Proving that a little success can be a dangerous thing, Emilio Estevez parlayed his early-'80s "brat-pack" fame into a dubious directorial career, beginning with 1986's Wisdom (in which Estevez costarred with then-fiancée Demi Moore), and resuming with this sophomore-effort 1990 comedy that benefits most from Emilio's teaming with brother Charlie Sheen. (Close your eyes and listen: their voices sound like their dad Martin Sheen after inhaling helium.) The brothers play a pair of garbage collectors who discover a body on their daily rounds, and the corpse draws them into a scheme involving corrupt politics, illegal hazardous-waste dumping, and a lovely neighbor (Leslie Hope) with connections to the dead guy. Add a wacko Vietnam vet (Keith David), an unsuspecting pizza deliverer (Dean Cameron), and a pair of overzealous cops, and you've got a comedy that lazily rambles from one lightweight scene to another. It's way too loose to have any noteworthy quality, but that's also part of the movie's low-brow appeal: Estevez and Sheen play well together, and this is just their way of goofing off with Hollywood money. With a sharper script and an experienced director, Men at Work could have paid off handsomely. As it is, these sibling antics are amiable enough, and the early-'90s fashion crimes (like Charlie's "dork knob" ponytail) offer an amusing diversion from the lamest gags. --Jeff Shannon
2.
Brat-pack auteur Emilio Estevez directs himself and his brother Charlie Sheen in this environmentally conscious comedy.
Carl and James are two sanitation engineers who enjoy pulling excrement-themed pranks on coworkers and dream of opening their very own surfing goods store. In the meantime, they're happy just to guzzle beers and play Trivial Pursuit.
Then one day, while emptying a typical garbage can, they dump out a dead political candidate. And the more they learn about this stiff, the more trouble they're in -- especially after they uncover an illegal toxic waste disposal plot.
Now Carl and James must decide whether to contact the authorities or abandon the corpse and go catch some waves.
3.
"Fresh, inventive! A pleasant, knockabout comedy." -Los Angeles Times
It's up to a pair of trash-hauling heroes to clean up the city in this action-comedy starring real-life brothers Charlie Sheen and Emilio Estevez. With hilarious supporting performances and an all-star soundtrack, Men At Work is an "engaging… comically crackpot" (The New York Times) adventure that "has very few moments when it's not generating laughs" (Los Angeles Times)!
Garbage men James (Estevez) and Carl (Sheen) dream of opening a surf shop, but often land in hot water due to their practical jokes. When they discover a murdered politician on their route, they attempt to sniff out the killer themselves- a bad idea that rapidly ensnares them in a toxic waste scandal. Soon, they're thrown headlong into a manic escapade involving a deranged veteran, an attractive campaign manager, a kidnapped pizza deliveryman, and a greedy polluter who wants them hauled off to a landfill for good!
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