I first saw Men at Work in the theater when it first came out. I really enjoyed the movie and have seen it several times since then. I still enjoy the movie even though it has a few issues.
Friends Carl Taylor and James St. James work together as garbage men and dream of opening a surf shop. They tend to goof off while working and they have some kind of feud with two coworkers that involves them playing pranks on each other. Carl and James are also frequently hassled by a local cop and his new partner. Carl and James end up in the middle of a huge mess when they discover a dead body during their route one morning.
The plot for Men at Work is rather simple, though a few more complications do pop up as the movie continues. Most of the movie deals with what happens once Carl and James find the dead body one morning on their route. They do have a small connection to the dead guy, so they are afraid they will be suspects if they report it to the police. That makes them decide to try to deal with the situation on their own which leads to the few complications that turn up. Carl and James don't always agree on how to handle the situation and that adds some minor conflict to a few scenes. Even with the complications, the movie isn't that complex. The way that one or two things work out ends up being slightly surprising while other developments are more predictable.
The beginning of Men at Work takes time to show Carl and James at work. They get their job done, but not without causing some mischief as well. They tend to bang the trash cans around, causing all kinds of noise no matter how early it is. All the noise and commotion they cause is the main reason that the cops keep hassling them every day. Because of the complaints, their boss sends Louis, a guy who is somewhat crazy, along with them. Really only a little of their work is shown even though they use the trash truck for much of the movie. Carl and James want to own their own surf shop, but they don't do anything to actually achieve the goal. They just talk about it while drinking beer and spying on Carl's neighbors.
Carl and James have no idea what happened to the dead guy they find even though the audience knows what happened to him. They only sort of know who he is because of seeing him while spying on a neighbor and making some assumptions. Since the audience knows more about what is going on than the characters, there isn't much mystery to Men at Work. It is entertaining to see Carl and James try to figure out what is going on and develop various plans to deal with things. As things progress, they slowly piece together things and realize more was going on than they suspected at first. Action does turn up in a few scenes along with some minor violence.
There is a decent amount of comedy in Men at Work. Several of the things done to add humor are a bit silly, but that works for the movie. Carl and James have good interactions with each other, most of which are funny in someway. Carl and James both react in funny ways at times to different situations. Some of the humor, including things connected to the pranks involving their coworkers, is a bit gross. One thing in particular is rather nasty but still funny. Louis still has lingering issues from being in Vietnam that manifest in humorous ways as he over reacts to just about everything. The way he decides to deal with the two annoying police officers is especially funny. The humor won't appeal to everyone and a few things may even offend some people.
Carl spends a lot of his free time spying on his neighbors and commenting about what the people are doing. James sometimes takes part in the spying and other times tries to discourage Carl. The spying does end up being a bit more important since it indirectly gets them more involved in the mess with the dead body. Carl also has a pellet gun that he uses while spying on people at times when he thinks people are doing something wrong, like abusing a girlfriend. Carl watches Susan for a while and even manages to learn a few things about her. She gets pulled into the mess with the dead body as well. Carl uses the knowledge he has from spying to gain her trust. There is a bit of an attraction between them, though that doesn't play much of a part in the movie. There aren't any sex scenes in the movie, though a few characters do show off some skin.
Carl and James are the main characters in Men at Work. They have been friends for a while and work together. They have a few disagreements, but they do get along well for the most part. James seems to be slightly more responsible in some ways. Both of them goof off on the job and seem to mostly just want to sit around and do nothing when they aren't working. They also enjoying pulling pranks on two coworkers and annoying the two cops that are always watching them. Charlie Sheen and Emilio Estevez do well with the parts.
Louis is assigned to ride along with Carl and James and make sure they are doing their jobs properly. Louis is intimidating and seems to still have some issues related to being in Vietnam. He also ends up involved in the mess with the dead guy and he comes up with some of the more extreme things that are done. Louis does make an entertaining character. Keith David does well with the part. The boss and a few coworkers are briefly shown without them being that developed.
Susan lives in a building facing Carl's apartment. He has been spying on her for a while and he knows some stuff about her. She works for a local politician, which is how she ends up pulled into what is going on. Not much is shared about her though she seems nice enough. Leslie Hope does fine with the part. A pizza delivery guy also becomes involved in what is going on. He is basically just around as a sort of hostage, though he gets more involved later in the movie. Dean Cameron is fine in the part. Biff and Mario are basically hired muscle for the main villain. They turn up in some scenes without accomplishing much.
Main Cast
Dean Cameron - Pizza Guy Emilio Estevez - James St. James Leslie Hope - Susan David Keith - Louis Charlie Sheen - Carl Taylor
Emilio Estevez - Director
Men at Work turns up on television every so often. I believe a few things are edited depending on the station. I picked up the DVD earlier this year when I found it cheap. It has the widescreen and full screen version of the movie. The only extra listed on the back of the case is the original trailer. I think the DVD I have is the only DVD release for the movie.
Men at Work is a bit silly at times and has some plot issues, but it is fun and entertaining overall. Fans of the cast should give it a chance.
I would have give this movie three and a half stars if I had the option. Since I don't, I decided to round up to four.
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