Review: CRAZY ON THE OUTSIDE

Generally speaking, when a comedy hits theaters to the moviegoers surprise, having not heard of the film, it’s a good sign the movie isn’t very good. There are exceptions, but CRAZY ON THE OUTSIDE really isn’t one of them. That’s not to say Tim Allen’s directorial debut doesn’t have it’s own merits, it just simply doesn’t succeed on those merits.

Written by Judd Pillot and John Peaslee, both of whom are television writers having most recently worked on the sitcom ACCORDING TO JIM, this helps to explain why the film often feels a bit like a made-for-TV movie. CRAZY ON THE OUTSIDE’s most devastating flaw is that this style of writing just doesn’t fair well for a feature film. Add that the flow of the story is disjointed and the humor is hit and miss, and what you end up with is an inconsistent comedy that is carried by Sigourney Weaver and J.K. Simmons.

CRAZY ON THE OUTSIDE is a story about Tommy Zelda (Tim Allen). Tommy is a guy just released from doing three years in prison for video piracy. Upon release, Tommy is thrown back into life on the outside, living with his deceptively loving sister Vicky (Sigourney Weaver) and her horny husband Ed (J.K. Simmons) who doesn’t like Tommy. His grandma thinks Tommy has been in France for three years, as Vicky couldn’t bring herself to tell her the truth on account of her weak heart. This is just the first of several “little white lies” that Vicky has told to “protect” Tommy. One of the things Vicky struggles to protect Tommy from is Gray (Ray Liotta), his former partner in crime who wants to get Tommy back into the piracy game now that they’ve gone digital and are making some serious dough.

Determined to turn his life around, win back his girlfriend Christy (Julie Bowen) and restart his father’s painting business, Tommy struggles with the temptation to follow the money of his former life despite the efforts of Vicky to keep him on track. Working for minimum wage at a burger joint isn’t what Tommy had in mind after being released, but it’s his probation officer Angela (Jeanne Tripplehorn) and her son whom drive him along the straight and narrow.

Sigourney Weaver is funny and quirky, playing the role with a playful tone. She’s sharp and she has good comedic chemistry with Tim Allen as well as J.K. Simmons, who is hilarious. Granted, Simmons’ character is a bit over the top and shallow, his blatantly horny character was seemingly written for him and he does the jokes justice. Ray Liotta, playing the “bad guy” falls a bit flat, not entirely of his own fault, but because the character is poorly written as a stereotypical comical hoodlum. Liotta’s experience in films such as GOODFELLAS was not put to proper use in CRAZY ON THE OUTSIDE.

It’s clear that Tim Allen hasn’t quite gotten a firm grasp on the reigns of directing a film, but his efforts weren’t entirely in vain. Elements of the film had appeal, some of them even had creative potential, using interesting comedic visual metaphors such as the way he portrays his and Christy’s sexual reunion. However, CRAZY ON THE OUTSIDE feels like a comedic jigsaw puzzle completed using pieces from various different sets. From romantic comedy to quirky, from dramedy to absurd, back and forth… the movie is distracts itself with it’s own indecisiveness, repeatedly pulling the viewer out of the story.

I can’t trash Tim Allen, because he has taken a chance at crossing over from actor to director and hasn’t completely failed. That takes a certain amount of guts, but he needs more practice. Allen is a decent comedic lead, having been a significant part of movies such as BIG TROUBLE and GALAXY QUEST, both of which I enjoyed. CRAZY ON THE OUTSIDE would have likely benefited from more experienced direction, but he has to start somewhere. As I say, a good film starts with a good script, something this movie was lacking.

I won’t go so far as to say CRAZY ON THE OUTSIDE is totally bust, but I would refrain from paying full ticket price. If you’re interested, give the film a chance during a matinee show, or simply wait for it on DVD. I predict it won’t take long to make the transition to store shelves. However, despite the many reasons the film fails, I support Tim Allen’s bold venture and encourage him to try something a little deeper and edgier next time and step outside the box a little. After all, who expected Ben Affleck’s directorial debut with GONE BABY GONE to be such a fantastic accomplishment?