popcorninhell Remember when Norm MacDonald was funny? Okay, remember when people thought Norm MacDonald was funny? There was a time in the late- nineties/early-two-thousands he got the full post-SNL treatment: a few leads in a a bunch of little seen comedies, his own sitcom which lasted a few seasons and he even got a gig as Lucky the Dog in Doctor Dolittle (1998). Among his various appearances at that time was the 2000 flop Screwed co-starring Dave Chappelle, Danny DeVito and Elaine Stritch. In it Norm plays a mistreated chauffeur who kidnaps his boss's dog and holds it ransom. After a series of unfortunate events however, the dog winds up back home and the boss and authorities believe the chauffeur to be kidnapped.What sets Screwed apart from other SNL-themed dead-horse-beaters is its unpredictability. While the insanity never reaches an energetic crescendo, its never the fault of the winning script; written by Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski. You may recall they are the same writing partners that made Ed Wood (1994), The People Vs. Larry Flynt (1996) and Man on the Moon (1999). In Screwed their slumming not just as writers but as directors yet there's still a sly subtext of a desperate working class struggling against an uncaring bourgeoisie. It brings to mind Big Deal on Madonna Street (1958) among other Commedia all'italiana only set to American tastes.All the supporting cast members including and especially Elaine Stritch and Dave Chappelle have brought their A-game. Norm MacDonald stands as the only discord in this goofy farce about crime and desperation. That and perhaps the sloppy, almost Kevin Smith-like direction and cinematography. Other than that however, the movie is worth a second look or at the very least worth more than a 7% on rottentomatoes. Even Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (2009) got away with a 19%.

elshikh4 (Norm Macdonald), I watched him in his masterpiece (Dirty work - 1998) and in a few other roles, he is so good and for sure you'll wonder where is such a comedian ?!. There are no big nor many movies for him but is that the reason of his performance which's still pretty much the same ? or the result of it ?!.(Danny DeVito). Despite being one of the super gifted ones, and despite that I can't forget his one great moment when he was explaining how the showering brush got lost ! But what a gross comedy he makes sometimes, including some of what he did here.(Sarah Silverman), her face was more dead than all the corpses in the movie ! And there wasn't much of a role for her basically ! (Daniel Benzali) as the sly police officer. He is too silly to stand (I hated him in that TV series : Murder One), and the writers didn't make him a parody for any famous cinema or TV's inspector, or even a very stupid man who acts like he is so intelligent !.. Or anything could use the role to create some fun or to utilize the personality of (Benzali) himself !Although I loved some clever parts : The double interrogation scene, the statue's tooth brushing, the failing abduction of the dog. But there are some things which made the taste of this sweet comedy a little bitter ! Such as : too many corpses, a half naked old woman !!, and a lot of toilet humor (OH GOD this is horrible and not droll at all !!). This movie looks like another (Ruthless People - 1986) for Danny DeVito also !, with a lot of talented twists done by a very fast cartoon speed yet in a low budget and by a mediocre direction, so it's funny indeed but not THAT hilarious funny.I think (Scott Alexander) and (Larry Karaszewski) did much more better job in (Ed Wood - 1994) and it wasn't just a comedy, it was a smart black comedy and a biography too ! So I didn't understand Danny DeVito's obsessive love for Jack Lord ?! How he got away from all the accusations (to frame Sherman Hemsley instead ?!), and what was the necessity of the affair between Elaine Stritch and Norm's father ? Especially when he wouldn't turn out to be her son in the end ??.. And stuff like that.All in all it's a good comedy which had a lot of unused potentials, like it was an abduction mission to kidnap your admiration but as the movie's too many abductions.. It wasn't that compact !

johnny-08 I'm a little disappointed with this movie because I thought that it would be better. I expected more from this one. Plot is fine and best performance is delivered by Danny DeVito in a small role. He should be more in this movie. Norm MacDonald and Dave Chappelle can make that stupid face and they are OK each in their roles. But only DeVito and Elaine Stritch managed to do something with their characters.This movie is not bad but it isn't good too. It's somewhere in the middle. It starts good but in the middle of the movie gets boring. I don't know on what scenes other people laughed at. It's not that funny and most of scenes I've seen before in other movies. Small, little comedy but just don't expect too much. And take a look on Danny DeVito's performance.

Idocamstuf What a dumb, unfunny movie. I got this film for a gift , I watched it and thought it was terrible. My question is, why would Danny DeVito ever agree to appear in such aterrible movie? I would not recommend this movie to anybody. 2 out of 10