A Night at the Roxbury . Newcity Chicago . 10-05-98

A Night at the Roxbury

DIRECTED BY: John Fortenberry

REVIEWED: 10-05-98

The key to enjoying "Saturday Night Live"-casted movies is setting your expectation bar low. "Black Sheep," "Tommy Boy" and "Wayne's World" were all hilarious, unless you were in the theater expecting high-end comedy. Like the above three films, "A Night at the Roxbury" culls the most talented of the current cast of SNLers: Chris Kattan, Will Ferrell, Molly Shannon and Colin Quinn. Derived from the "Roxbury guys" skit, Kattan and Ferrell's head-bobbing, nose-scratching, girl-disgusting characters, the film gives the two something they don't have on television: dialogue. The story follows Kattan and Ferrell as the Butabi brothers, rich-kid dorks trying as hard as they can to be club cool, but failing miserably until a car accident with a certain 21 Jump Street co-star lands them in the club of clubs, The Roxbury (now closed, in real life). What follows is a typical SNL blend of clever wordplay and physical comedy, Kattan taking the physical and Ferrell completing the punchlines. Is it funny? As funny as "Tommy Boy," but not in a Farley way, in a Kattan way. Most surprising is how damn sexy fellow-SNLer Molly Shannon (of Mary Katherine Gallagher skit fame) is as she makes the transition from silky California sex-kitten to sex-starved husband hunter. A stellar video to rent, but if you must see it in the theater, remember: it's not as bad as a Paulie Shore movie. With Dan Hedaya, Richard Grieco, Loni Anderson.

--Dave Chamberlain

Interviews
A Night at the Roxbury

Capsule Reviews
A Night at the Roxbury

Other Films by John Fortenberry
Night at the Roxbury

Film Vault Suggested Links
Superstar
Celtic Pride
Major League: Back to the Minors

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