Master of Disguise (2002) parents guide

Master of Disguise (2002) Parent Guide

Overall C-

As Pistachio Disguisey, he is the youngest generation in a long pedigree that has perfected the ability to become someone else.

Release date August 2, 2002

Violence C+
Sexual Content C
Profanity B
Substance Use B

Why is Master of Disguise (2002) rated PG? The MPAA rated Master of Disguise (2002) PG for mild language and some crude humor

Run Time: 80 minutes

Parent Movie Review

Obviously, Dana Carvey likes to dress up, talk in funny voices and mimic other people. Lucky for him, his new role in Master of Disguise provides plenty of opportunity to indulge those personal passions with the chance to play no less than a dozen or so different characters.

As Pistachio Disguisey, he is the youngest generation in a long pedigree that has perfected the ability to become someone else. But as a bumbling waiter in his family’s Italian restaurant, he knows nothing about the ancient household secret until one dark night when his parents (James Brolin, Edie MeClurg) are kidnapped from their eatery kitchen.

That’s when Grandfather Disguisey (Harold Gould) arrives with an antiquated tome containing all the hush-hush history of his ancestors and begins Pistachio’s pained apprenticeship into the family’s craft of disguise. Shortly after being threatened by a snake, punctured by a dart and repeatedly slapped in the face, the bespectacled grandson begins to unearth clues to his parents’ whereabouts. With the aid of a lovely assistant (Jennifer Esposito), he closes in on the lair of his father’s archenemy, Devlin Bowman (Brent Spiner).

Meanwhile, the captor forces Pistachio’s father (disguised as sprinter Michael Johnson, Governor Jesse Ventura and musical artist Jessica Simpson) to help him amass an underground lab full of priceless artifacts to sell on the Internet.

Unfortunately, audiences will have to pander to more than the film’s fondness for camouflage. Along with the many faces of Carvey are repeated comments on the female posterior and other anatomically descriptive language, flatulence gags and crude jokes that parents may not expect in a PG movie.

Even though Pistachio’s concern for a klutzy young skateboarder is admirable, (he even goes so far as to buy knee pads for the boy), kids will more likely mimic his goofy turtle antics and play out their own version of the copycat game. Hopefully, they won’t take to wearing underwear on their heads.

Without a solid storyline to hold this film together, Master of Disguise masquerades as a movie when it should be classified as a series of vignettes.

Starring Dana Carvey, Harold Gould, James Brolin. Running time: 80 minutes. Theatrical release August 2, 2002. Updated

Master of Disguise (2002)
Rating & Content Info

Why is Master of Disguise (2002) rated PG? Master of Disguise (2002) is rated PG by the MPAA for mild language and some crude humor

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Master of Disguise (2002) Parents' Guide

Do your family members have some craft that they excel in? Is there some specific skill you would like to learn from your parents or grandparents?

Jennifer thought her boyfriend was great with kids although he really wanted nothing to do with her son. Do we sometimes see what we want to see in people instead of what is really there? How easy is it to disguise the kind of person you are and how important is honesty in relationships?

Home Video

Related home video titles:

Sandra Bullock stars as a woman who isn’t quite what she pretends to be in the romantic comedy, While You Were Sleeping. Another family with secrets is depicted in the film Jack and the Beanstalk: the Real Story.