Outside Providence (1999)

Reporting from Nags Head, NC, where Hurricane-turned-Tropical Storm-
turned-Tropical Depression Dennis drove away all the tourists, caused 
hotel prices to plummet, and left one Oh What a Beautiful Labor Day 
Morning in its wake.  We arrived on Sunday, late, and spent most of 
early Monday gawking at broken buildings, buried streets, and a few 
dozen flooded lawns.  We also toured the National Park Service's new-
est exhibit, The Amazing Roadway Moonscape, formerly known as Highway 
12 to Hatteras...  For those stuck in rainy Raleigh, neither of last 
week's wide-releases-- CHILL FACTOR and OUTSIDE PROVIDENCE-- was much 
of a bargain as cabin fever relievers.  The former, a forgettable ac-
tion-comedy co-starring Johnny Depp-lookalike Skeet Ulrich and Oscar-
winning Pepsi pitchman Cuba Gooding Jr., is summarize-able as "SPEED 
on an ice-cream truck."  Need anyone say anything more?  The latter,
an uneven, uninteresting prep-school drama-with-comedy, at least has 
a script by Peter and Bobby Farrelly (THERE'S SOMETHING ABOUT MARY).  
And a terrific blue-collar Alec Baldwin in the supporting role of 
Dad.  Too bad it ain't funny or even all that shocking.  (Though an 
out-of-nowhere poker-table outburst of homophobia is certainly *un-
comfortable*, I'll give you that.)  Eh, I laughed all of once before 
leaving at the sixty-minute mark.  Stick to hair-gel gags, guys.  

Grades: D (CHILL), W/O (PROVIDENCE)

Copyright 1999 by Michael J. Legeros
Movie Hell is a trademark of Michael J. Legeros

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