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Joe Somebody

EMAILPRINT20th Century Fox Film Corporation

Joe Somebody reviews
43
6.1 User Score:

Mixed or average reviews

Based on 22 critic reviews
How did we calculate this?

Based on 9 votes
Read user comments
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Movie Info

Genre(s): Romance

Written by: John Scott Shepherd

Directed by: John Pasquin

Release Date:
Theatrical: December 19, 2001
DVD: August 20, 2002

Running Time: 105 minutes, Color

Origin: USA

Summary

RATING: PG for language, thematic elements and some mild violence

Starring Tim Allen, Julie Bowen, Kelly Lynch, Greg Germann, Hayden Panettiere, Patrick Warburton, James Belushi, and Jesse Ventura

Joe (Allen) is a divorced corporate drone whose dead-end personal and professional lives begin to turn around after the office bully humiliates Joe in front of his daughter.

What The Critics Said

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

70

Los Angeles Times Kevin Thomas

Joe Somebody sends audiences home happy but also with an awareness that happy endings have to be earned in real life as on the screen.

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63

USA Today Mike Clark

A lot of this goes down surprisingly well, even if Panettiere, through no fault of her own, is saddled with phony precocious dialogue that makes her sound like an ancient sage.

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63

Charlotte Observer Lawrence Toppman

For all the story's bland familiarity, it has winning moments. Allen's no actor, but he projects a likeable personality.

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63

Boston Globe Jay Carr

The cop-out is mitigated by Allen's ability to impart a comfortable, lived-in quality to his roles, this one included.

60

Film Threat Gareth Von Kallenbach

An entertaining diversion and if you want a light film to just sit back and relax to, then this might just be your movie.

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60

Variety Scott Foundas

Pretty formulaic stuff: bland self-empowerment tinged with warm fuzzies in all the right places. But what makes this "Somebody" something is Pasquin's deft touch and understanding with the material.

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60

Washington Post Stephen Hunter

It's not great; it's also not idiotic.

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50

Seattle Post-Intelligencer William Arnold

It's routine, TV sitcom fodder, but the supporting cast is better than average.

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50

Entertainment Weekly Lisa Schwarzbaum

It turns out that Joe ends up liking the old Joe better too. Who just so happens to be the kind of average-Joe character that continues to make Allen such a tidy, non-Joe bundle.

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50

Washington Post Stephen Hunter

Verdict: Not idiotic.

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50

San Francisco Chronicle Carla Meyer

An odd picture, a rumination on depression and self-discovery that's couched as an office comedy.

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50

Miami Herald Charles Savage

The best scenes in the movie belong to James Belushi.

50

Baltimore Sun Chris Kaltenbach

This is harmless fun for the holiday season, but Tim Allen doesn't give movie the punch it needs.

40

The New York Times Stephen Holden

Continually squanders its opportunities for hilarity.

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40

New Times (L.A.) Luke Y. Thompson

It isn't until Joe starts getting confident and cocky that Allen starts to feel a little more natural in the role, and by then the movie's plot has all but evaporated into a series of wispy gags that barely register.

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40

TV Guide Steve Simels

The picture is nearly stolen, however, by co-star Greg Germann (of TV's Ally McBeal) in the role of Joe's company's resident corporate weasel. Germann's squinty-eyed insincerity is truly a marvel to behold, and it's an astringent corrective to the film's rather too frequent feel-good passages.

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38

New York Daily News Jami Bernard

An unimaginative schoolyard-bully comedy.

38

Chicago Tribune Robert K. Elder

If "American Beauty" were a bland comedy, it would be Joe Somebody.

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38

Chicago Sun-Times Roger Ebert

It's a simple, wholesome parable, crashingly obvious, and we sit patiently while the characters and the screenplay slowly arrive at the inevitable conclusion. It needs to take some chances and surprise us.

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38

New York Post Jonathan Foreman

The demands of formula eventually stifle anything that even looks like inspiration or honesty.

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30

LA Weekly Mark Olsen

It all misses the mark emotionally, hindered by one-dimensional characters and telegraphed developments.

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20

Chicago Reader Lisa Alspector

Wasn't worth Allen's time and isn't worth yours.

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What Our Users Said

The average user rating for this movie is 6.1 (out of 10) based on 9 User Votes

Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Eli A. gave it a 10:
This was one of the best movies I have ever watched! It has some funny parts to it, and it has a good message.

Jingo S. gave it a 7:
Humorous, slow at times. Fun and cute.

Tim gave it an 8:
Great movie.

Steve P. gave it an 8:
I enjoyed it for its simple, old-fashioned feel. Good for the kids.

Darrin S. gave it an 8:
This movie was really good, at one time or another we all have been in that position.

Karl C. gave it a 1:
Empty movie at its worst. It's not entertaining, and very braindead. Instead of wasting your time watching this movie, do something else. Read, do some exercices. Do not deaden your mind with this kind of junk.

Arthur gave it a 3:
A very unfunny movie that is too much drama, not nearly enough laughs. I like Tim Allen as an actor, but this isn't his kind of movie.

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