Outside Providence

Bomb Rating: 

There are three keys to any movie writhing under the magical touch of the Farrelly brothers: semen, animal abuse, and the handicapped.

There are three keys to any movie writhing under the magical touch of the Farrelly brothers: semen, animal abuse, and the handicapped. It's their formula for success. Toss in scenes involving all three of those things, and you have their definition of a blockbuster film.

In "Outside Providence," there's a three-legged dog who Old Man Dunphy (Alec Baldwin) won't let into his house. There's main character Tim's (Shawn Hatosy) younger brother, Jackie Dunphy (Tommy Bone), who is confined to a wheelchair. He is pulled along behind a truck on his paper route, only to slam into the back when the driver hits the brakes. Finally, there's Irving Waltham (Jack Ferver), Tim's roommate at his boarding school. Irving is affectionately known as "Jizz," and the shocking, unexpected revelation of how he came to earn this moniker is director Michael Corrente's lone shot at suspense.

The film is also a story about the joys of marijuana. Tim smokes dope in Pawtucket, and when he's packed off to boarding school, he smokes dope there. He meets a girl, Jane Weston (Amy Smart). They smoke dope together. Ultimately, the climax of the film happens when Tim stops smoking dope long enough to realize that he's never taken responsibility for any of his actions, so he takes responsibility for one.

It's not exactly a high point for story plotting. However, if you must go, you'd be wise to smoke dope before seeing this film, because the only way you're going to enjoy the experience is if the popcorn are jujubes are uncommonly delicious.

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