Windy City Heat – DVD Review

Film, Reviews


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Paramount & Comedy Central DVD present Windy City Heat. Written by Tony Barbieri, Don Barris, Jimmy Kimmel. Running Time: 92 minutes. Rated R for language and sexual content. Originally released in 2003.

Director:

Bobcat Goldthwait

Cast:

Perry Caravello..”¦”¦..Himself/Stone Fury
Don Barris..”¦”¦..Himself/Big Lou
Tony Barbieri..”¦”¦..Mole/Brock
Lisa Kushell..”¦”¦..Susan B. Anthony/Jiggly Wrigley
Bobcat Goldthwait..”¦”¦..Himself
Dane Cook..”¦”¦..Roman Polanski
Carson Daly..”¦”¦..Himself
Jimmy Kimmel..”¦”¦..Himself
Adam Carolla..”¦”¦..Himself
William Perry..”¦”¦..Himself
Tom Kenny..”¦”¦..Gay Costume Design

The Movie:

We all know from Punk’d that Hollywood people love to play pranks on one another. But never has such an elaborate prank been planned, filmed and pulled off. But does that make it entertaining?

The Set up: Perry Caravello, a guy who seems to wish he were Sam Kinison, has always wanted to be a movie star. Now he thinks he’s getting his big break. Bobcat Goldthwiat, in league with many other comedians, are pulling one over on their friend. Perry’s “big break” is entirely fabricated. Everyone is in on it and he has no clue. Perry is so excited to be getting the role of Stone Fury, Sports P.I., that he doesn’t even realize that Roman Polanski is really Dane Cook. At least he questions the guy playing Charlton Heston.

From the beginning stages of casting to the filming of the movie, we follow Perry Caravello as he goes around making a complete ass of himself. The biggest surprise in this film is that Perry never figures out what is going on. The “characters” in this prank have such fake and some times famous names: Ansel Adams, John Quincy Adams, Frances Farmer, Susan B. Anthony, Burt Ward, Travis Bickle, Hiroshima Nagasaki”¦ the list goes on.

Perry gets sent through a number of embarrassing situations. From having to jump into a dumpster filled with manure, and accidentally being fitted for a revealing costume for “Oklahomos!” to having the stupidest PA ever, Burt Ward. The things they do to him are so blatantly obvious; it’s hard to believe he falls for any of it. That in of itself is the most amazing thing about this film. And while they did pull off the prank, they didn’t pull off making it entertaining for anyone else. This whole thing is one big “in” joke for everyone involved. It’s like, when you hear a funny joke on the radio or on TV and then you relay it to a friend but it’s just not that funny, then you end it with “Well, you had to be there.” That’s what’s wrong with this film, you had to be there.

The other problem with this film is that Perry is a pompous and annoying jerk. His friends Don and Mole, the “Big Three” as they’re called, continually mess with him and I think if Perry were likeable it was make it funny, or make you feeling something. But, alas, the only feeling one is likely to get from this film is disdain and boredom.

FINAL SCORE: 3/10

The DVD:

The Video:

This film is full screen, 1.33:1 and widescreen 1:85:1. Most the film if full screen but we get to see a few scenes that were actually shot and those are widescreen. I don’t think a lot went into the filming of this. It doesn’t look that good. Not even the filmed scenes look all that great.

The Audio:

This film is presented in Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo. I have complaints about the sound in this film, but it’s nothing special.

Extras:

The Reveal: If for some reason you liked Perry watching the film this will completely change that. He is so much more annoying in this. He spends most the time screaming in an annoying high-pitched voice that is completely unnecessary. This is his reaction to watching the film the first time. Even while watching it he still thinks its real, that’s how dense this guy is. There really isn’t any great pay off here either. He doesn’t seem to care that this big hoax was pulled on him.

Perry’s Corner: This is an interesting commentary track because at times the film goes to the bottom corner of the screen giving way to Perry sitting in a room recording his commentary. Here, he claims that he knew they were pulling one over on him and he played along to pull one back over on them. Yeah, somehow I don’t believe that. Sorry, Perry.

Classic Big Three Moments: This shows moments of Perry, Don Barris and Mole dating back to 1992 including some old stand up footage of Perry’s. This just points out how long he’s been a untalented hack. The really scary thing here is to learn that Mole wasn’t playing a character. He was just being himself.

InsidePulse’s Ratings for Windy City Heat
CATEGORY
RATING
(OUT OF 10)
THE MOVIE

3
THE VIDEO

6
THE AUDIO

7
THE EXTRAS

5
REPLAY VALUE

1
OVERALL
2
(NOT AN AVERAGE)

The Inside Pulse
I commend Bobcat Goldthwait and crew for pulling this elaborate prank, but it is not very enjoyable to sit and watch. It’s very boring and not worth the hour and a half. Just appreciate it the idea for what it is. It does NOT need to be seen to be believed. Just believe it and go watch a good movie.

Mike Noyes received his Masters Degree in Film from the Academy of Art University, San Francisco. A few of his short films can be viewed here: http://www.youtube.com/user/mikebnoyes. He recently published his first novel which you can buy here: https://www.amazon.com/Seven-Days-Years-Mike-Noyes-ebook/dp/B07D48NT6B/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1528774538&sr=8-1&keywords=seven+days+seven+years