praise onto Corky.
  • FRED WARD plays Pops' right-hand man who uses some profanity and is the informant for the Feds (told to us in the first few minutes of the film).
  • ROGER FAN and DAVE SHERIDAN play additional agents who are impressed by Corky's work.
  • CAST, CREW, & TECHNICAL INFO

    HOW OTHERS RATED THIS MOVIE


    Curious if this title is entertaining, any good, and/or has any artistic merit?
    Then read OUR TAKE of this film.


    (Note: The "Our Take" review of this title examines the film's artistic merits and does not take into account any of the possibly objectionable material listed below).


    OUR WORD TO PARENTS:
    Here's a quick look at the content found in this comedy that's been rated PG-13. Profanity consists of at least 17 "s" words and various other expletives (including some slang for genitals), while a number of colorful phrases are also used.

    Some non-explicit, sexually related comments are made, while some sexually related jokes are present (an older woman seeing Corky removing a large snake from his pants, etc.), a character is noted as repressing his homosexuality (with related jokes) and several women are seen in small/tight and/or revealing clothing.

    Violence - all played with or for comedy - is listed as heavy due to the number of incidents (that include, but aren't limited to threatening with guns and some shooting, various people being hit or struck by others in various contexts such as with fists and baseball bats, etc.). Some crude humor is present, as are various forms of bad attitudes toward others. Some drug humor is also present - in the form of a man and dog accidentally ingesting some cocaine and then reacting to that - as is some imitative behavior.

    Should you still be concerned about the film and its appropriateness for yourself or anyone else in your home, you may want to take a closer look at our detailed contents listings for more specific examples of what's present and/or occurs in it.


