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Joe Somebody (2001)
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Reviews Counted:21
Fresh:4
Rotten:17
Average Rating:4.5/10
Consensus: Amiable, but extremely lightweight and predictable.
Rated: PG [See Full Rating] for language, thematic elements and some mild violence
Runtime: 1 hr 38 mins
Genre: Dramas
Theatrical Release:Dec 21, 2001 Wide
Box Office: $22,661,550
Synopsis: Tim Allen reteams with director John Pasquin (THE SANTA CLAUSE) in JOE SOMEBODY. Allen stars as Joe Scheffer, a mild-mannered man who makes promotional videos for a Minneapolis pharmaceutical... Tim Allen reteams with director John Pasquin (THE SANTA CLAUSE) in JOE SOMEBODY. Allen stars as Joe Scheffer, a mild-mannered man who makes promotional videos for a Minneapolis pharmaceutical company. Joe is divorced and quietly unhappy until the office bully, Mark McKinney (Patrick Warburton), punches him out in the company parking lot, in front of Joe's precocious young daughter (Hayden Panettiere of REMEMBER THE TITANS). The humiliated Joe sinks into such a deep depression that not even the flirtations of the company's pretty "wellness coordinator" (Julie Bowen) can rouse him. Joe decides that he has to restore his pride by challenging McKinney to a fight, and suddenly finds himself the most popular man in the office. Joe even hires a washed-up action movie star (Jim Belushi in a hilariously grizzled performance) to teach him martial arts. He soon finds that he has to weigh the allure of his newfound popularity against the love and respect of those who liked him the way he was. Screenwriter John Scott Shepherd does a good job of balancing slapstick comedy with touching family drama. Allen shows surprising range, giving a strong and sympathetic performance as an emotionally complex and dynamic character. [More]
Starring: Tim Allen, Julie Bowen, Jim Belushi, Kelly Lynch
Starring: Tim Allen, Julie Bowen, Jim Belushi, Kelly Lynch, Hayden Panettiere, Greg Germann, Patrick Warburton
Director: John Pasquin
Director: John Pasquin
Screenwriter: John Scott Shepherd
Producer: Arnold Kopelson, Anne Kopelson, Matthew Gross, Ken Atchity, Brian Reilly
Composer: George S. Clinton
Studio: 20th Century Fox
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Reviews for Joe Somebody
While never truly funny or insightful, the movie works intermittently by digging a little deeper than you might expect.
I'd rather see a whole movie about an aging B-movie actor and forget about all the stuff with Tim Allen.
The movie makes smart use of the small-screen big-charm appeal of former Home Improvement star Tim Allen.
Joe Somebody gives Allen a piping chance to play it sensitive, sentient and, for all the right reasons, lovable. He takes that chance and does a first-rate job.
A made-for-TV movie dressed up like a feature film. Its plot is not only stale, it's been stale for decades.
By the end of Joe Somebody, we are faced with the dismal prospect of being denied a climax, which, if it occurred, would be just as predictable as its substitute.
It doesn't much succeed, but Allen and the bit of acid candor the script does muster do cushion its shortcomings.
Joe Somebody sends audiences home happy but also with an awareness that happy endings have to be earned in real life as on the screen.
A surprisingly wistful, troubled film. It's not great; it's also not idiotic.
The demands of formula eventually stifle anything that even looks like inspiration or honesty.
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