Country: USA
Genre: Comedy
Direction: Tim Allen
Cast: Tim Allen, Ray Liotta, Carrie-Anne Moss, Julie Bowen, Kelsey Grammer, Jeanne Tripplehorn, Sigourney Weaver
A recently paroled ex-con who has trouble adjusting to the wacky normalcy of life outside of prison. He has spent the last three years behind bars after getting caught committing a crime and taking the rap for his much more dangerous pal.
Download Crazy on the Outside (2010)
Movie Review:
"Crazy on the Outside" is Tim Allen's directorial debut where he also doubles as the lead star. The film focuses on the journey of ex-con Tommy freshly released from jail as he journeys through a path of redemption. With no place to stay, he settles in at his sister Vicky's (Sigourney Weaver) residence. To start his life anew, he decides to continue on his father's house painting business. However his parole officer Angela (Jeanne Tripplehorn) convinces him to get a job with a more stable income at Pirate Burger. Things turn unexpectedly when single mom Angela starts to worry her son Ethan (Kenton Duty).
Veteran television show scribes Judd Pilot and John Peaslee are behind the screenplay for the film. The men responsible for shows like "According to Jim", "Just Shoot Me", and "Coach" pace their first feature film similar to a usual sitcom. It's no wonder we'd see that kind of work from the two but for a box-office film , the experience in TV works to their disadvantage. The whole movie is not funny in general rather it only offers occasional laughs here in there that don't last long. I'd say only one in four of their jokes actually works. Unfortunately, the duo also tends to focus on certain joke they wish to emphasize but only end ups against the premise and tone of the film. I'd wish they just didn't add in out-of-this-world humor sequences for the sake of making the movie funny though those scenes would have been totally unnecessary.
It's also quite noticeable that the film somewhat suffers from an identity crisis. Though it is classified under the drama genre, "Crazy on the Outside" attempts to be several other things all at the same time: edgy, funny, and heartwarming. In some movies, this combination has worked depending on the usage of the themes to complement each other. However for Allen's movie, faking edgy with family-friendly funny plus tear-jerking heartwarming don't go too well apparently.
Despite the criticisms to this film, I still fervently believe that somewhere in there behind the embellishments and missteps along the way, there is a good film to look forward to. If only the things fell into place it would definitely be a hit. Of course, when's it the first feature for most of the production crew, there are always errors as well as room for improvement. The story is amazingly striking that it didn't need to be dressed with unnecessary jokes.
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