Outside Providence

"Outside Providence". ***1/2. Timothy Dunphy (Shawn Hatosy) lives in Pawtucket, Rhode Island. He's 17. He and his friends are stoners. They hang out and argue the relative benefits of moving to California or staying in Pawtucket after high school. Their criteria for deciding revolve around the potential quality and quantity of drugs and sex. Dunphy lives with his dad (Alex Balwin) and his younger brother (Tommy Bone). Dunphy gets in trouble. One of his dad's friends is "connected" and gets Dunphy's jail sentence deferred if he enrolls and successfully completes his senior year of high school at an exclusive prep school. Dunphy moves from stoned fish in a small pond to fish out of water. His ensuing adventures are predictable but fun. There is the geeky roommate, stoner pals, beautiful girl that's out of his league, and the Dickensonian schoolmaster. I enjoyed most every moment. No scene ever got too melodramatic or silly. The stoner jokes and other one liners are funny. "Outside Providence" plays as a very good 70s coming-of-age movie. The writing credits for "OP" goes to Peter Farrelly of the Farrelly Brothers ("There's Something About Mary", "Kingpin", and "Dumb and Dumber"). Given the Farrelly connection, I was surprised by the restraint and tenderness of this movie. Very much worth the rental.

I overlooked this movie when it was in theatres and just saw it on video. I was very impressed. It wasn't the dumb gross out movie the Farrely's are known for. It had some laugh out loud moments, and some surprising tender moments as well. Alec Baldwin was hysterical as Old Man Dunphy and the supporting cast of friends like Drugs & The Wire were funny as well. This movie is a lot better than you'd probably think. It certainly surpassed my expectations.

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.

Wonderfully crafted and understated movie from the kings of gross-out comedy. Poignant and hilarious this film is a beautiful departure from the Farrely Bro's typical fare. It follows the (mis) adventures of a 1970's era RI kid who runs afoul of the law and is sent to a stuffy boarding school. It sounds like a fairly redundant storyline but the emotional underpinnings and underlying angst of the young characters are subtly, yet powerfully displayed. 9/10.

Alec Baldwin has finally made another good movie with this little gem. Alec's great as grumpy Old Man Dunphy and this is good, but not great, story about his son's coming of age at an expensive prep school.

If you like flicks like this with great 1970's soundtracks, see Outside Providence. You'll definitely dig it.