Joe Somebody

This film contains a nice little blend of comedy,and heart touching warmth,with Tim Allen starring as a somewhat meek and timid office executive,who often gets stepped on and overlooked.After getting knocked down by the company bully in front of his young daughter,he decides to toughen up and make the world take notice.This is a cute story with a good message about not forgetting the most important things in life. This isn't Tim Allen's best effort,but the film is watchable enough. Lending good support are Jim Belushi as an ex-movie actor/martial arts instructor,and Julie Bowen,who always seems to lend a nice touch to a film(I recalled her from Happy Gilmore),as the love interest.Good film,but don't look for greatness.

I like Tim Allen and I hate to see him selling himself out like this. Here he's playing an average joe (named Joe! Haha the irony!) who gets beat up outside work one day by a meanie co-worker (played by the brilliant Patrick Warburton, one of the most underrated comedians out there).

Feeling like he has lost his dignity and manhood (and the fact that it occurred in front of his preteen daughter doesn't help any), Joe decides to fight back - by training extensively and preparing for the Next Big Fight.

He employs the services of a guru (Jim Belushi) to help him learn forms of karate and what not, so he can take down Warburton.

The movie is kind of lame insofar that it seems very childish - that's partly the point but, on the other hand, it promotes a bad message to kids. Of course the moral at the end of the story is, "Don't fight." But we spend an hour and a half of revenge-filled fantasy getting there.

It's not a particularly bad film, but neither is it particularly good. I hate to see Tim Allen selling himself out like this because I think he's a fine comedian and this puts his talents to waste. Anyone could play this role. There's a reason it's called "Joe Somebody." Now here's a good idea: put Patrick Warburton in a good movie for once, and give Tim Allen a good role.

I don't know if it was because I watched McHALE'S NAVY the previous night but I was charmed by JOE SOMEBODY . Agreed it's not a movie that will be winning much in the way of awards but isn't as bad as some people are making out . It get's off to a good start in the opening shot where Joe thinks a sexy brunette is waving to him only to find she's waving at someone else . Come on guys admit you've made the same mistake . It's also one of those romantic / family comedies that gets the balance right between pathos and humour without becoming jarring or unfocused . When Joe talks to Natalie his angst ridden daughter on the phone it is a touching scene helped in no small part by a musical score similar to THE SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION

My only real complaint is that the screenplay can't keep up the momentum but that's not a unique criticism since most movies of what ever genre suffer from sagging about two thirds the way through so the only real disappointment is why didn't the producers hire Steven Seagal as Chuck the martial arts movie star . It's impossible not to notice who Chuck is supposed to be and if we had Seagal lampooning himself then this would have been a minor comedy classic

Tim Allen is a very talented comedian, so I feel almost all his movies are worth seeing. So far, the only one I dreaded was "Jungle 2 Jungle." "Joe Somebody" has everything you would expect in a family comedy and the story is predictable. But the point is it's a fun movie to watch and I was quite entertained.

Julie Bowen (from "Happy Gilmore" and TV's "Ed") plays Allen's love interest. God! She's one of the most beautiful actresses in Hollywood! I hope to see her in more and more movies. My heart just melts everytime I see her on screen. Jim Belushi is hilarious as Allen's martial arts personal trainer/out-of-work action star. I guess that's an inside joke, spoofing his own movie career...LOL. But I love Jim, he's truly an underrated comic actor. If you want to see him in other funny performances, I suggest you see "Taking Care of Business" and "Return to Me." What did disappoint me was the lack of screen time for Patrick Warburton. He's only in the film for about ten minutes! Warburton is another truly talented comic actor--we all loved him as Puddy on "Seinfeld"--and he's definitely going places. He literally doesn't get to say any funny lines in this movie. That sucks! That's why I'm really, really looking forward to the release of "Big Trouble," also starring Allen and Warburton, where hopefully we'll get to see a lot more of Patrick.

Like most family films, the third act becomes serious and the comedy sags, because this is the point where they're supposed to deliver the "message." And like most family films, the message is delivered in a deliberately corny fashion. I'm sorry, call me a pessimist, but even if you're going to deliver a message there should be a sense of reality to it. "American Beauty" was a film with a message--in fact, a bunch of messages--but it was delivered in a very unpretentious, realistic manner without fearing the audience's reaction.

In the opening of the film, we establish that Allen is a loser. Why? Who the heck knows? But for some stupid reason, everyone around him--whether it's at work or around town--doesn't even bother to acknowledge he exists. He says hello, but no one says hello back. And suddenly, just because he plans on fighting the most hated man in the workplace, everyone thinks of him as a god? Maybe this could happen in the sixth grade. But in an upscale working environment? I don't think so. Even adults can be shallow, but that's ridiculous.

So don't go into "Joe Somebody" expecting to be enlightened or touched in any way. Just go in for the laughs--and if you're a guy, also go in to see the beautiful Julie Bowen. There's an incentive!

My score: 7 (out of 10)

Nothing wrong with this movie really. I don't think people treat this movie fairly. It's a sweet little entertaining comedy, that is not hilarious but at all time a pleasant one to watch.

Normally director John Pasquin really doesn't make great comedies but I think I can say that this is a good movie and probably easily his best.

Yes, of course the movie has morals in it that are bittersweet and make the movie also predictable. Nevertheless, I think the movie delivers its messages well and not so much in a preachy kind of way. It helps the messages of the movie come across and therefor the movie is an effective one.

As a matter of fact; everything in the movie works out quite well. This includes the love-story, the movie its dramatic elements and the characters themselves. The movie is a good balance of fun and entertainment and some more serous and dramatic family plot-elements, that of course never divert from the movie its fun and pleasant elements.

Not too much about the story really, it's actually kind of silly and hard to believe but it serves as a good basis for the movie to tell its story. The characters and actors in the movie are definitely good enough to make the movie more fun and entertaining to watch. Tim Allen fits the role and the movie has a great supporting cast with actors such as Greg Germann, Patrick Warburton and James Belushi in some good and fun comedy roles.

It's easily a movie I would watch again.

7/10

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