By EWAN McDONALD
(Herald rating: * * )
Tired of renting movies marked "Comedy" and getting them home to find the word is now defined as: "90 minutes of crude, tasteless jokes about farting and belching; fumbling, adolescent sex; puerile and vindictive attempts to get cheap laughs from poking fun at the
physically, intellectually or socially challenged"? Let me save you the trouble, eftpos charges and petrol. Here are two more.
Not satisfied with inflicting the likes of The Waterboy and Little Nicky on an unsuspecting world, Adam Sandler also turns out a string of like-mindless vehicles with his Big Daddy/Deuce Bigalow buddy, Rob Schneider.
In The Animal, Schneider plays Marvin, a wimpy loser who becomes an invincible supercop. Marvin's crimefighting abilities come from being rebuilt using animal parts after a car accident. Throw a frisbee and he becomes a dog; a child is drowning so he becomes a seal. He tries to seduce a female goat — you get the idea.
And how's this for milking your 15 minutes — his costar is Colleen Haskell, whose claim to fame is her appearance on Survivor. Say one thing for Sandler, he knows where to find his audience.
* Rental video, DVD: Today
• DVD features: movie (83 min); commentary by Rob Schneider and producer John Schneider; commentary by director Luke Greenfield; Badger Deliver (deleted scenes); Making Of ... documentary; What's In Marvin? game; Comedy Central's Reel Comedy: The Animal; theatrical trailers; filmographies' production notes.
