The Master of Disguise

"Master of Disguise" redirects here. For the album, see Master of Disguise (album). For the game, see Wario: Master of Disguise.

The Master of Disguise
Promotional film poster
Directed by	Perry Andelin Blake
Produced by	Barry Bernardi Sid Ganis Todd Garner Adam Sandler Alex Siskin
Written by	Dana Carvey Harris Goldberg
Narrated by	Harold Gould
Starring	Dana Carvey Jennifer Esposito Harold Gould James Brolin Brent Spiner
Music by	Marc Ellis
Cinematography	Peter Lyons Collister
Editing by	Peck Prior Sandy Solowitz
Studio	Revolution Studios Happy Madison
Distributed by	Columbia Pictures
Release date(s)	August 2, 2002 (2002-08-02)
Running time	80 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$16 million[1]
Box office	$43,411,001 [1]

The Master of Disguise is a family fantasy comedy film released in 2002 starring actors Dana Carvey, Jennifer Esposito, James Brolin and Brent Spiner. Adam Sandler produced The Master of Disguise through his Happy Madison production company.

Plot

In Palermo, Italy in 1979, Fabbrizio Disguisey (James Brolin), the latest in a long line of Italian secret agents known as "Masters of Disguise," barely avoids getting caught while breaking up a smuggling ring run by the evil Devlin Bowman (Brent Spiner) while disguised as Bo Derek. Bowman goes to jail and Fabbrizio decides it best to keep his family's identity a secret from his infant son, Pistachio.

Twenty-three years later, Fabbrizio runs an Italian restaurant in America with his unnamed wife (Edie McClurg) and Pistachio (Dana Carvey) working as, respectively, the cook and a waiter. Thanks to his yet-untold family heritage, Pistachio has a tendency to mock people at random, doing perfect but annoying and badly timed impersonations. He's also looking for a wife, but his nerdy demeanor makes him unlikeable to women, as well as a target for bullies, like fellow waiter Rex (Jay Johnston).

One night, the unthinkable happens. Devlin Bowman, fresh out of jail, kidnaps Fabbrizio and "Mama," forcing the former to use his Disguisey powers to steal legendary artifacts like the U.S. Constitution. Meanwhile, Pistachio is visited by his unnamed grandfather (Harold Gould), who reveals Pistachio's heritage and begins training him in the ways of becoming a Master of Disguise.

Eventually, Pistachio gets the basics of the Disguisey way down and his grandfather gets him an assistant, the gorgeous Jennifer Baker (Jennifer Esposito), who is a little confused about what the job entails.

The two search the area where Fabbrizio was kidnapped and find one of Bowman's cigars, which is emblazoned with the symbol of the "Turtle Club." Pistachio disguises himself as a man who dresses and acts like a turtle. They manage to learn Bowman's name and scheme, as well as that he'll be at an antiques fair the next day.

Pistachio and Jennifer go to the fair, the former disguised as an elderly woman named Gammy Num-Nums. They meet Bowman, who invites Jennifer to a party at his house. Pistachio goes to the party disguised as Tony Montana and distracts Bowman while Jennifer looks for clues. Though she gets it, Pistachio causes so much trouble that he's forced to abandon Jennifer when Bowman sends his men after him.

Pistachio loses the henchmen by disguising himself as shark-hunter Quint. He uses other disguises, like Bavarian tax agent Constable Mueller and British secret agent Terry Suave, to get Jennifer to safety.

That night, Pistachio and Jennifer look through the clues at a local restaurant, and they deduce that Bowman has forced Fabbrizio to go back to his disguising ways to steal the treasures for Bowman. While there, they find Jennifer's boyfriend out on a date with Pistachio's old flame, Sophia. Pistachio then ends up slapping him into submission, then leaving with the love-struck Jennifer.

Bowman's men kidnap Jennifer as soon as they arrive back at her home. Her son, Barney (Austin Wolff), whom Pistachio has befriended, finds him talking with his grandfather via hologram and a plan is formed. Pistachio, disguised as a cherry pie, breaks into Bowman's house and stops the auction. But even after defeating Bowman's ninja army, Bowman has one final trick up his sleeve. He has attached a mask of his own face to Fabbrizio's head, making him appear to be Bowman. While the real Bowman escapes, Pistachio is forced to fight his father.

