Men at Work

Summary

“Looks like someone threw away a perfectly good white boy.”

The MVD Rewind label has recently released Emilio Estevez’s film Men at Work. The only way to see the film on Blu-ray prior to this release was on a Shout! Factory Blu-ray that paired the film with Easy Money. That release has gone out of print and become quite pricey. When I was growing up, Men at Work was a cable television staple that was pretty popular amongst pre-teens like myself. I remember that in the TV Guide it was awarded a single star our of four, which completely perplexed me at that age. When I saw that MVD Rewind was releasing the film on Blu-ray, it seemed like a perfect time to introduce the film to my two sons. We watched the film the other weekend.

Brothers Carl (Emilio Estevez) and James (Charlie Sheen) both work together in sunny California as garbage men. They dream of one day owning a surf shop. Carl is a free-roaming bachelor, whereas James is a monogamy seeking romantic. James likes to look out the window of his apartment with binoculars, occasionally looking in on the lovely Susan Wilkins (Leslie Hope) from across the way. He also has a habit of occasionally using his pellet gun out the window. Neither one of the brothers takes the job seriously. Both brothers drink on the job and consistently play around at work. They constantly run afoul of the two goofy policeman that patrol their beat – bicycle cops Mike (John Putch) and Jeff (Tommy Hinkley.) One night, the two brothers go to James’s place to have drinks. James sees Susan from across the way having a spat with politician Jack Berger (Darrell Lawson.) Berger is searching for a tape that would prove that Maxwell Potterdam III (John Getz) is dumping hazardous waste into the ocean. Seeing the spat between Leslie and Jack, James shoots Jack in the behind with his pellet gun. The two brothers duck down to avoid getting caught. Leslie leaves the apartment to find the tape, and while she is gone, two hitmen named Biff and Mario come and kill Jack. They hide Jack in a waste barrel, which they accidentally drop at a street corner. After a report comes back of James and Carl bowling with garbage cans, their boss assigns them a supervisor to ride along with them. The supervisor is a crazed Vietnam vet named Louis Fedders (Keith David.) When they stumble upon the body of Jack, the brothers and Louis decide to not turn in the body. James is worried that he would be linked to the body by the pellet shot. They all find themselves avoiding the police and the killers, while also trying to retrieve more information from Susan.

Men at Work wears its influences on its sleeve. It borrows from Rear Window, Stakeout (which starred Estevez,) and Weekend at Bernie’s in ways that are somewhat obvious, but I didn’t mind that. This is a really light comedy that never sets the bar too high. Critically maligned, the film was a minor box office success and, as I mentioned before, it played on cable a lot in the Nineties. If you are of a certain age, and grew up with the film, it should be fun to revisit a seemingly easier time. The film is certainly nonsensical (obviously turning in the body makes a lot more sense than any of the actions taken by the characters,) but the whole film sparkles with good old-fashioned dumb fun. My wife basically tuned out the film and got on her phone for the majority of the picture, but my sons both enjoyed the movie. I think that is a pretty good indicator of what you should expect from the film.

The performances in the film are all likable. The movie does not demand a lot of the cast, but I think Keith David in particular brought a little extra to the film with his portrayal of the Vietnam vet Louis Fedders. Emilio and Charlie seemingly had a blast working together. The film is capably made considering that Emilio wrote and directed and starred in the film. It is not Citizen Kane, but there is no reason to describe his direction as inept or lacking in any way.

If you can basically turn your brain off and enjoy a dumb fun film, Men at Work should fit the bill. It was nice revisiting the movie with my kids.

Video

MVD Rewind have provided a good-looking transfer of Men at Work using an MPEG-4 AVC codec in 1.85:1 aspect ratio in 1080p. From what I have read, this transfer is sourced from the same transfer that Shout! Factory used on their release of the film a few years back. I would imagine that by virtue of being a standalone release this film probably looks the same or slightly better here than that release, but I can not verify this. The master shows some of its age, but overall fans of the film should be pleased to see the film in high definition.

Audio

MVD Rewind has provided an English DTS-HD MA 2.0 track. The prior Shout! release featured an LPCM 2.0 track. The film has en enjoyable soundtrack that includes songs by UB40, 2 Live Crew, and Technotronic that will take viewers back to the late Eighties and early Nineties. The track features clear dialogue and sounded pretty good to me.

Supplements:

Trailer

Overall Scores:

Video – 4/5

Audio – 4/5

Supplements – .5/5

Overall – 3.5/5

Men at Work does not strive to be high art. It is the type of dumb fun entertainment that played well in the afternoons on cable television in the Nineties. I remember thinking the movie was pretty funny as a kid, and my thirteen year old son seemed to think the movie was pretty funny when I showed it to him recently. Emilio Estevez did not set the bar super high for his writing and directorial debut, but he does pull off a fairly entertaining comedy that looked like a lot of fun to make. MVD Rewind has given the film a standalone release with an attractive slipcover and a mini-poster. Prior to this release, Men at Work was only available in an out-of-print double feature from Shout! Factory that has become very expensive. For fans of the film, this is probably the best release that this film will receive, and it sells for a reasonable price.