The Master of Disguise

Pistachio Disguisey works as a waiter in his family's Italian restaurant, where he has trouble controlling an odd habit of imitating the customers and changing his appearance. He does not know that his father, Fabbrizio, belongs to a long line of masters of disguise who can take on almost any identity. When the criminal Devlin Bowman kidnaps Fabbrizio and forces him to steal valuable treasures from around the world, Pistachio's grandfather reveals the family secret and trains him in the old art of transformation. With help from an assistant named Jennifer, Pistachio sets out to rescue his parents and stop Bowman.

The 2002 American family comedy was directed by Perry Andelin Blake, who had worked extensively as a production designer before taking the director's chair here, and was written by Dana Carvey and Harris Goldberg. Carvey stars as Pistachio, with Brent Spiner as the villain, Jennifer Esposito as Jennifer, Harold Gould as the grandfather, James Brolin as Fabbrizio and Austin Wolff as Barney. Barry Bernardi, Todd Garner and Sidney Ganis produced for Happy Madison, Columbia Pictures and Revolution Studios.

Made for about 16 million dollars, the film took roughly 43 million dollars worldwide at the box office. Its critical reception was poor, with a critics' rating of 2.6 out of 10 from 105 reviews, while audience response on TMDB stands at 4 out of 10 from 345 votes, a somewhat higher but still weak figure. The large credited cast and crew reflect a broad production, though the film remains chiefly remembered as a star vehicle for Carvey.