Review of The Out-of-Towners (1999) by Alex M — 03 Mar 2004

[size=3]It reflects terribly on a film's writers (and director) when a wonderful comic cast is assembled, and they can only generate a few mild laughs throughout the entire film. Such is the case with the inept comedy [i]The Out-of-Towners[/i], which stars Steve Martin and Goldie Hawn, and even has a role for one of the greatest of all comics: John Cleese. Despite its wonderfully gifted lead actors, this film is a grand failure, one that misses chance after chance to create genuine comedy and has absolutely no sense of timing. The film, a remake of a 1970 film with Jack Lemmon and Sandy Dennis (and based on Neil Simon's original screenplay), concerns an Ohio-based couple who go to New York for a job interview and are beset by bad luck. Steve Martin plays Henry, the man going to New York for his job interview, and Goldie Hawn plays his wife Nancy. Incredibly, the two naturally funny actors (who were far better in the film [i]Houseguest[/i]), begin to grate on our nerves after a while. Perhaps this is because the characters are simply not consistent...they range from intelligent to stupid at the whim of the plot. When comic situations seem to be forced rather than springing organically from the characters' personality, the opportunity for laughter is completely lost. Such is the case with the majority of [i]The Out-of-Towners[/i], in which the couple find themselves in one bizarre situation after another, but the audience does not particularly care. The only bright spot in the film is John Cleese, basically reprising his role from [i]Fawlty Towers[/i]...he plays a snob who immediately looks down on the two Ohio natives. Although Cleese is somewhat amusing, the subplot involving his secret cross-dressing hobby is unnecessary. And his presence causes an even more serious problem: although he makes us laugh, Cleese only reminds us how far removed the clumsy and unfunny [i]The Out-of-Towners [/i]is from the comic brilliance of [i]Fawlty Towers[/i].[/size].

[size=3](BASIC) [/size].