| The
Review: |
"Joe Somebody"
follows a strict guideline for family comedies that don't
score many points in the way of laughs or acceptable entertainment.
It is so easy to spot the places at which the movie is hitting
all the necessary notes... the requisite rise and fall of
the main protagonist, a standard love interest, some emotional
baggage, an anticlimactic fight sequence, and so on and so
forth. There used to be a time when this type of a movie could
make up for such lapses with some serviceable laughs or moral
message, but the film lacks even these qualities, and doesn't
appear to care. ***
Tim Allen
stars once again in one of those fatherly roles where his
life is less than adequate. Joe Scheffer is divorced from
his wife (recollections of "The Santa Clause" come to mind),
he works at a job where his productivity goes largely unnoticed,
and he basically has no personal life outside of his young
daughter, whom he loves but from whom he distances himself
quite a bit. ***
Then, on
"Bring Your Daughter to Work" day at the office, Joe gets
steamed over a seven-year employee's decision to park in the
ten-year employee space; they have a heated discussion, and
Joe is knocked to his knees. Embarrassed over the scene the
incident caused, not to mention having the crap kicked out
of him in front of his offspring, Joe goes into deep depression.
It is only after the company's wellness counselor (do they
even have those?), Meg (Julie Bowen), asks him what he wants
out of his situation does he come to a decision: he's going
to get revenge against his bully. ***
And apparently
the guy is not very well-liked around the office, either.
I mean, why else would everyone begin heralding Joe for his
brave stand, praising Joe for his work output, noticing how
Joe dresses, commenting on how smooth Joe looks nowadays?
Joe, poor downtrodden, never-been-a-winner-in-his-life Joe,
absolutely revels in his newfound fame, caving in to the pressures
of what it means to be cool by changing his attitude, his
apparel, his car, and ignoring his daughter even more than
ever before. He's like the geek that everyone pays attention
to when it looks like something juicy is going to happen,
but he's too caught up in his own selfish dream of becoming
the top honcho that he forgets about the little people who
really matter the most. ***
This is
a most awkward and unpleasant movie, an experience that feels
about as funny and enlightening as a ten-days-in-the-making
bowel movement. I felt a sudden wave of discomfort in watching
Allen's character continually ignore his daughter's plea that
he not fight, while at the same time seeing little to no comedic
charm in his fight training with a down-and-out actor played
by Jim Belushi. There are other things to consider as well,
like some of the language, which is more prevalent than you
would expect from a PG-rated picture, and the fact that the
movie's moral message about being the better man is about
as fresh as bread baked in 1875. ***
The main
problem with the movie is that it gives its audience no reason
to root for its protagonist. I noted one instance in which
Meg makes the statement, "He is a loving and devoted father.
Is he? Beats me. Call me crazy, but I think "devoted" means
actually spending some screen time with your offspring. Instead,
he spends his time dwelling in this great gaping void of machismo
testosterone and pumped-up bravado, only to realize in the
end that, gosh golly gee, he's been wrong all along, and that
the people who claim to be his friends really just want in
on a piece of the fight action. When the subplot involving
a phony promotion comes into play, all I could think of was
my mother when she used to tell me, "I told you so." ***
Then we
have such nagging subplots as the love interest between Joe
and Meg, which is so unbelievably cliched and routine that
you almost feel sorry for the actors who have to read the
lines. The daughter character experiences some school-related
problems when she refuses to write a play, but none of this
is ever expanded upon; the problem just fades as quickly as
it came. And then there's the aspect of Joe's ex-wife, whom
he claims left a big hole when she left, but who is seen for
maybe five minutes total onscreen, and even half of that is
spent whining about what an idiot she was for leaving Joe,
and how she's alone in the world. Gee, break out the tissue.
***
I do have
to commend Tim Allen, though, for at least trying to keep
a straight face. His comedy has spawned some very likeable
movies in the past: "The Santa Clause" was one of Disney's
better live-action movies, and his TV series "Home Improvement"
constantly plays during reruns in my home. With "Joe Somebody,"
he puts forth his best efforts, but in the face of such a
weak script and uninteresting character, his work is rendered
obsolete. I hate to say it, but this "Somebody," like it's
main character, is a nobody. --
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