In the end, Pistachio helps his father snap out of it, they free "Mama," return the artifacts, Pistachio marries Jennifer, and becomes an official Master of Disguise. However, there is one final thing to deal with -- Bowman still has the Constitution. Luckily, the Disguiseys find him in Costa Rica. Disguised as George W. Bush, he, along with Fabbrizio and his grandfather, defeat Bowman once and for all.

List of Pistachio's disguises

• Prince Lalijama of the Ringidingi Heights
• Turtle Guy
• Gammy Num-Nums (Ruth Gordon)
• Tony Montana from Scarface Named "Mr. Peru" in promotional trailers.
• Quint from Jaws
• Cow Pie Man, a patch of grass with a piece of fake cow feces as a helmet
• Constable Mueller of the Bavarian Tax Authority
• Terry Suave
• Cherry Pie Man
• Henchmen
• George W. Bush
• Mayor Maynot (end credits/deleted scene)
• Bob Ross (end credits/deleted scene)
• Vampire (end credits/deleted scene)
• Charlie McCarthy with an Edgar Bergen mannequin (end credits/deleted scene)
• Groucho Marx (end credits/deleted scene)
• Captain America (deleted scene)
• Gluteus Maximus from Gladiator (end credits)
• Forrest Gump (end credits)
• Caveman (end credits)

Cast

• Dana Carvey as Pistachio Disguisey / Turtle Guy / Gammy Num-Nums / Tony "Scarface" Montana (Mr. Peru) / Captain Sam Quint / Terry Suave / George W. Bush
• Brent Spiner as Devlin Bowman
• Jennifer Esposito as Jennifer Baker-Disguisey
• Austin Wolff as Barney Baker-Disguisey
• James Brolin as Fabbrizio Disguisey
• Harold Gould as Grandfather
• Michael Johnson as himself
• Jessica Simpson as herself
• Bo Derek as herself
• Nina Veaco as herself
• Paula Abdul as herself (uncredited)
• Jesse Ventura as himself (uncredited)
• Vincent Riverside as Main Henchman (Henchman #1.)
• Michael Bailey Smith as Henchman #2.
• Mark Ginter as Henchman #3.
• Carrick O'Quinn as Henchman #4.
• Mich Silpa as Henchman #5.
• John Tenn as Henchman #6.
• Dane Morris as Young Pistachio Disguisey
• Cole Sprouse as Young Pistachio Disguisey (as Cole Mitchell Sprouse)
• Dylan Sprouse as Young Pistachio Disguisey (as Dylan Thomas Sprouse)
• Erick Avari as Cigar Maker
• Kenan Thompson as Kenan
• Maria Canals Barrera as Sophia (as Maria Canals)
• Jay Johnston as Rex
• Johnny Nguyen as Ninja
• Steven Ho as Ninja
• Lisa Danielle as Lisa Danials (uncredited)
• Naya Rivera as Captain America Kid (uncredited and scene cut)

Reception

The film received universally negative reviews. Many critics considered the plot sophomoric, compounding the fact that there were several "disguises" that would clearly not be recognized by youngsters (Tony Montana from Scarface, for example). In March 2007, aggregate review website Rotten Tomatoes ranked the movie as the 18th worst-reviewed movie of the 00's decade, with a 2% fresh rating.^[2] Comedian and former Mystery Science Theater 3000 host Michael J. Nelson named the film the third-worst comedy ever made.^[3] Toni Ruberto on Buffalo News stated: "it's a kid-friendly family film with lots of good old-fashioned laughs." Bo Derek's cameo in the film earned her a Golden Raspberry Award nomination for Worst Supporting Actress.

References

1. ^ ^{a b} "The Master of Disguise". Box Office Mojo. http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=masterofdisguise.htm. Retrieved 2011-08-07. 
2. ^ Rotten Tomatoes
3. ^ Nelson, Michael J.. "Inoperable Humor: The 5 Worst Comedies of All Time". Cracked. http://www.cracked.com/article_15047_inoperable-humor-5-worst-comedies-all-time.html. Retrieved 2010-04-17. 

External links

• The Master of Disguise at the Internet Movie Database
• The Master of Disguise at AllRovi