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Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed movies.
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Outside Providence
Miramax Films
FILM:
MPAA RATING: R for pervasive teen drug use and strong language including sexual references
Starring
Alec Baldwin,
Timothy Dunphy,
Jane Weston,
and
John Abrahams
Timothy Dunphy, (aka. "Dunph," "Dildo") has a broken home, a three-legged dog and a full-blown attraction to trouble. After crashing into a parked police car, his father (Baldwin) packs him off to prep school -- where he's out of place, outclassed and seriously outnumbered. Now he's about to show everyone that even he can get a piece of class. (Miramax)
| GENRE(S): |
Comedy
|
| WRITTEN BY: |
Peter Farrelly (also novel)
Michael Corrente
Bobby Farrelly
|
| DIRECTED BY: |
Michael Corrente
|
| RELEASE DATE: |
DVD: March 14, 2000
Video: March 14, 2000
Theatrical: September 1, 1999
|
| RUNNING TIME: |
96 minutes, Color |
| ORIGIN: |
USA |
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...
90
Salon.com
Stephanie Zacharek
Wonderful...It's funny and offbeat, sometimes raucous, but it still manages to come at you in gentle layers.
90
Los Angeles Times
Kevin Thomas
Corrente's gift for evoking the lives of blue-collar men that made his debut film, "Federal Hill," so appealing blends perfectly with the antic sensibility of the Farrellys.
90
The New York Times
Janet Maslin
Eminently likable...a splendid performance from Alec Baldwin in a far cry from his usual roles.
90
Film.com
Ernest Hardy
Entertaining as it often is, Outside Providence feels as if it were a collection of installments from an unusually raunchy television series.
88
Boston Globe
Jay Carr
It's much closer to a European film in sensibility than to one of Hollywood's factory products.
80
Newsweek
David Ansen
Gets a lot of the details right. Outside Providence is a sweet, funny little movie.
80
LA Weekly
Paul Malcolm
Baldwin's perfectly impacted performance as a tough-love provider (the actor gets some of the best lines in the movie).
78
Austin Chronicle
Marjorie Baumgarten
Beguiling performances and a story that veers between social observations, period detail, and genuine humor make this movie an end-of-the-summer stand-out.
75
New York Daily News
Jami Bernard
It stands apart when it comes to its extravagant humor and non-judgmental '70s-era reality (smoking dope, hitching rides, playing Frisbee, hanging out).
75
San Francisco Chronicle
Peter Stack
Everything comes up forced and predictable in the nostalgic overload of bongs, Top 40 rock and boys' bluster about sex.
75
Philadelphia Inquirer
Steven Rea
Despite its familiar formula, feels fresh.
75
Chicago Tribune
Marc Caro
Like Richard Linklater's "Dazed and Confused," Outside Providence reminisces vividly, recalling the era fondly but not with too much sugar.
75
Baltimore Sun
Ann Hornaday
Possesses memorable portrayals of thoroughly original characters and draws a beguilingly bleak portrait of its Rhode Island settings.
70
Rolling Stone
Peter Travers
Baldwin is a marvel in a casting surprise that pays off.
70
TV Guide
Steve Simels
Meanwhile Baldwin (bulked up a la DeNiro and playing totally against type), is a revelation, funny and touching.
70
Village Voice
Amy Taubin
Cross "Rushmore" with "Cheech and Chong" and you might get Outside Providence.
63
New York Post
Jonathan Foreman
Peter Farrelly is angry at Miramax for marketing his and his brother Bobby's new film as a follow-up to their surprise smash hit, "There's Something About Mary."
60
Film.com
John Hartl
Entertaining as it often is, Outside Providence feels as if it were a collection of installments from an unusually raunchy television series.
60
Washington Post
Stephen Hunter
Fitfully amusing but nothing remarkable
60
Dallas Observer
Bill Gallo
Surprisingly tender and resolutely unpostmodern.
58
Seattle Post-Intelligencer
Paula Nechak
Outside of a smart performance by Shawn Hatosy as Tim Dunphy, there just isn't much that's enlightening or new in this intimate recollection.
58
Portland Oregonian
Shawn Levy
The standout is Baldwin, utterly convincing as a gruff cuss whose life has been forever stained by the death of his wife.
50
Miami Herald
Rene Rodriguez
Aggressively bland coming-of-age story.
50
Christian Science Monitor
David Sterritt
The story is lively and energetic, if you can take its raunchy jokes and rowdy behavior.
50
USA Today
Susan Wloszczyna
Reeks of the kind of atmosphere that makes you reach for the Lysol.
45
TNT RoughCut
Graham Verdon
Little more than an amusing, predictable story we've seen done better a dozen times.
42
Entertainment Weekly
Lisa Schwarzbaum
This unexceptional 1970s coming-of-age story is neither outrageous, new, nor comedic.
38
San Francisco Examiner
Edvins Bietkis
Just another in a long line of blue-collar-kid-at-prep-school movies, and it may be the worst of the lot. Nothing, absolutely nothing, is original in this movie.
38
Chicago Sun-Times
Roger Ebert
So unsuccessful in so many different ways that maybe the whole project was doomed.
35
Mr. Showbiz
Kevin Maynard
Plays like mediocre outtakes from better bell-bottomed fare (Richard Linklater's authentic, seriocomic "Dazed and Confused"; Fox's "That '70s Show") without making any kind of impression of its own.
30
Variety
Dennis Harvey
A disappointingly rote entry in the '70s teen nostalgia sweepstakes.
30
Chicago Reader
Lisa Alspector
Smug, uninsightful light drama.
 The average user rating for this movie is 8.0 (out of 10) based on 2 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.
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