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Released by: MVD Rewind Collection
Released on: January 24th, 2023.
Director: Emilio Estevez
Cast: Charlie Sheen, Emilio Estevez, Leslie Hope, Keith David
Year: 1990
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Men At Work – Movie Review:
By Mark Tolch
Yes, Virginia, there was a time when Charlie Sheen was a well-respected actor and not a TMZ trainwreck, and his brother Emilio Estevez was a well-respected actor and not a Mighty Duck. Actually, Estevez both wrote and directed Men at Work, the Tango and Cash of the sanitation world, and over thirty year later, it holds up pretty well.
Carl (Sheen) and James (Estevez) are two garbage men in the beachside city of Las Playas, just waiting for the moment that they can open their own surf shop. Spending the majority of the time on their route by half-assing the garbage collection, bowling with trash, raising the ire of the local bike cops, drinking beer and warring with other garbage collectors, Carl and James seem content to coast through life, solving most of their problems with a few bottles of Bud.
But, they're about to get a dose of mandatory responsibility. When City Councilman/Mayoral Hopeful David Berger threatens to blow the whistle on offshore toxic waste dumping, his ecologically-unfriendly business partner Maxwell Potterdam III decides to have him killed. Berger flees to the apartment of his campaign manager, Susan, who also happens to be the woman that Carl has admired from his apartment across the way, courtesy of some high-powered binoculars. Mistaking Berger's frantic behaviour as abusive through telescopic lenses, Carl and James decide to calm him down by sniping him with their air rifle. But when he turns up in an oil drum along their garbage route the next morning, the two decide to befriend Susan to discover what really happened. Unfortunately, this puts them on the radar of Potterdam and his henchmen, who are convinced that they have an incriminating tape that could land him in jail. With the help of psychotic Vietnam vet Louis (Keith David) and a kidnapped pizza delivery boy, Carl and James come up with a plan that will hopefully put the bad guys away, keep them alive to open their surf shop, and get Carl a real grown-up girlfriend in spite of his lame ponytail.
Much like Easy Money, Men at Work isn't going to dazzle with its hidden meanings and intricate plot. It's straight, effective comedy played out largely due to the ability of Sheen and Estevez to subtly work off of each other, which they do superbly. The chemistry between the two is unsurprisingly brotherly, and the later addition of Keith David to the entourage creates an even more impressive dynamic. The story is straight forward, the sight gags are plentiful, and the film is funny and entertaining. Estevez keeps the film moving along at a good pace, and it doesn't seem to drag at all.
Men At Work – Blu-ray Review:
By Ian Jane
Men At Work arrives on Blu-ray on a 25GB disc in an AVC encoded 1080p high definition transfer framed at 1.85.1 widescreen with the transfer using 23.5GBs of space on the disc. This is probably the same transfer that was used on the Shout! Factory Blu-ray release in 2015 but it holds up pretty well even if it isn’t demo disc material. Detail, depth and texture are all pretty solid and the colors look really nice throughout. Skin tones are fine, black levels are solid and the image looks like film, showing the expected amount of film grain and no obvious noise reduction or edge enhancement issues.
The only audio option offered is an English language 24-bit LPCM 2.0 Stereo with optional subtitles offered in English, French and Spanish. The audio here is fine, handling everything that the movie throws at the mix without any trouble. Dialogue is clean, clear and easy to understand and there are no problems with any hiss or distortion to complain about. The sound effects are appropriately punchy when they need to be and there’s some decent channel separation noticeable during a few of the movie’s more action-intensive scenes.
Extras on the disc are limited to a trailer for the feature, bonus trailers for a few other MVD Rewind Collection titles (Canadian Bacon, Panther and Ski Patrol), menus and chapter selection options.
As far as the packaging goes, this release also comes bundled with a DVD version of the movie inside the clear keepcase that also holds a collectible mini-poster and some keen reversible cover sleeve art.
Men At Work - The Final Word:
Men At Work might not be a stone cold classic but it’s funny enough to be worth a watch. The Blu-ray release from the MVD Rewind Collection is light one extras, but the presentation is a nice one and should make fans of the film happy enough.