This past January, Tim Allen reemerged from his two year hiatus to direct his first full length feature, "Crazy on the Outside," a movie in which he was also the lead. Tim Allen is a good guy and his work will a bona fide guilty pleasure (looking at you Santa Clause), but there is nothing remotely crazy about "Crazy on the Outside." At one point in the film, Allen's character, Tommy, probably wishes he were back in prison. Presently, Allen probably wishes he hadn't gone through with this mellow, clichéd film that can most positively be described as "watchable."
In "Crazy on the Outside," Tommy (Allen) is released from prison after serving a three year sentence. Looking to bounce back and avoid the mistakes he made previously, and under the watch of his deceiving sister Vicky (Sigourney Weaver) and his probation officer Angela (Jeanne Tripplehorn), Tommy starts to rebuild his life. Holding down a job at a local burger joint, Tommy originally attempts to win his old flame (Julie Bowen) back while trying to restart his father's painting business; however, as things move forward Tommy seems to be gaining interest in Angela and vice versa.
It's difficult to find any elements of this film that aren't negative. If anything, "Crazy on the Outside" is an enjoyable movie to watch if you want to kill time or maybe if you still have parents that are awkward to watch smut movies with and love Tim Allen; if so, perfect match. Every part of "Crazy on the Outside" is artificial and recycled. Its craziness is limited; in fact, as the story unfolds you'll find yourself wondering: "when will something entertaining happen?" Allen's type of humor certainly isn't unanimously praised; however, he has his moments; sadly, none of which appeared in this movie. The gags and jokes aren't even close to being humorous and the silly moments that are tossed in, such as a pirate statue winking; only hurt the film's name.
"Crazy on the Outside," like many movies before, appeared to give a glimmer of hope from the trailer, but managed to fall into the safe, cliché mold that's come to be expected. The story is about as predictable as any other; from the very beginning it is obvious that Tommy will eventually end up with Angela. To make matters worse, there wasn't even question how the two would end up together. "Crazy on the Outside" follows the typical romantic plot structure of build up, connection, disaster that rips lover's apart, rock bottom, motivation to not lose each other and reconnection. The worst part of the story is by far Angela's son Ethan who acts as the spark plug of Tommy and Angela's relationship. Ethan knows that he wants Tommy as a father figure in his life after only their second meeting and it comes off as relatively creepy and extremely unrealistic.
Certainly, Allen will be used as a scapegoat, but there wasn't a lot to work with as far as the script goes. The only way to describe Allen's directorial debut is that he took the safe route. On an acting stand point, Allen is Allen and nothing more. The trailer made "Crazy on the Outside" appear that it'd feature a more vulgar performance from Allen, which would be a welcome sight; however, that didn't end up being the case as he was blocked by a PG-13 rating, which will undoubtedly be the downfall and killer of "Crazy on the Outside" as not only is it normal, it isn't crude.
Aside from Allen, "Crazy on the Outside" features a lack of J.K. Simmons and Ray Liotta, two praiseworthy actors caught in roles that didn't need to be in. In fact, Liotta isn't even utilized correctly in his scenes as his angry, aggressive persona is completely absent. Weaver may just be one of the film's few bright spots as she plays Allen's fibbing sister quite well and offers a good deal of care and spunk for the film. Weaver's Vicky could possibly have been the only crazy aspect of "Crazy on the Outside" as her lies only become more monumental as they come and are the closest thing to entertainment.
In "Crazy on the Outside," it all returns to the fact that it is false displayed. There is nothing out of the ordinary in the movie and it follows a familiar path. For the most part, its characters, actions, jokes, gags, storyline and romanticism are empty, recycled and lifeless. Sadly, this is a step backwards for Tim Allen, both from an acting and directing standpoint, especially since he probably viewed it as a safe film. At the end of the day, Allen didn't deserve to be connected with this project; though he must have been crazy on the inside to have gone through with it.
In "Crazy on the Outside," Tommy (Allen) is released from prison after serving a three year sentence. Looking to bounce back and avoid the mistakes he made previously, and under the watch of his deceiving sister Vicky (Sigourney Weaver) and his probation officer Angela (Jeanne Tripplehorn), Tommy starts to rebuild his life. Holding down a job at a local burger joint, Tommy originally attempts to win his old flame (Julie Bowen) back while trying to restart his father's painting business; however, as things move forward Tommy seems to be gaining interest in Angela and vice versa.
It's difficult to find any elements of this film that aren't negative. If anything, "Crazy on the Outside" is an enjoyable movie to watch if you want to kill time or maybe if you still have parents that are awkward to watch smut movies with and love Tim Allen; if so, perfect match. Every part of "Crazy on the Outside" is artificial and recycled. Its craziness is limited; in fact, as the story unfolds you'll find yourself wondering: "when will something entertaining happen?" Allen's type of humor certainly isn't unanimously praised; however, he has his moments; sadly, none of which appeared in this movie. The gags and jokes aren't even close to being humorous and the silly moments that are tossed in, such as a pirate statue winking; only hurt the film's name.
"Crazy on the Outside," like many movies before, appeared to give a glimmer of hope from the trailer, but managed to fall into the safe, cliché mold that's come to be expected. The story is about as predictable as any other; from the very beginning it is obvious that Tommy will eventually end up with Angela. To make matters worse, there wasn't even question how the two would end up together. "Crazy on the Outside" follows the typical romantic plot structure of build up, connection, disaster that rips lover's apart, rock bottom, motivation to not lose each other and reconnection. The worst part of the story is by far Angela's son Ethan who acts as the spark plug of Tommy and Angela's relationship. Ethan knows that he wants Tommy as a father figure in his life after only their second meeting and it comes off as relatively creepy and extremely unrealistic.
Certainly, Allen will be used as a scapegoat, but there wasn't a lot to work with as far as the script goes. The only way to describe Allen's directorial debut is that he took the safe route. On an acting stand point, Allen is Allen and nothing more. The trailer made "Crazy on the Outside" appear that it'd feature a more vulgar performance from Allen, which would be a welcome sight; however, that didn't end up being the case as he was blocked by a PG-13 rating, which will undoubtedly be the downfall and killer of "Crazy on the Outside" as not only is it normal, it isn't crude.
Aside from Allen, "Crazy on the Outside" features a lack of J.K. Simmons and Ray Liotta, two praiseworthy actors caught in roles that didn't need to be in. In fact, Liotta isn't even utilized correctly in his scenes as his angry, aggressive persona is completely absent. Weaver may just be one of the film's few bright spots as she plays Allen's fibbing sister quite well and offers a good deal of care and spunk for the film. Weaver's Vicky could possibly have been the only crazy aspect of "Crazy on the Outside" as her lies only become more monumental as they come and are the closest thing to entertainment.
In "Crazy on the Outside," it all returns to the fact that it is false displayed. There is nothing out of the ordinary in the movie and it follows a familiar path. For the most part, its characters, actions, jokes, gags, storyline and romanticism are empty, recycled and lifeless. Sadly, this is a step backwards for Tim Allen, both from an acting and directing standpoint, especially since he probably viewed it as a safe film. At the end of the day, Allen didn't deserve to be connected with this project; though he must have been crazy on the inside to have gone through with it.