Say It Isn't So

So how does one go about making a movie for the masses that's a comedy about incest? Easy: Run a ubiquitous trailer for months that reveals the whole thing to be a case of mistaken identity, in the process giving away most of the decent jokes and the plot. Unlike, say, Tromeo and Juliet or Spanking the Monkey, each of which had the balls to take its incest-related storyline all the way, this directorial debut of Farrelly Brothers' protégé J. B. Rogers plays it relatively safe by not only making the central couple of Chris Klein and Heather Graham not related, but also having them be the only normal human beings in a world of amputees, stroke victims, rednecks, pedophiles, and so forth. Rogers would surely like to think that he's followed in the footsteps of his mentors (who serve as producers) by maintaining a level of innocence while mocking the differently abled, and it's not a bad try: What he ends up with is about as funny as Me, Myself, and Irene. Unfortunately, that movie wasn't all that good either. The Farrelly formula may simply be wearing thin, but there are still a few decent laughs to be had herein, mostly based -- not surprisingly -- on pure shock value. And this may seem like a funny complaint under the circumstances, but Chris Klein would be funnier if he acted dumber. One keeps imagining how much more amusing Keanu Reeves would've been in the role; Klein actually appears to be attempting a serious performance, when blankness would acquit him fine. Though the trailers are correct in claiming that you can't quite say it isn't funny, Say It Isn't So is certainly one that can wait until video. Unless, of course, endless jokes about a town called Beaver are the sort of thing that make you want to log onto moviefone.com right this second.