The Out of Towners

Starring: Steve Martin, Goldie Hawn, John Cleese
Directed by: Sam Weisman
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Comedy
1999

Times Seen:
Tim: 1


Summary:After their last child leaves home, a somewhat unhappy Ohio couple (Steve Martin, Goldie Hawn) take a trip to New York for a job interview. However, their trip from the beginning is marred by one problem after another. The strain the horrible trip tests the bonds of the couple's marriage.

Review:

Tim: This is one terrible film. I should have been tipped off by the fact that it is a remake and stars Steve Martin and Goldie Hawn. I have never particularly found Martin funny, and I have to say this film further illustrates that belief. In addition, I've never been particularly fond of Hawn, either, and she is annoying and not good throughout this film as well. The other star of the film is John Cleese, who is surprisingly unfunny as a crossdresser. He manages to get the closest to actual humor on screen, but falls just short. Watching this movie felt like I was seeing a bunch of washed up actors trying desperately (and failing) to be funny.

Martin himself may once have had some comedic talent, but he seems to have lost it in his elder years. He was quite disappointing. He and Hawn manage some chemistry, but not much. The scenes with Cleese, Hawn, and Martin together are somewhat better than the rest of the movie, but those scenes are too few and far between.

I can't tell which was the worst part of the movie. Is it the scene with Martin and Hawn in a park with Mayor Rudy Guiliani? Or, is it when some inmate in jail gives Martin some "aspirin," which turns out to be cocaine? Well, I'd have to say the former, because the latter can be explained. Every time I'm in prison and someone offers me "aspirin," I immediately take it without thinking, "This guy's in prison! Perhaps I shouldn't trust him." And, that brings up another point. How the hell did the guy behind bars get cocaine? it has to be assumed that he just recently was arrested. Why didn't the police take the drugs off his person? This is what The Out of Towners does to you- it starts off with Martin, Hawn, and Cleese in an unfunny film, and ends with you contemplating things better off left alone. Take it from me, pass this movie up like you'd pass up "aspirin" from an addict.


Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 2



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: Steve Martin's other unfunny films, including Novocaine and Bringing Down the House