Starring:
Matt Damon as Bob
Greg Kinnear as Walt
Eva Mendes as April
Wen Yann Shih as May
Pat Crawford Brown as Mimmy
Ray ‘Rocket’ Valliere as Rocket
Tommy Songin as Tommy
Terence Bernie Hines as Moe
Cher as Herself
Jackie Flynn as Howard
Seymour Cassel as Morty O’Reilly
Special Features:
Commentary by directors Peter and Bobby Farrelly
Theatrical trailer(s), TV spot(s)
Eight deleted scenes
Behind the scene: Dodgeball
Featurettes: “It’s Funny: The Farrelly Formula,” “Bringing Stuck on You to the Screen,” “The Makeup Effects”
Blooper reel
Other Info:
Widescreen
Dolby 5.1 Digital Surround Sound
English, Spanish, and French Language
Spanish Subtitles
Running Time: 118 Minutes
Synopsis:
Bob and Walt are conjoined twins living in Martha’s Vineyard. Despite their obvious handicap, they are happy and successful members of the community. They own a thriving burger joint, Walt is a stage actor, and they both love to play sports. Everyone in town loves them and accepts them as they are. However, Walt longs to fulfill his dream of becoming a Hollywood actor. After some convincing he’s able to talk Bob into going to Los Angeles. Besides, Bob can finally meet his internet pen pal May Fong in person. Little does Walt know that Bob hasn’t told May he’s a conjoined twin.
When they arrive on the Left Coast they find out things aren’t as rosy in the real world as they were back home. People ridicule Bob and Walt as “freaks” and Walt is rejected at every turn as an actor thanks to Bob being in the background. The only people that seem to accept them are their apartment neighbor April, the apartment manager, and Meryl Streep.
Walt finally gets a big break, though, when Cher asks him to be the co-star on her new TV show. Desperate to get out of her contract, she secretly hopes that Walt and Bob will sink the show. But unexpectedly it becomes a huge hit. Walt finally has his dream fulfilled, but what will happen when Bob finally meets May and reveals that he’s a conjoined twin?
“Stuck on You” is rated PG-13 for crude and sexual humor, and some language.
The Movie:
You could probably call Stuck on You “Farrelly-Lite”. It lacks the gross-out humor of their other movies and it is actually a sweeter comedy than you might expect. I must admit that I wasn’t keen on seeing the Farrelly’s use conjoined twins as comedic material. After all, it’s really a tragic thing for people to be born that way. However, their treatment of the twins seems to be generally good natured. It tends to show more of what they can do rather than what they can’t do. The guys have a positive attitude about everything they try and no task seems too big for them. In that sense it’s a good natured film. Still, the Farrelly’s always walk a fine line between laughing with someone and laughing at someone. I’ve never really liked the fact that they rely on people’s handicaps for comedy material. While they may not intend harm to people who are the target of their jokes, that may not keep their audiences (most of whom don’t care about being sensitive) from laughing at those people. In any case, their movies aren’t for people who are concerned with political correctness.
Matt Damon and Greg Kinnear are good as Bob and Walt. As absurd as their pairing is (the actors are 10 years apart in age), they do make a good team. Kinnear’s character is the outgoing one and the ladies man. Damon is the shy, awkward one of the two. However, together they are able to do anything. There are scenes sprinkled throughout the film where we see them playing hockey, football, tennis, and golf. We see them at the prom, making burgers, driving a car, fighting, and more. In fact, most of the jokes in the movie are centered around them doing average, everyday things while completely oblivious to the fact that there’s another guy stuck to them. For example, when one does something the other doesn’t remember, they say, “Well where was I?” When Walt acts on stage, Bob meekly stands behind him during monologues. It goes on that way throughout the movie. Their performance is also a real commentary on brotherhood and how they will do anything for each other.
The guys have a strong supporting cast working with them. Most notable is Cher who plays herself. I was really amazed that she did this because, quite frankly, she’s not very nice in the movie. She’s rude, arrogant, manipulative, and two-faced. For her to agree to play herself in this light shows a lot about how confident she is in person. She does have some hilarious moments as her stardom fades thanks to Walt. A funny scene poking fun at older actresses hooking up with young stars features her in bed with Frankie Muniz. Meryl Streep also has a funny, though brief cameo in the film. Also notable is the gorgeous Eva Mendes as the ditzy model / actress neighbor of Bob and Walt. She normally plays the tough, good looking Latina babe in movies, but here Mendes shows she can really do comedy. I look forward to seeing her in other roles in the future. Wen Yann Shih is also funny as May Fong. Though good looking, she plays a shy, geeky woman who is the perfect match to Damon.
As far as the rest of the movie goes, the soundtrack sounded really good for some reason on my home theater system. I don’t know what it was about it, but every song played sounded fantastic. It’s a nice mix of classic rock and other sounds.
I also have to add that the movie was a bit too long. It is around two hours in length and by the end Stuck on You had worn out its welcome. I think the film could have been trimmed a bit and it would have been just as entertaining.
The Extras:
There are a fair number of extras included on this DVD. Here are the highlights:
Commentary by directors Peter and Bobby Farrelly The Farrelly Brothers provide a really good commentary for Stuck on You. They seem to remember the name of every extra included in the film, and sure enough they all seem to have a story behind them. They talk about what it was like working with Cher, Streep, and the other actors who have cameos. One of the funnier comments they have is towards the beginning when they point out that there’s a mysterious face that appears under a bed ala the Three Men and a Baby legend. They have no idea where it came from, but they talk a bit about it at the beginning. Overall their commentary is worth listening to.
Eight deleted scenes A handful of deleted scenes are included on the DVD. One shows the guys getting robbed when they first arrive in Hollywood. Thanks to their “super speed”, they catch the thief. Another scene shows more of the porno film that they accidentally get hired for. One deleted scene shows more of when the brothers reunite at the end. They go to a fishing pond and discuss how much they miss each other. There are a few more deleted scenes but they aren’t particularly noteworthy.
Featurettes: “It’s Funny: The Farrelly Formula,” “Bringing Stuck on You to the Screen,” “The Makeup Effects” These are your standard “making of” videos. The first one discusses the Farrelly Brothers and how they make their movies. It shows how they run a fun set and how they take ideas from anyone. It features interviews with all the big actors from their previous films. It also shows how the guys have a real fondness for people with handicaps and how they try to give those folks bit parts in their movies. The second video shows the making of Stuck on You while the third shows the laborious makeup process for sticking Damon and Kinnear together. They went to a whole lot more trouble than I imagined they would.
Blooper reel This is your typical blooper reel showing people flubbing lines and clowning around on the set. Some of the funniest moments show Kinnear doing impressions of Ted Koppel, Johnny Carson, and other celebrities.
The Bottom Line:
Overall, Stuck on You will likely be a disappointment to die-hard Farrelly fans, but it’s probably more accessible to general audiences than their other movies. (That is if they aren’t turned off by the whole concept in the first place.) I personally found it good for a few laughs, but not a laugh-out-loud comedy like you might otherwise expect.
