By Joshua Tyler
| Published
Once a chief late-night headliner on NBC’s Saturday Night Live and the co-star of one of the biggest comedy movie franchises of all time, Dana Carvey has all but vanished. Unlike his Wayne’s World collaborator Mike Myers, he never got an Austin Powers. For a moment, though, he tried. It was a 2002 movie called The Master of Disguise, and it ended Carvey’s career as a comedy superstar.
Master of Disguise stars Dana Carvey as Pistachio Disguisey (clever!), the last in a long line of “masters of disguise.” Charged with using their powers of disguise for good, they have for centuries protected the world from evil, using only their wits and an incredible gift for visual deception. But Pistachio’s parents have been kidnapped. To save them, he must at last learn the true history of his family and discover the powers of disguise he holds inside.
Like most ’90s kids drunk on that decade’s cavalcade of funny, I desperately wanted to love Master of Disguise. Carvey so badly needed a break. Though he’s clearly talented and incredibly funny, unlike his ex-partner Mike Myers, Carvey had been unable to succeed on his own in a starring role. The Master of Disguise was his last chance. On paper, it seemed like the perfect vehicle for at least a cheap laugh or two, delivered by allowing Carvey to do what he does best… other people.
Though it’s true that The Master of Disguise is exactly what it seems, a thinly disguised wrapper constructed as a sketchy framework in which Carvey is given rein to do as many impersonations as possible, it is also a painfully whitewashed, PG-friendly kids’ movie.
The Master of Disguise has all the nuance of a movie made to entertain your cat. It’s built on the premise that kids will eat up all the fart jokes, dancing turtles, silly voices, and a skateboarding young lad for them to identify with.
Except kids won’t identify. Even toddlers aren’t that stupid. The Master of Disguise is contrived and almost wholly annoying. Blaring inappropriate music amidst badly bungled gags, the best Carvey’s last gasp can manage is to avoid being offensive. I’d recommend it for a good nap, except the out-of-place sound effects and cheap pop music are bound to jar you awake.
Sure, Carvey created a few mildly different characters, usually a guaranteed win where he is concerned. None of them are funny, and there’s not a hint of the Church Lady to be found.
Even Presidential impersonations, once Dana Carvey’s signature, turned out flat and listless. Dana’s left looks useless in a muddled and mystifying plot, which seems to waver between Inspector Clouseau and Harry Potter.
Everyone hated it. On Rotten Tomatoes, it has a 1% approval rating. Metacritic assigned it a score of 12 out of 100, indicating “overwhelming dislike.” Viewers held similar hatred for it. The Master of Disguise has a 3.3/10 rating on IMDb, and aside from those holding close the flame of hate, it has been forgotten.
So Carvey’s career was over. Dana needed to pull a big paycheck; I can respect that. But after a movie like this, I hope he knew he wouldn’t get another. Instead, he’ll be remembered as Garth Algar and SNL’s Church Lady. That’s a pretty good legacy to retire with.
THE MASTER OF DISGUISE REVIEW SCORE
