Ship this one out of town

"The Out-of-Towners"
Overall Rating: **½


This week, I wanted to catch a couple of films that I've missed in the preceding weeks; after all, the summer movies start coming out in May, and will be pushing out anything and everything that's been out a while. ("Star Wars: Episode 1:" I'm predicting eight theaters out of the multiplex's 24.) So, this week's selections are "Life is Beautiful" and "The Out-of-Towners," I have nothing but kind words for "Life Is Beautiful." As for "The Out-of-Towners"--did I mention that "Life is Beautiful" is still playing?

Henry and Nancy Clark (Steve Martin and Goldie Hawn respectively) are from Ohio. Their conservative life has been turned upside down, since Henry has recently been fired by his company, their son is moving to London, and their daughter has dropped out of medical school to become an actress. When Henry has a job interview in New York, it seems like the perfect opportunity to revitalize his career--and possibly his marriage. The trip to New York for the interview, however, quickly proves Murphy's Law--if not that Murphy was an optimist.

Not having seen the original 1970 movie, written by Neil Simon, I can only hope, being a Neil Simon fan, that "Based on the screenplay by..." really means "Based very loosely on the screenplay by;" it would be hard for me to take that Mr. Simon--whose plays and movies I've enjoyed so much in the past--could write such a clinker. "The Out-of-Towners" is just plain stupid. Not stupid like Beavis and Butthead, or stupid like slapstick--either of those could be funny. This movie isn't funny, just stupid. For instance, at one point, Henry takes an "aspirin," given him by someone he's in jail with; of course, it isn't aspirin, and Henry starts hallucinating. With jokes like that, the movie has a few laughs here and there, but it's not very funny. A good production of "Hamlet" has more laughs; but the only tragic aspect of "The Out-of-Towners" is they were trying to make a comedy. In the end, it's just trying.

As the ludicrous situation with the "aspirin" makes clear, it's very difficult to sympathize with the characters, since they often cause their own problems. They didn't cause New York to be fogged in, but Henry and Nancy cause just about every other problem they have to deal with. They're even partially to blame for getting mugged, in a way; Henry doesn't want to help the man who accosts them on the street, but Nancy becomes convinced he's Andrew Lloyd Webber--and, wanting to help a famous person, they follow him to a more secluded spot, and he mugs them. They meet with plenty of other calamities like that; so many that the plot doesn't strain credibility--it can't because it never gets close enough to credibility to strain it.

Beyond a truly terrible screenplay, "The Out-of-Towners," doesn't have much against it. I have no particular love for Goldie Hawn or Steve Martin, but they played their parts well. John Cleese is also good in his smaller part--a hotel manager with a dirty little secret. The cinematography is also good--the camera manages to capture the glamour and the grit of New York as needed. But with a nothing screenplay behind it, the film as a whole falls flat.

"The Out-of-Towners" is probably not a very good choice for children. It has a great deal of sex and drug-related humor, the reasons why it earned a PG-13 rating. There is some very slight violence (specifically, two separate armed robberies), and much less bad language than most recent Hollywood comedies, but no redeeming factors that would make it a good choice for kids.

"The Out-of-Towners" is simply not interesting. I watched the film, and I really didn't care what happened to the characters. If you haven't seen it yet, take comfort: it will probably be gone by next week, and you haven't missed much.



Title :"The Out-of-Towners"
Release date: April 2, 1999

MPAA rating: PG-13
Overall rating: **½

Aprox. run time: 90 min.
Director: Sam Weisman
Writer: Marc Lawrence, Neil Simon (1970 Screenplay)
Stars: Steve Martin, Goldie Hawn, John Cleese

Original URL: http://www.geocities.com/Hollywood/Mansion/7045/OutTown.htm

Added to blog site: 8/3/09