zizumia
The only reason I stumbled upon this movie was I was unable to sleep, and I needed to watch something to pass the time. So I saw that Tim Allen was in this film, but I really only saw him good in Home Improvement, so I did not expect much.My expectations were correct, the movie was pretty bad. I could not watch it all the way because I just got too bored The storyline seemed to be dull and boring, and it was not well made The only reason I watched it for more than 5 minutes was because I chuckled a few times at the part where they substitute the word "Jail" for "France". By the time Tommy started trying to prove he was good enough to be some painter to his Parole officer it really got boring, and it seemed more like he was whining about his life more than doing anything productive. By the time he found his old Girlfriend and then she started cheating on her husband or boyfriend, I turned it off, because it really went downhill and was too cliché for me.It was a bad movie, I will not recommend it to anyone, but honestly I really did expect it to be bad. I wasted about an hour of my life watching that movie though.
Matt_Layden
After being released from prison, Tommy must cope with his family, his new job, his desire to follow in his father's footsteps and of course, not getting himself thrown back into prison. This film has an impressive cast, first you have Tim Allen, whom I find funny. His sister is a compulsive liar, played by Sigourney Weaver. She is married to J.K. Simmons, who has a beef with Allen. They lie to the grandmother, saying Allen went to France for 3 years, instead of prison. He went to prison because his best friend is in some illegal shady business work, this is Ray Liotta. Allen also goes to find his old flame, the girl he loved before he went to prison, played by the funny Julie Bowen. She has a fiancée, played by Kelsey Grammar. Finally Jeanne Tripplehorn plays Allen's parole officer. Those are the players, and even though all of them have had success in the past with their comedy chops, they all seem to be flat here. Bowen, in my opinion, as the funniest role as the girlfriend who wants to marry Grammar, while see Allen on the side. Allen himself seems too distracted here, this is most likely because he was directing this as well. He went for a more likable schmuck role than a funny one. Weaver, as the compulsive liar, steals every scene she is in. Every lie she comes up with his more outrageous than the next. The problem with the film is that it was more kind hearted than funny. A lot of the story elements are clichéd and predictable. Which takes the fun out of the film. One of the things I look forward to in comedies is the unexpected, this film throws nothing like that our way. The film had potential, and it means well, but it leaves an unsatisfied taste in your mouth. A lot of the film is just mediocre and given the amount of talent behind this one, it falls short.
callanvass
Crazy On The Outside has been unfairly bashed a lot of the time by critics and movie-goers alike. I on the other hand found it had a lot of entertainment value in it, and for Tim Allen's first major directing job|As far as I know anyway| he did a pretty stand-up job. I liked a lot of the nutty relationships Tim had with his family, but my favorite had to be with his sister Viki|Weaver|. It was caring, yet chaotic and distrustful. I felt the humor it had served the movie well, and Allen was likable and charismatic enough to carry the movie, though it was kind of disappointing with Ray Liotta's lack of screen-time. For my knowledge this movie was barely released in theaters, and wasn't received very well by any movie fans. I really don't see why not either. Sure you can tell Allen is a little green when it comes to directing, but the message was good, and I thought it had a lot of nice laughs to it as well.Performances. Tim Allen isn't anything outstanding, but he's efficiently funny and carries the movie well enough. I've always liked Tim Allen. Sigourney Weaver is excellent as Vicki the mysterious, lying, yet caring sister. She often stole many of the scenes for my liking. Ray Liotta is effective in his slimy, yet hilarious role. Jeanne Tripplehorn is solid if a little over-emotional for my liking. She had decent chemistry with Allen. J.K. Simmons and Kelsey Grammar are solid in their small roles. Kenton Duty is OK but rather annoying as the kid.Bottom line. As I said, I don't see what there is to hate about this movie. It's likable, amusing and even at times, laugh out loud funny. I give it a solid recommendation, give it a chance.7/10
Benoît A. Racine (benoit-3)
This is a fine film, well written and well-acted with several deft directorial touches that will probably go unnoticed by the majority of viewers. (The baseball scene, anyone?) It is respectful of its subject matter, which is the re-adaptation period of an ex-convict to his former life. I found it more akin in nuanced subtlety to Fench comedies than anything made in America recently. It strives for realism and emotion while avoiding over-the-top mayhem and improbable situations. Sigourney Weaver is fascinating to watch in comedy mode as always and Tim Allen is believable in his part. I also liked that Tim Allen's crime was electronic pirating, a reality that is seldom even mentioned in Hollywood films. It's a given that all American comedies must rely on misunderstandings but, given that cliché, I think the trip to France cover story for Allen's incarceration was well-handled and (for once) not offensive to any foreign nation. I rented this DVD out of despair for the lack anything interesting on the horizon and was pleasantly surprised. I don't understand that it didn't make any impact on the box office given its star power and general appeal. This is another one of those little gems that can only be classified as "too good for America".P.S.: The film got a Zero score on the Tomatometer by Critics and Top critics and a 62 % score by the community, which is an indication of how far removed those critics are from their public. What this means, of course, is that the public likes Tim Allen in whatever he does but that the critics choose to penalize him when he does something totally unpretentious. The IMDb user ratings also show two major disconnects: the first between men and women (men liked it, women didn't, probably because Tim Allen is not conventionally pretty and he acknowledges the differences between the sexes) and US and non-US users, proof that it helps to be non-American and not know anything about Tim Allen to recognize excellence and like this film.
AD
