Crazy on the Outside (2010)

Expected more

I cannot think of one single thing that I would change about this film. The acting is incomparable, the directing deft, and the writing poignantly brilliant.

an ambitious but ultimately ineffective debut endeavor.

Great story, amazing characters, superb action, enthralling cinematography. Yes, this is something I am glad I spent money on.

I've had actually quite negative initial approach to this movie, regardless Sigourney Weaver's involvement who is my favourite actress. That was mainly caused by many extremely negative reviews. It's shame on me as usually I try to judge myself and never based on the reviews of critics who are very often doing weird statements. Crazy on the outside is an another example of underrated movie, totally crushed by critics. I have really enjoyed that movie. It's a debut of Tim Allen (Galaxy Quest, Toy Story) as a director. He is also a main role, a guy called Tommy, who has just left prison and wants to start new life, far from criminal past. The story shows that it won't be very easy for him. He is fully supported by his crazy sister, played by Sigourney Weaver (who teams up with Allen again, after brilliant performance in Galaxy Quest, 1999). And actually Sigourney, who isn't main character in the movie, is one of the best, if not the best element of Crazy on the outside. Of course story isn't brand new, dramatic conflicts are obvious, but this movie is great fun and provide solid, not stupid dose of humour. DVD release contains good sound and picture with English subtitles. It's really worth of your time.

On paper, this movie seem to have be half decent. But nothing clicked for me. I think it suffered due to lack of laughs. There were a few smiles here and there, but things were just too predictable. We know how it was going to end. And the part about the young boy trying to play matchmaker to his mother and an ex-con was idiotic. Also the part about mother accepting it was more idiotic. The kind of faith that she puts in him was just too naive, especially considering that she is a parole officer.Sigourney Weaver's role was also very contrived. They could have taken the whole thing out of the movie without taking anything from the whole plot. The whole movie is mess really. There is no narrative coherence. Parts have been stacked on just to get some laughs. Alas, If only there were laughs. This is an old wine in an old bottle.

Yes...it was a comedy..sort of. It was also suppose to be entertaining as well...which is barely was. The characters had no depth..you could tell these people were acting..and that the script wasn't something worth bringing to the big screen much less as a bargain rental from a Red Box. The movie offered major stars struggling through as if they never bothered to learn their lines...or simply did not care to. I get that Tim Allen obviously is a major player in Hollywood...and seeing how his other films have been HUGE successes...this one falls flat. No one could possibly believe this character had committed ANY crimes at all..no matter how minor. Even the "bad guys" seemed weak. Ray Liotta has made his mark in films being a bad ass...here he seemed about as dangerous as a kitten. I hope if Mr. Allen and company decides to do another film...they find a storyline with more depth to it...Please.

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.