Product Details

• Actors: Shawn Hatosy, Amy Smart, Alec Baldwin, Tommy Bone, Samantha Lavigne
• Directors: Michael Corrente
• Writers: Michael Corrente, Bobby Farrelly, Peter Farrelly
• Producers: Billy Heinzerling, Bob Weinstein, Bobby Farrelly, Harvey Weinstein
• Format: Closed-captioned, Color, NTSC
• Rated: R (Restricted)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: Walt Disney Video
• VHS Release Date: November 7, 2000
• Run Time: 96 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (58 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 6305732329
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #190,139 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Outside Providence was written by the Farrelly Brothers, known for the outrageous comedies Dumb and Dumber, Kingpin, and There's Something About Mary. On the surface, Outside Providence seems to be of the same ilk--there's a three-legged, one-eyed dog, physical humor with a kid in a wheelchair, and a character nicknamed Jiz, among other things. But despite all that, the movie is an almost-gentle coming-of-age comedy, something like a suburban New England Amarcord with a lot of unrepentant drug humor. The plot doesn't sound promising: pothead Tim Dunphy (Shawn Hatosy) gets sent to prep school by his father (Alec Baldwin), who wants to keep him out of trouble. But a fair amount of smoking and boozing goes on at that school, too, despite the watchful eye of the administrators. Dunphy also falls for Jane (Amy Smart), a richer and smarter girl whom he wins over. All this could just as easily be the plot of some mediocre Porky's rip-off, but the Farrelly Brothers' script has the grit of real experience, while the direction (by Michael Corrente) and acting carefully avoid smirks and easy gags; the movie is funnier for it. Baldwin initially seems miscast, but over the course of the film delivers a solid performance; Hatosy and Smart are sincere and unaffected. The result is a low-key, modest, but genuinely affecting movie about surmounting class differences and coping with loss--that also has a lot of jokes that push the boundaries of political correctness. Quite a balancing act. --Bret Fetzer

From The New Yorker

This comedy-based on Peter Farrelly's semiautobiographical novel and written by Farrelly, his brother Bobby, and director Michael Corrente ("American Buffalo," "Federal Hill")-embraces all the clichés that "Rushmore" so niftily exploded. The sweet but troubled, wrong-side-of-the-tracks Tim Dunphy (Shawn Hatosy) gets busted and is sent to prep school, where he romances the upper-crusty but tolerant coed Jane Weston (Amy Smart), battles the evil dorm master, Mr. Funderberk (Timothy Crowe), befriends a picked-on nerd called Jizz (Jack Ferver), and learns a lot about life, love, and responsibility. There's also the obligatory face-off with his gruff, disappointed dad-Alec Baldwin, who uses an accent that careens between Rhode Island and Ralph Kramden. The soundtrack never lets you forget that it's 1974. -Ken Marks
Copyright © 2006 The New Yorker

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Try it, You'll Like it!, May 22, 2001

By 

Scott Bright "scottypotty" (Grayslake, IL USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Outside Providence (DVD)

Summary: Pothead Dunph gets into a little trouble and is spared jail time when his father pulls some strings to get him sent to a prep school instead of jail. He ends up leaving more than just his old friends behind when he goes.

My Opinion: I was very surprised with this movie. It is pushed very strongly as a comedy. Probably because the Farrelly Brothers are famous for those. Although it has funny parts, I don't consider it a comedy. It is more of a coming of age film. It takes place in the 1970s and has a killer soundtrack. If I had not been so pleasantly surprised I would have given this movie 4 stars but it's nice to be surprised.

DVD Quality: Widescreen anamorphic format. How can they make anything but?

What You Should Do: See it. If you don't buy every DVD under the sun like some of us then rent it. There is quite a lot of drug use in the film but it does have a point. It may be too subtle of a point for some to grasp though. If you liked "Detroit Rock City", "Almost Famous", or "Varsity Blues" then you should bump this one up on your list of movies to see.

11 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Delightful Suprise, March 26, 2000

By 

Stephen Pospisil - See all my reviews

This review is from: Outside Providence (DVD)

From the minds behind "Dumb and Dumber" and "Theres Something About Mary" comes another raunchy landmark comedy, but one with heart.

