Outside Providence (1999)

It turned out that there was a lot more to this movie than I was anticipating when I decided to watch it. I watched it largely on the basis of Alec Baldwin, who's a pretty good actor. But at the same time I knew that the basic plot revolved around a kid from the wrong side of the tracks, so to speak, who gets sent to a snooty prep school after getting in some trouble at home. I figured this would turn out to be a pretty typical teen-style comedy, with the "bad kid" heading off to the "good school" and turning it upside down, with the movie becoming little more than sex and drugs. It's true that there's a lot of weed in this, but much to my surprise there's no sex and not even a hint of nudity. It actually turns out to be a fairly complex study of relationships and commitment and the importance of taking responsibility for your actions.

Shawn Hatosy was Tim Dunphy - the kid who gets sent off to this school. We find out early on that he has a troubled home life, loyally devoted to his wheelchair bound little brother Jackie (Tommy Bone) but with a distant relationship with his father, who's played by Baldwin, and who seems to have time to do little else but play poker with his buddies. (As an aside, dad's "buddies" are played by a pretty decent cast of actors, including George Wendt and Richard Jenkins.) For much of the movie we know nothing about Tim's mother, except that she isn't there. When her absence finally gets explained, it resolves some of the issues about what's going on between Tim and his dad, and perhaps explains his dad's emotional emptiness.

The prep school part of the story is also more interesting than expected at first glance. There's some "teen cliché" stuff going on, but really less than I expected. Yes, as I noted, there's a lot of weed smoked over the course of an hour and a half, and there's the requisite "evil" adult character, in this case represented by My. Funderburk, played by Timothy Crowe, but even Funderburke (while a bit ridiculous at times) is less over the top than most similar characters in teen movies. As I said, there's neither sex nor nudity in this, but there is a surprisingly well portrayed romance between Tim and Jane (played by Amy Smart) - a girl from the right side of the tracks. It's one of those unlikely and somewhat unbelievable romances that nevertheless worked in this case, and I thought that Hatosy and Smart were good together. Ultimately, of course, what hijinks there were at the school leads to problems, and Tim has to decide whether to take responsibility for his actions or not, and the revelation of why Tim's mother is absent even leads ultimately to a sort of warming in the relationship between Tim and his dad.

This actually turns out to be a much more interesting movie than one might anticipate. In fact, although it's set in a prep school and is at times humorous, I wouldn't really call this a teen comedy at all. It's got too much going on for that; it raises too many issues to be dismissed as just that. It's surprisingly well done. (7/10)

Fmovies: am i the only one who thinks that this movie is great? there's just something about it that really gets to me. that scene with alec baldwin teaching his son how to tie a tie? all the great one-liners? the fantastic soundtrack? amy smart? i'm probably gonna get alot of s*** for this, but please, if anyone else out there loves this movie, please tell me so i don't feel like i'm taking crazy pills!

This film is not as wild as THERE'S SOMETHING ABOUT MARY, but it is amusing, touching, annoying, vulgar, funny, and goodnatured -- pretty good for one movie.

It is an odd stew of the 3 Stooges, Huck Finn, SATURDAY NIGHT FEVER, and THE DEAD POET'S SOCIETY. Hatosy is endearing as a softhearted lunkhead -- he shows great tallent for both serious and comic work here. Baldwin is in rare form as an Al Bundy of the 70s who is truly a working-class Socrates.

The title is a play on words that indicates the various ways you can view life -- beyond help or help from beyond. It's a charmer in its own knuckleheaded way.

Outside Providence fmovies. Director: Michael Corrente, Script: Peter Farrelly (Novel), Michael Corrente, Bobby Farrelly, Cast: Shawn Hatosy, Tommy Bone, Alec Baldwin, Amy Smart, Jon Abrahams.

Coming of age film about a group of stoner friends from the poor neighbourhood in the blue collar town of Pawtucket, R.I. The film is told from the point of view of Timmothy Dunphy, an underachiever whose main goal in life seems to be how much dope he can smoke. His mother committed suicide when he was just a small boy so it is just him, his disabled little brother and his father. One night while high on dope Tim smashes his car into a parked cop car! His old man has to bail him out of jail. In an attempt to turn his life around, old man Dunphy makes his son cut his hair and forces him to go to a strict boarding school in Connecticut. So here we have a poor kid at a rich prep- school. While here, he meets a rich, smart, preppy co-ed totally the opposite of himself but of course, they fall in love!

This film has many funny as well as serious parts. During periods without dialog we hear many great rock songs from the 60's and 70's. The film was set in 1974. The 'bad guy' in the film is Mr. Funderberk (Timothy Crowe),the strict resident adviser or whatever you want to call him. Although a comedy, the film does have elements of drama. The scene with Tim talking to his old man about his mother is sad. His girlfriend Jane (Amy Smart) gets accepted to Brown but she gets accused of something she didn't do so her acceptance gets reversed as a result. Tim goes to Brown University and tries to see the Dean but the secretary told him he was booked the whole day and that he would have to make an appointment. Tim manages to get into the Dean's office through the window. He then proceeds to tell the Dean the truth about Jane.

This movie was based on a semi-autobiographical novel by Peter Farrelly. The Farrelly brothers are from Rhode Island and many of their movies are filmed there. I wonder how close this film parallels his real teenage years. It would be interesting to read the book.

Finally....we get to see a Mike Corrente film where he actually moves the camera! Unlike Federal Hill and American Buffalo, Outside Providence has a number of dolly and pan shots instead of keeping the camera still for 90 plus minutes. The film also had three montage sequences that made the film move faster. The sound track of the film alone makes the movie worth watching.

Any viewer from New England will be amazed to see Foxboro Stadium in the film. I think its safe to say that Outside Providence is the first and only film to shoot a scene at the not so famous stadium where the Patriots play.

Overall, This was a great film ! Shawn Hatosy hit the Rhode Island accent like it was his second nature. A new comer to the screen, a lot of us will remember Shawn from the hit comedy In and Out.

Like Alec Baldwin, Shawn Hatosy gave a realistic and heart filled performance. Outside Providence is a winner!

Maybe some reviewers here have been put off by the fact that it's a mingling of different genres (romance/comedy). But I think the movie is vastly entertaining and satisfying. There's more substance to this movie than there is to others of a similar vein -- "Detroit Rock City" or "Almost Famous" or "Dazed and Confused." You're not supposed to cry and you're not supposed to split your sides laughing, but you are supposed to enjoy it, and that I did. Plus, Alec Baldwin is truly excellent in his role as a gruff, blue-collar dad.