Men at Work (1990)

User Rating:

5.5/10   

Director:

Emilio Estevez

Writer (WGA):

Emilio Estevez (written by)

Release Date:

24 August 1990 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Action | Crime | Thriller

Tagline:

Two garbagemen who know when something smells funny!

Plot:

Carl and James are two pleasant but unambitious garbage men. Carl has a telescope with which he observes his neighbors...

Plot Keywords:

Pellet Gun | Garbage | Vietnam Vet | Brat Pack | Corpse

Cast

Charlie Sheen	...	Carl Taylor
Emilio Estevez	...	James St. James
Leslie Hope	...	Susan Wilkins
Keith David	...	Louis Fedders
Dean Cameron	...	Pizza Man
John Getz	...	Maxwell Potterdam III
Hawk Wolinski	...	Biff
John Lavachielli	...	Mario
Geoffrey Blake	...	Frost
Cameron Dye	...	Luzinski
John Putch	...	Mike
Tommy Hinkley	...	Jeff
Darrell Larson	...	Jack Berger
Sy Richardson	...	Walt Richardson
Kari Whitman	...	Judy

Runtime:

98 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Australia:M | Germany:12 | Ireland:15 | Iceland:L | Canada:14A (Ontario) | South Korea:18 | Sweden:15 | UK:12 | USA:PG-13

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Epic Productions

Trivia:

The sanitation company where Carl and James work is called Shoreline Waste - their motto is "Your friendly efficient garbage experts".

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: When the assassins blow up the car on the beach, the cable used to initiate the explosion can clearly be seen leading from the car on the right side of the picture, while still attached to the vehicle as it flies up into the air. It had been buried in the sand but didn't detach when the explosive went off.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Jack Berger: I can't support this activity any longer, Max.

Movie Connections:

Spoofed in Monster Man (2003)

Soundtrack:

BIG PINK HOUSE

golfclap!

A very funny film, which most people who saw it when it first hit video stores will agree. Watching it years later it holds up very well indeed, Emilio and Charlie as Carl and James, are clearly having great fun working together and this chemistry heightens the comedy. Our 2 favourite binmen (garbage men)go about their job with a relaxed attitude to working and ultimately pursue their dreams of running a surf shop. A personal favourite moment is when they answer trivial pursuit questions with comedy responses before answering correctly, proving both wit and intelligence. After apparently accidently executing a women hitting politician all hell breaks loose and the hilarity ensues.

The montage scenes are great, flying dustbin lids etc, and the other characters are funny, comedy mafia goons, rival binmen, a shouty boss, a meek pizza delivery boy and the obligatory vietnam vet providing laughs as their loco supervisor. They don't make montage scenes like they used. The dream of a sequel still lives on, if you will it it is no dream.