Synopsis
Windy City Heat is the longest practical joke that I’ve seen in recent memory. Basically as I understand it, the premise is that Perry Caravello, who is supposed to be a friend to The Man Show’s Adam Carolla and Jimmy Kimmel, is lured to a studio to play a tough cop or detective of some sorts. MTV VJ Carson Daly has just been rejected when Perry gets to the studio office, and he auditions for Bobcat Goldthwait and Dane Cook, and he magically gets the part, and puts up with a lot to ma…e the movie.
Off topic for a second, I can’t stand Dane Cook. I’ve given the “Tourgasm” and HBO stand-up specials a shot, and aside from getting a solid Myspace and young teen contingent (hooking up with Jessica Simpson helps I guess), and after being exposed to his comedy for a length of time, the question I have is; what the hell is the fuss about? He’s simply not funny. And with his appearance early on in Windy City Heat, I didn’t think it was a good omen.
And then you have Caravello, who quite frankly isn’t the Matt Gould of Joe Schmo fame, because he’s supposed to be some sort of clueless mark and doesn’t pull it off. And sure, there’s a bunch of guest stars in the film, but the main character has a voice that sounds like it’s gargled with razor blades, and his two friends Big Lou (Don Barris) and Mole (Tony Barbieri) appear to be flunkies without any real contribution to Perry. They aren’t funny, and the Mole just mugs it up.
The bottom line is that Windy City Heat as a practical joke isn’t funny (or believable). As a piece of comedy it’s also not funny, because the characters aren’t even remotely charismatic. I know why Comedy Central put this out initially, because Carolla and Kimmel were contributing a bunch of change for the network, but they should stick to putting out the occasional Crank Yankers episode.
Audio
Dolby Stereo and that’s about it. I wasn’t expecting more or less, and it sounded as good as it was going to.
Video
One would think that some actual video cameras would be used to punk this guy into thinking he’s in a movie. But all to see here is a full frame presentation with shaky black levels at best and an image that is muddy no matter how you slice it.
Special Features
As if ninety minutes of listening to this guy’s voice wasn’t bad enough, Caravello provides a commentary for the film. There’s a video option as well, but why bother? Not to mention, Perry discusses the reveal for the joke (without a lot of video footage, unless it’s him and his friends eating spaghetti that counts), along with some deleted footage.
Closing Thoughts
If you’re going to prank somebody, at least try to keep it lower key so that things appear a little more raw and funnier. This was neither. Pass, pass, pass.
Special Features List
- Cast Commentary
- Deleted Scenes
- Highlight Reel
- Reveal Footage