    ALCOHOL OR DRUG USE
  • Leo jokes that Pops has scotch in his I.V.
  • We hear that the Night Vulture is the biggest heroin supplier on the east coast.
  • Corky sniffs a package of cocaine as he transports it back to headquarters. He stops, however, to play with a dog that grabs the package, causing a tug of war to ensue between them. The package eventually rips open, covering Corky and the dog with cocaine (with both of their eyes exaggeratedly becoming really big). The dog then runs off and Corky starts to ping off the walls from breathing in the drug and acts extremely hyper. He then has to address some school kids in the auditorium and continues to act high and hyperactive.
  • A miscellaneous man drinks.
  • Corky shows up undercover to meet some skinheads and asks if he can buy some heroin.
  • Peter and others drink in a club.
  • Paulie has a drink.
  • BLOOD/GORE
  • We hear Paulie fart when he greets Corky (that's his way of greeting him).
  • Although we don't see a dead body (that Corky and other agents stand near), we see many flies buzzing around and hear various squishing sounds as Corky accidentally comes into contact with the body.
  • Corky saves a small dog by giving it mouth to snout resuscitation (putting his mouth over its snout, which some viewers might find gross).
  • A suspect spits on the inside of a window at Corky.
  • Corky turns around, bends over and tries to fart in the general direction of his brothers, and eventually lets out a small fart.
  • DISRESPECTFUL/BAD ATTITUDE
  • We hear that Pops runs a network of racketeering, prostitution and underground casinos, and his sons Paulie and Peter, along with Leo, help run the business (although we're told at the beginning that Leo is an informant against them).
  • Corky's brothers don't treat him with any respect until the end of the movie and do the same to each other, with Paulie calling Peter a "homo" and "faggot" and Peter calling Paulie an "illiterate mook."
  • Although played for laughs, some viewers might not like a scene where a woman demands and then orders that Corky put her cat to sleep after he informs her that she must administer some medication to it rectally (the cat ends up okay).
  • We hear Paulie fart when he greets Corky (that's his way of greeting him).
  • A computer geek forges background information and a FBI badge for Corky's undercover work.
  • We see that a man has several hostages at gunpoint as Corky and others arrive on the scene.
  • Davis refers to one of the Romano brothers as a "Dago."
  • Although he's trying to prove that Corky is a con artist, Davis comes off as the guy with the bad attitude toward him.
  • A good guy turns out to be a bad guy at the end.
  • FRIGHTENING SCENES
  • It's possible that some scenes listed under "Violence" could also be tense or unsettling to some viewers, but they're all played for laughs.
  • GUNS/WEAPONS
  • Handguns/Automatic weapons/Knife: Carried and/or used to threaten and/or fire at others. See "Violence" for details.
  • Baseball bats: Used by Corky's family to rescue him and beat up some skinheads.
  • Automatic weapon: Fired - out of control - by Corky at a suspect who had a fake pistol he was using to hold others hostage.
  • IMITATIVE BEHAVIOR
  • Phrases: "Sh*t for brains," "Bullsh*t," "None of this sh*t matters," "Dipsh*t," "I can't believe this sh*t," "I don't have time for this sh*t," "You're the biggest p*ssy in the world," "The trots" (diarrhea), "What the hell /is that supposed to mean/are you doing (here)/is going on here/are you talking about/is all of this stuff?" "Shut up," "Piss ant," "Where the hell /is this place/is he going?" "Pissed off," "Freak," "Chick" and "Broad" (woman), "You little punk," "Balls" (testicles), "(That's a good little) Bitch" (for a man), "The first chance I get, I'm going to send you straight to hell," "Pantywaist," "You suck," "Dumb ass," "Dago," "Dork," "Ass clowns," "Crappy," "Jive ass," "Fruitcake," "Homo," "Faggot," "Fruit" and "You gay bastard" (homosexual), "Illiterate Mook," "Jerk," "That rat bastard" and "You freaking retard."
  • We see some skinheads with tattoos.
  • A suspect spits on the inside of a window at Corky.
  • Corky turns around, bends over and tries to fart in the general direction of his brothers, and eventually lets out a small fart.
  • A male agent smacks another agent on his butt (clothed) in celebration.
  • JUMP SCENES
  • None.
  • MUSIC (SCARY/TENSE)
  • A mild amount of comically suspenseful music plays in a few scenes.
  • MUSIC (INAPPROPRIATE)
  • None.
  • PROFANITY
  • At least 17 "s" words, 3 slang terms using female genitals ("p*ssy"), 2 slang terms for sex ("pounding" and "poked"), 1 slang term for male genitals ("wiener"), 16 hells, 8 asses (3 used with "hole"), 3 damns, 3 S.O.B.s, 2 craps, 3 uses of "G-damn," 2 each of "Jesus," "My God," "Oh God" and "Oh my God" and 1 use each of "Christ," "For Christ's sakes," "God," "Oh Jesus," "Swear to God," "Oh, sweet Jesus" and "Sweet Jesus" as exclamations.
  • SEX/NUDITY
  • We hear that Pops runs a network of prostitution, among other things, but don't see any related activity.
  • During some veterinary mayhem, a large snake ends up crawling up Corky's pants. When he runs out into the waiting room, he realizes this and pulls the snake from his pants via his fly. An older woman sees this and gives him a knowing smile.
  • There's talk that the last four agents working on the Night Vulture case had their genitals separated from their bodies (not seen).
