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Directed By
Michael Corrente
Written By:
Peter Farrelly, Michael Corrente, Bobby Farrelly
Cast:
Shawn Hatosy, Alec Baldwin, George Wendt, Jonathan Brandis, Amy Smart, Gabriel Mann, Jon Abrahams, Adam LaVorgna, Mike Cerrone, Richard Jenkins
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Outside Providence (1999)
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Movie Review by Zara 
January 24th, 2007
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It ain't over til you both get your cookies
A friend of mine once commented to me that he enjoyed Alec Baldwin more when he played a fat palooka than any of the times when he was passed off as a smarmy sex symbol. I have to agree. There's something fascinating that occurs when Baldwin decides to just let it all hang out. He possesses a calm demeanor that has the capacity to captivate. OUTSIDE PROVIDENCE really gives him a chance to shine, as a Rhode Island blue collar worker with a juvenile delinquent son he refers to as "Dildo."
Hatosy is Tim Dunphy, a 17 year old who is forced to attend a Connecticut prep school in 1974 after getting busted for crashing into a parked cop car while stoned. The story is based on the real life story of writer Peter Farrelly, famous for his gross out humor in movies like DUMB & DUMBER and THERE'S SOMETHING ABOUT MARY. There are hints of that familiar humor throughout this movie, but it is much more subdued. Far superior in subtlety conveying the elements of 70's culture than most movies of that genre, OUTSIDE PROVIDENCE excels with the help of a phenomenal soundtrack and quality actors.
There are large chunks of the flick that drag, however. It starts off promising, when the movie is focused more on the family dynamic of the lead and his father, but takes a detour into conventionality when centered around the prep school. There is the regulation jackass dormitory head master who has it in for Dunphy, the popular blonde preppy girl (Amy Smart) who falls for his bad boy ways and "reforms" him, and the sketchy student who sells him out to save his own ass. But in the long run, the movie has an understated charm that outweighs its minor shortcomings.
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