Review of Outside Providence (1999) by Melvin W — 01 Jun 2013

Timothy Dunphy: Brown University? They got one of those in Providence!

"There once was a kid from Pawtucket...".

I was pleasantly surprised by Outside Providence. It wasn't a movie that looked or sounded all that interesting to me, but my boredom soon got the best of me and I gave it a look. There's nothing all that smart going on with the filmmaking. The story is breaking new ground, the acting is just average, and the dialogue works sometimes and other times it doesn't. With all that said, I still enjoyed the film for the most part.

After a night of partying, Tim(nicknamed Dildo by his father) and his friends are driving home when they crash into a parked police car. His father is angry, angry enough to send him away to a prep school. Upon arrival there, he clashes with the headmaster and begins to be labeled as the stupid, trouble maker. He also meets a girl who he begins to romance. Basically the movie is a lot of smoking weed and drinking surrounded by some drifting, school scenes, and family sequences.

The films writing is a bit weak to say the least. It doesn't seem that well thought out, but in the end, it gets there; even if just barely. Outside Providence is worth a look for the 70's teenage partying culture(if you're into it), but it isn't a movie I would say needs to be watched. If you stumble across it one day though, give it a shot.