  • We hear that Peter has deeply repressed homosexual tendencies, and various references are made to this during the film. That includes him taking surveillance photos (but he takes them of a man's clothed butt on a bicycle); being in what's presumably a male strip club (although we don't see the dancers); and having another man giving him the eye.
  • We see a photo of some cleavage.
  • Trying to prevent others from putting a wire inside his pants (since he already has one there), Corky states that he has sensitive gonads.
  • We see Russo dressed in undercover guise as a nurse wearing a short and formfitting dress that shows some cleavage and garters.
  • A woman in a skimpy outfit (that shows cleavage) walks in and finds Corky apparently sniffing her panties (but he had just grabbed the first thing he could find after hitting his nose).
  • Corky ends up landing on top of Russo, with one of his brothers walking in, seeing them that way and getting the wrong idea (saying he's only been there for two days and he's already "pounding her").
  • Another agent jokes that Davis' wife is "getting poked by some lobster fisherman."
  • The magazines Playboy, Swank and Penthouse are mentioned but never seen.
  • A bride shows some cleavage.
  • SMOKING
  • None.
  • TENSE FAMILY SCENES
  • Corky is estranged from his family at the beginning and his brother's don't respect him, but that changes by the time the story ends.
  • We hear that Davis' wife left him, but little is made of that.
  • TOPICS TO TALK ABOUT
  • How little if anything in the film is meant to be viewed and/or taken in a serious light.
  • Organized crime and the FBI's attempts at thwarting it.
  • Homosexuality (one of the brothers represses his homosexual tendencies).
  • VIOLENCE
  • None of the following is meant to be taken/viewed in a serious/realistic fashion.
  • Some comic style material includes a cat nabbing a bird in a vet's office, with Corky than in a tug of war with the cat over the bird; and Corky accidentally knocking over Pops I.V.
  • Peter grabs a computer geek and slams his head down onto his keyboard.
  • Peter backhands Corky after pinching his nipple or pulling his chest hair to keep him quiet. Paulie then smacks Corky on the back of the head.
  • We hear that the Night Vulture killed a rival dealer, but don't see the act or the body (although Corky and other agents stand near it).
  • A skinhead holds a gun on Corky and we later see that they have some jumper cables attached to his nipples and give him a shock (and we then briefly see his nipples on fire). Corky's family then shows up, however, and quickly takes out the skinheads (punching and/or hitting them with baseball bats and other objects), sending them falling to the floor unconscious or out windows.
  • Russo wants to spar with Corky doing some martial arts moves, and thus hits him in the crotch.
  • We see that a man has several hostages at gunpoint as Corky and others arrive on the scene. Believing Corky to be the best sharpshooter, the others give him an automatic weapon that he fires, but then loses control of, sending bullets flying everywhere. They eventually hit a propane tank, causing it to explode and sending the criminal and a small dog flying through the air (temporarily dazing the dog).
  • Davis grabs Corky by the shirt in a menacing fashion.
  • A suspect repeatedly hits his head on a cage in the back of a car after Corky drives him crazy. That man eventually kicks his way through the cage and takes control of Corky's car with his feet, eventually causing it to crash into another car.
  • After Corky humiliates them, Peter has him in a chokehold with his arm around his neck and Paulie punches him in the stomach. They then push him and throw videotapes at him as he leaves.
  • Some men hold guns on each other during a translation mix-up. After a table is knocked aside, others also pull out their guns and some shots are fired.
  • We see Corky being thrown through the air and landing in a dumpster.
  • A woman sprays mace or something similar into Corky's eyes when she thinks he's a pervert.
  • A muscular woman grabs Corky by the crotch and flips him over through the air. She then climbs up and jumps down toward him, hoping to land on him with her elbow, but he moves out of the way. A midget then comes in and attacks Corky, flying through the air and hitting him in the face, right before putting his head in a paint can mixer that shakes Corky's head.
  • Davis has to be restrained when another agent makes fun of why Davis' wife left him.
  • One of Corky's brothers pushes him away. Corky then grabs Paulie and puts him in a headlock.
  • The two Romano brothers briefly hold guns on each other during an argument.
  • Corky holds a gun on Leo, with various others then holding their guns on the person in front of them with the person behind them holding a gun on them.
  • Leo fires a shot, hits a man in his bulletproof vest and then crashes through some glass, and falls from a roof.
  • Corky then runs and dives on Leo, knocking him to the ground. Leo then tries to hit Corky with a lawn light (Corky tries the same, but the electrical wiring prevents him from a full swing). Corky eventually hits Leo and knocks him unconscious.
  • Another man then holds a gun on Corky and he and Russo then hit their respective opponents in the crotches.



  • Reviewed October 3, 2001 / Posted October 12, 2001

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