MovieChat Forums > Outside Providence (1999) Discussion > Tried to be too much?

Tried to be too much?

posted 19 years ago by ltldog2
4 replies | jump to latest

Did anyone else get the impression watching this...that it tried to be too much? It was like the movie couldn't decide if it was a nostalgic look at life in the 70s, a love story, a coming-of-age between a kid and his father, a "sticking it to the prep school Man" story, or a slapstick comedy about a bunch of potheads. It just seemed to whip you from one setting to another too quickly without letting you get to know the characters or think too hard about any one aspect of the movie. I just expected something better from something with the Farrelly Bros.' name on it. Of course Alec Baldwin was awesome as always, he was the best thing about the movie. I would recommend anyone who was expecting something a little wackier see P.C.U. It has all the heart and waaaay more funny than this movie without trying to be a dozen things at once.

"Some people without brains do an awful lot of talking!"

[–] dmscotch 19 years ago

it starts off as a bunch of stupid potheads but Dumph realizes that there is more to life than getting high and stinkfingering Bunny Cody. He meets Jane, falls in love, she helps change him for the better, Thunderbirk is a tool and deserves to have it stuck to him. Therefor, it is both a stoner comedy, a coming of age movie, a love movie, a stick it to the man movie. All these things make the movie of a bit hard to descibe to anyone who hasn't seen it but they come together well I think. It isn't overdone, in my opinion

[–] WarpedRecord 15 years ago

Very well put. I think it was a bit too ambitious – or maybe ambivalent is a better word – but overall it worked because of the strong performances.

[–] Minus_The_Beer 13 years ago

Agreed. I enjoyed the movie, but it's a bit too aimless for its own good. I can't help but smell some Weinstein tinkering involved in the end product.

Formerly known as PastorOfMuppets

[–] courts0 10 years ago

Agreed. I wish they would've just made it a straight comedy, because there was some really funny stuff in there.