The Master of Disguise: reviews

What the critics say average 2.0 from 20 outlets

• 4.2 Seattle Post-IntelligencerSean Axmaker Feels like nothing less than Dana Carvey's desperate bid for his own "Austin Powers"-like franchise, but with a harmless humor far less crude.
• 3.8 Chicago TribuneLou Carlozo A disjointed film that, but for brief flashes of comedic verve, should skip theatrical release and go straight to video.
• 2.5 Chicago Sun-TimesRoger Ebert Pants and wheezes and hurls itself exhausted across the finish line after barely 65 minutes of movie, and then follows it with 15 minutes of end credits in an attempt to clock in as a feature film. Read
• 2.5 USA TodayClaudia Puig Lacking even a hint of humor or a watchable story, Disguise has distinguished itself as the summer's worst movie.
• 2.5 New York Daily NewsJack Mathews The individual scenes are just random, uninspired riffs by Carvey or awkwardly flat cameos by the likes of Jesse Ventura and Olympic sprinter Michael Johnson.
• 2.5 San Francisco ChronicleMick LaSalle At times, it actually hurts to watch.
• 2.5 The Boston GlobeReilly Capps Like criticizing the light fixtures on the Titanic. This ship was going down anyway.
• 2.5 The Globe and MailRick Groen Despite all evidence to the contrary, this clunker has somehow managed to pose as an actual feature movie, the kind that charges full admission and gets hyped on TV and purports to amuse small children and ostensible adults.
• 2.5 Reel Film ReviewsDavid Nusair The Master of Disguise's place as a bottom-of-the-barrel comedy that fares even worse than its noxious reputation might've indicated. Read
• 2.0 Chicago ReaderJonathan Rosenbaum Imagine combining bad imitations of the "Ace Ventura" and "Austin Powers" movies and you'll have a rough idea of this feeble Dana Carvey farce. Read
• 2.0 VarietyDennis Harvey Vehicle for Dana Carvey as a chameleonic crime-fighting imbecile is noisy, colorful and fart-gag-filled enough to amuse undiscriminating auds under the age of 10.
• 2.0 New York TimesA.O. Scott A film so family-safe it feels sheathed in plastic Bubble Wrap. Unfortunately, it's not even as much fun as popping the bubbles.
• 2.0 Associated PressChristy Lemire Such a sad irony that Dana Carvey, who's made his name bringing celebrities to life with uncanny impersonations, should make such a lifeless movie based on characters of his own creation.
• 1.6 Entertainment WeeklyLisa Schwarzbaum An awful, stillborn comedy assembled out of rusty spare parts from secret agent movies and run-of-the-mill ''Saturday Night Live'' skits.
• 1.2 ReelViewsJames Berardinelli Even the rare individual who died laughing while watching the trailer will discover that only half of that phrase - the "dying" part - applies to the experience of enduring the film.
• 1.0 SalonCharles Taylor I understand how hard it is for parents to find movies to take their kids to, but the thought of them or their children getting stuck at this stinker galls me. Read
• 1.0 Los Angeles TimesKevin Thomas But even his protean talent can't dent this ponderously unfunny and uninspired comedy. Read
• 1.0 The A.V. ClubKeith Phipps A film about as funny as a seeping wound.
• 0.0 New York PostJonathan Foreman No one but a convict guilty of some truly heinous crime should have to sit through The Master of Disguise, an unbearably tedious and unfunny comedy.
• 0.0 The Austin ChronicleMarjorie Baumgarten A gimmick in search of a movie: how to get Carvey into as many silly costumes and deliver as many silly voices as possible, plot mechanics be damned.