Seemingly repetitive, a teenage boy is sent to a prep school after a car accident involving a parked police car, several friends, and unspecified amounts of narcotics. Throughout his journey he encounters friends, foes, and of course, love.

The same coming of age tale every weekly movie aims for, however superior to most thanks to several key factors.

Alec Baldwin, who was perhaps cast merely to attach a well known name to the movie, pulls off a surprisingly tricky role as a rock solid father who is confused and disappointed with his life. One of the movies most effective scenes is a short one, involving this star-stunned actor teaching his son how to knot a tie.

The script is not only amusing, but it also provides a lot of emotional depth to the story through simple and idealistic lines. Written with cunning craft and executed superbly by the cast, it provides a solid backbone for the movie and proves to be effective in conveying the situations.

What truly brings this movie together, though, is the charming charisma of newcomer Shawn Hatosy. Capturing the naive facial gestures, the sorrow- filled-eyes maneuvers, and that age old enlightmened maturity posture seems to be a natural gift to this young actor.

Along with those three factors, it is wise to note the crude and yet witty comedy often present in the Farrely Brothers works: obsessing with homosexuality, mocking social status, and the maniacal humiliation that comes with life. For some this genre of entertainment is not appealing, however I found their classic formula highly engrossing.

It is hard to say what the downside of this movie is, except that the ending left me somewhat unsatisfied. Perhaps thats merely because I was enjoying the film so much I simply did not want to end. Of course, given the flow of the movie, the ending was a natural and propable choice.

An all around impressive film from those fiendishly humorous brothers, "Outside Providence" is a landmark of their work.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Underneath the movie's pot jokes lies a sweet thoughtfulness, June 28, 2006

By 

H. Bala "Me Too Can Read" (Just moved to posh Marina Del Rey, CA - where if you drop a quarter, why, you just keep on walking) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Outside Providence (DVD)

In 1974, pot-smoking teenager Tim Dunphy (Dunph, to his friends) is sent to a superior prep school after getting in trouble with the law for a reefer-induced mishap. There, he tangles with strict administrators, suffers the classrooms of exacting instructors, and hangs out with fellow pothead students. He also encounters Jane Weston, hands down the coolest chick in school and from an upper class family. Jane is beautiful but studious; she's trying to get accepted to Brown University. Dunph is just trying to get by without accruing any more punishment for violation of school policies. Regarding Jane, his friend advises Dunph: "Forget it." Yet, somehow, Dunph and Jane get together. It's not a match made in heaven, but hey, Dunph will take it...

Supposedly based on Peter Farrelly's school experiences at Kent, Outside Providence is a very good coming-of-age movie. It was touted as a comedy but, really, while it has its share of laugh-out-loud funnies, its dramatic undercurrent is the engine that drives it home beautifully. It reminds me of those 1980s John Hughes dramedies (Breakfast Club, Pretty in Pink, Some Kind of Wonderful). Yes, this movie is liberally dosed with pot jokes, but a sense of realness and pathos felt throughout provides a nice counterbalance. From a raucous Farrelly Brothers-type comedy to an ultimately thoughtful film. Very nice.

The only other time I've seen Shawn Hatosy was in the cool horror The Faculty; to be honest, in that film, he didn't make much of an impression on me. But, here, he takes center stage and does a real good job in portraying easy-going, pot-smoking Dunph, who initially is aimless and just drifting along but then undergoes life lessons and steps up to responsibility. Amy Smart's Jane is a major impetus in Dunph's maturation process. Amy plays her character as a young woman who's smart and hardworking - but not afraid to let her hair down - and, most importantly, she is genuine; those qualities, more often than not, are enough to positively influence a guy. The supporting cast, from Pawtucket, Rhode Island to Cornwall, Connecticut, does a credible job evoking the '70s, ably backed by the great soundtrack. Alec Baldwin is remarkably good in playing Dunph's gruff, hard-bitten father, with surprising hidden depths. On the other hand, Timothy Crowe as Mr. Funderberk seems to be channeling Jeffrey Jones's Principal Ed Rooney (Ferris Bueller's Day Off).

I knew this movie was gonna make me smile and laugh; I was surprised when it made me feel. Outside Providence is very recommended.