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THE MASTER OF DISGUISE

In this insipid romp, Saturday Night Live alum Dana Carvey plays the incognito infiltrating title character. He’s the latest in a long line of super-sleuths, but he doesn’t know it until his parents (James Brolin and Edie McClung) get kidnapped — whereupon his grandfather (the hammy Harold Gould) shows him the family way and puts him through disguise boot camp. In the process of trying to save his family, our goofball hero falls for his "skinny-assed" assistant (Jennifer Esposito), and there’s an irrelevant shaggy mutt called "The Cuteness" running around. Blue-eyed Brent Spiner (Star Trek’s Lieutenant Data) fills in as the heavy exploiting Carvey’s "papa" (said with a bad Italian accent), and there’s a plethora of pseudo-celebrity cameos by the likes of sprinter Michael Johnson, singer Jessica Simpson, and wrestler-turned-statesman Jesse Ventura. The whole thing is an excuse for Carvey (who wrote the script but left the directing to first-timer Perry Blake) to showcase his routines. But though his riffs on Jaws and Scarface are delightful bursts (and yes, there is a George W. impersonation), not even a master of disguise can make this sloppy slapstick look like anything more than an incoherent cowpie of a comedy. (71 minutes)

BY TOM MEEK

Issue Date: August 1 - 8, 2002
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