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Outside Providence (1999)
I watched this film for the first time a few nights ago when I had nothing to do. I was expecting a regular 1990's style romantic comedy but was pleasantly surprised by how the movie turned out. Although the film is not anything spectacular, it's enjoyable and worth watching.
Outside Providence stars Shawn Hatosy as Tim Dunphy a troubled teenager living in small town Rhode Island with his crippled brother and crude father played by Alec Baldwin. Alec Baldwin shines in this role in his humorous portrayal of a bigoted and uneducated mechanic who treats his children like complete dirt. The endless profanity and crude remarks coming out of his mouth may seem annoying at first, but gradually become tolerable and humorous as they shape his character.
Anyway, back to the plot. After Tim gets in trouble with the law, he is sent by his father to a preperatory school in Connecticut. Although it seems the movie is heading in the "fish out of the water direction", the director successfully avoids this pitfall and manages to nicely integrate everything together.
While at prep school, Tim meets the prettiest girl on campus who he obviously falls for. Tim begins to date her and the two grow close. After an incident involving drugs, Tim, his girlfriend, and a few other students are harshly punished by the school's deputy administrator who among many things, pursuades admission officers at Brown University to rescind Tim's girlfriend's acceptance. All seems lost until Tim personally visits Brown and sorts everything out by doing some damage control. Everybody lives happilly ever after.
Although I admit the ending was a bit sappy and cliché, the director successfully creates a movie that is enjoyable throughout three quarters of its duration.
The candidness of the characters was impressive, the actors weren't trying to be over dramatic. Although in the beginning, many of the characters seemed unlikeable, the viewer gradually begins to accept and sympathize with them. Overall, the film conveys a confused high school experience that many viewers can relate to.
Despite the film's high points, there are a few drawbacks. The plot seems to lag somewhere in the middle. The director seems to have a firm starting point and a designated ending point, he just doesn't connect the two very effectively. There seemed to be too many scenes of people smoking pot, I really only need to see one to get the point. The portrayal of the 1970's was a bit weak. I don't understand why the movie didn't just take place in the present day.
Overall, the flick wasn't something to rave about, but it was good nonetheless.
Final Score:
Outside Providence stars Shawn Hatosy as Tim Dunphy a troubled teenager living in small town Rhode Island with his crippled brother and crude father played by Alec Baldwin. Alec Baldwin shines in this role in his humorous portrayal of a bigoted and uneducated mechanic who treats his children like complete dirt. The endless profanity and crude remarks coming out of his mouth may seem annoying at first, but gradually become tolerable and humorous as they shape his character.
Anyway, back to the plot. After Tim gets in trouble with the law, he is sent by his father to a preperatory school in Connecticut. Although it seems the movie is heading in the "fish out of the water direction", the director successfully avoids this pitfall and manages to nicely integrate everything together.
While at prep school, Tim meets the prettiest girl on campus who he obviously falls for. Tim begins to date her and the two grow close. After an incident involving drugs, Tim, his girlfriend, and a few other students are harshly punished by the school's deputy administrator who among many things, pursuades admission officers at Brown University to rescind Tim's girlfriend's acceptance. All seems lost until Tim personally visits Brown and sorts everything out by doing some damage control. Everybody lives happilly ever after.
Although I admit the ending was a bit sappy and cliché, the director successfully creates a movie that is enjoyable throughout three quarters of its duration.
The candidness of the characters was impressive, the actors weren't trying to be over dramatic. Although in the beginning, many of the characters seemed unlikeable, the viewer gradually begins to accept and sympathize with them. Overall, the film conveys a confused high school experience that many viewers can relate to.
Despite the film's high points, there are a few drawbacks. The plot seems to lag somewhere in the middle. The director seems to have a firm starting point and a designated ending point, he just doesn't connect the two very effectively. There seemed to be too many scenes of people smoking pot, I really only need to see one to get the point. The portrayal of the 1970's was a bit weak. I don't understand why the movie didn't just take place in the present day.
Overall, the flick wasn't something to rave about, but it was good nonetheless.
Final Score: