Whether you or anyone else on the planet are seeing them before they hit the rental circuit (Animal House and Vacation series aside), the National Lampoon’s franchise is alive, well and making money. Seems every time I hit the DVD shelves for the ritual Tuesday rental roundup, (Thanks, The Special Edition!) there’s a new Lampoon movie with some coy implant recipient pushing cleavage and silently asking males 18-32 to check her out, sans shirt, in Lampoon’s latest comedy hijinks.
Well, add another title to the list, as Dennis Farina, everyone’s favorite mustachioed cop/wiseguy, has just signed to star in National Lampoon’s Bagboy. Farina is accompanied by a supremely talented cast including Lisa Darr, Josh Dean, Nick Lashaway and Brooke Shields. I don’t suppose there’s too much to be gained in being harsh here- it is, after all, National Lampoon and should deliver on expectations of sausage jokes and naked hoots.
Bagboy will follow the recently popular obscure competitive sports underdog formula. Farina will play a grocery store owner who relives his glory days as a grocery bagging champion through mentoring a grocery bagging weenie.
Bagboy does reach a milestone, however, in that it’s the first self-financed film for Lampoon– almost 30 years and 24 movies in the making. Bagboy will be coproduced by the once funny Farrelly Brothers production studio and will be directed by Mort Nathan, the writer of Kingpin and executive producer of Platypus Man.