MOVIE REVIEW : ‘Men at Work’ a Labor of Laughter

With “Men at Work” (citywide) actor-writer-director Emilio Estevez has turned out a pleasant, knockabout comedy for himself and brother Charlie Sheen. While it may not be the funniest picture you’ll see all year, it is fresh, inventive and has very few moments when it’s not generating laughs.

With this second feature--his first was the 1986 “Wisdom,” an uneven but promising love-on-the-run thriller with political overtones--Estevez warrants continued encouragement. Not all his jokes are inspired, but he has a light touch with comedy, a nice flair for breezy, throwaway humor. In short, “Men at Work” deserved to be previewed for the press instead of opening cold last Friday.

Estevez and Sheen play a couple of garbage collectors in a South Bay city, where they dream of opening up a surf shop--someday. In the meantime, they stave off boredom with compulsive prankishness. Alas, they’re already on probation with the cops when they come upon a corpse of a young man (Darrell Larson), a preppy type who’s running for city council and who’s about to blow the whistle on a greedy tycoon (John Getz), who’s been dumping hundreds of leaky barrels of toxic waste into the ocean.

It’s not for nothing that Estevez is the son of activist actor Martin Sheen, but he’s too savvy to be heavy-handed about sending an environmental message. Instead he comes up with a string of misadventures for his garbage collectors of the kind that bedevilled Laurel and Hardy.

The on-screen camaraderie between Estevez and Sheen is infectious, and Estevez allows everyone in the cast to contribute to the fun and mayhem, including lovely leading lady Leslie Hope and witty sidekick Keith David. Stewart Copeland’s jaunty score underlines the film’s bouncy pace most effectively. “Men at Work” (rated PG-13 for some adult innuendo) is a modest treat.

‘MEN AT WORK’

A Triumph release of an Epic Productions and Sarlui/Diamant presentation of an Epic/Elwes/Euphoria Films production. Executive producers Irwin Yablans, Moshe Diamant. Producer Cassian Elwes. Co-producer Barbara Stordahl. Writer-director Emilio Estevez. Camera Tim Suhrstedt. Music Stewart Copeland. Production designer Dins Danielsen. Costumes Keith Lewis. Stunt coordinator Bud Davis. 2nd unit director Gary Davis. 2nd unit camera Peter Deming. Film editor Craig Bassett. With Charlie Sheen, Emilio Estevez, Leslie Hope, Keith David, Darrell Larson, Dean Cameron, John Getz, Hawk Wolinski, John Lavachielli, Geoffrey Blake, Cameron Dye, John Putch, Tommy Hinckley.

Running time: 1 hour, 38 minutes.

MPAA-rated: PG-13 (parents strongly cautioned; some material may be inappropriate for children younger than 13).