Crazy on the Outside

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.

Tim Allen's directorial debut is very hit and miss...sadly, mostly miss. The movie needs a lot of editing and a completely different third act.

The film starts as an offbeat comedy...and even though there are no hardy belly laughs, there are a number of clever ideas and lines (many delivered by the under-appreciated JK Simmons). But with an all-star comic cast, you would think there would be more, ahem...comedy. Halfway through the film becomes more of a family drama. The humor totally disappears and the quirky oddball characters become normal. The third act is very cliché, generic and melodramatic. But all the performers give it their best---even players like Ray Liotta and Kelsey Grammar are playing parts that could have been done by anyone. And the film's one running gag is actually funny for a while, but it goes nowhere after the 100th mention.

I thought this was going to be more of a laugh your ass off comedies, but that was not to be.

Now, I am not saying the movie is bad, and it does have its moments with good comedy. But "Crazy on the Outside" is more of a warm story movie. There is something heartfelt to the story. And the build up and turns in the story are nice, especially the way the story progresses around the lies.

The acting in the movie was really good, on everyone's part. And good to see marvelous performances from Tim Allen, Sigourney Weaver and Ray Liotta, as usual. Actually nice to see Allen and Liotta back in a movie together. And with only supporting roles, Weaver and Liotta does one heck of a job with their roles.

If you are expecting an all-out laugh your ass off comedy, this is not the movie to pick. But I think people should watch this movie at least once, because it is quite nice.

Part of Tim Allen's story is of course his time in prison as a young man. Knowing that I'm sure he used that time and his observed behavior of people inside and freshly on the outside for some good source material for Crazy On The Outside. It's a film about a man freshly released from committing a crime of video piracy for which he took the fall alone for his boss Ray Liotta. He was in for about 18 months.

Coming out Allen goes to live with his sister Sigourney Weaver and her less than thrilled husband J.K. Simmons and their family. He has a parole officer in Jeanne Tripplehorn and a longing for his old girlfriend Julie Bowen who has now hooked up with a rich auto dealer Kelsey Grammar.

As you can see Allen has quite the full life and a lot of life choices to make. I won't say more, but it does all work out. I will say though that Sigourney Weaver is quite the manipulator behind the scenes and moves both subtly and with the force of a sledgehammer at times.

The good ensemble cast gives director Allen a good show and star Allen good backup. More than fans of Tim Allen will appreciate crazy on the outside.

This movie should have been good, but just fell flat. I can't put my finger on why exactly. From the first minute, it's boring. The acting is not good, even Sigourney Weaver is not good! The script is flat.

Nothing really happens. We watched this for about 45 minutes and just couldn't take it any longer.

The main character is released from prison and supposedly trying to restart his life. It doesn't make much sense. The grandmother supposedly believes he's been in France for three years rather than prison. The sister (Weaver) is domineering towards her husband but flakes when around her brother. Doesn't make sense. The parts that are supposed to be comedy (Allen's character daydreams about violently attacking various characters) - aren't funny in the slightest.

I felt like it SHOULD have been at least okay, but just wasn't!