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Hence, while hard-liners will probably demand a refund, we illuminated sorts will see the profit of buying in. And entirely thrown off base by the Farrelly reputation will be those in search of cheap thrills and raunchy pronouncements. Because while most of the movie's characters do employ the bottom third of the English language with rustic joy, this otherwise sensitive exercise in good storytelling represents a surprising departure for the filmmaking freres.
They have previously appalled via Dumb and Dumber's absurdity, abashed with Kingpin's ineptitude and hilariously shocked with the insane naughtiness of There's Something About Mary. But Outside Providence has more in common with Tom Brown's School Days than with any of those prior offerings (well, that may be stretching it). And the Farrellys aren't the only ones doing a complete turnabout. In an award-worthy performance, Alec Baldwin boldly breaks type and earns thespic kudos. Admittedly, even a perennial 5-o'clock shadow can't belie his unordinary good looks. But he is still aces as Old Man Dunphy, working class hero and monosyllabic father to Timothy (Shawn Hatosy), the story's teen-aged protagonist. Dunphy the elder's sobriquet for junior refers to an item of sexual paraphernalia that shouldn't be mentioned in a family newspaper. Son wishes Dad would use his real name, at least in public.
Call it a mildly ribald update of Stand By Me or a blue-collar version of Dead Poets Society with sociological borrowings from Good Will Hunting. Originality is not its claim. But it is a good-natured amalgam of the boy-to-manhood genre, convivial in its unpretentiousness and completely involving despite a leisurely pace.
Set in 1974, the premise itself requires a large leap of faith. After stoned-out Tim and his similarly inclined best buddies crash into a parked police car, Old Man Dunphy is able to keep his wayward offspring out of jail only on the condition that he ships him to posh Cornwall Academy in Connecticut for his senior year. In other words, the boozing pot head is given a chance to jump social class at one of the best prep schools in the East whilst meeting, and taking up, with the aristocratic likes of a dream girl (Amy Smart as Jane Weston) he didn't even know existed before departing Rhode Island. That's a punishment?
Oh, sure, there's the evil Dickensian dorm master (an overcooked Timothy Crowe as Mr. Funderberk) making our modern day Pip miserable, gleefully assigning him punitive work hours probably as much for his station in life as for his citified transgressions (school rules strictly dictate no alcohol, drugs, or sex). And the snooty surroundings initially deter Tim from making friends. Yet in due time the punk from Pawtucket substitutes the slackers back home with stoners of a higher social standing. But will he eventually take advantage of his new circumstances and catapult himself to great expectations? Such is the plot's primary question.
It might have been different in the name of realism. The script by Peter Farrelly (adapted from his novel and co-written with director Michael Corrente) could of had Tim shipped off to a really terrible reform school instead. Then they'd have to find a younger version of Sean Penn to play him and a host of unsavoury types to portray his fellow inmates. There would be lots of ugly fights, volumes of vicious recrimination, and scads of skulduggery. And don't forget the opportunistic warden such a movie would require; probably someone like the venal opportunist in The Shawshank Redemption. But what fun would all that be? Reality, yecch! Who needs it? Hooray for stretches of the imagination.
Not to say that everything is hunky-dory in Preppieville, as well as back in Pawtucket. Issues on the home front include: Tim's crippled younger brother, Jackie, a delicate matter handled with irreverent yet sympathetic humour by Tommy Bone; a best friend (Jon Abrahams) whose nickname, Drugs, indicates the sort of bruising he's cruising for; and the beer-drinking single dad (Baldwin) who spends most of his time playing cards and comparing prejudices with the guys instead of bonding with sonny boy.
It is the saga's humorous contention that men on this unenlightened side of the tracks have an especially awkward time connecting. While Dunphy and son doubtless love each other, it is equally clear that they are virtual strangers. Tied into this, a minor mystery surrounds the conspicuously missing mom.
Up at the school, aside from the aforementioned martinet there are the usual assortment of geeks, toadies and squealers to contend with. And wouldn't you just know it: just to keep us on our vicarious toes, things aren't always peaches and cream with high class Jane either. One specific moment of recklessness has far-reaching effects on their relationship, as well as on girlfriend's long-term future.
Part pop culture survey, part historical exploration, director Corrente's interpretation of the Farrelly product creates a seductive atmosphere. Supplying a lively rock 'n' roll score and whimsical trappings indigenous to the 1970s, he provides fond reminiscences for anyone who experienced the era and lived to talk about it. Depicting rampant drug use as an adolescent rite of passage, Mr. Corrente makes his overindulgent buffoons the brunt of the joke in a Cheech and Chong sort of way, yet is careful not to glamorise or downplay the potential danger of substance abuse; one particularly sad scene sees to that.
The notion of acceptance as an ennobling experience is a recurring theme here, surfacing in various permutations. And considering the primeval misconceptions practically everyone in this story is harbouring at the outset, there is no shortage of potential epiphanies. Whether it's Tim requiring approval from Dad or one of the middle-aged card players (George Wendt as Joey) seeking approbation among Old Man Dunphy's crowd, the lessons in humanism are uplifting -- soulful and poignant, but rarely maudlin. The light-hearted yet responsible treatment of some very serious issues is refreshingly novel. And by still managing to touch us deep inside, Outside Providence achieves a grace of its own.
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