Joe Somebody (2001)

Joe Somebody (2001): Dir: John Pasquin / Cast: Tim Allen, Julie Bowen, James Belushi, Patrick Warburton, Hayden Panettiere: Many viewers may relate to Joe's situation. It addresses the importance of people as individuals. Tim Allen stars as an advertising executive who takes his daughter to work with him only to discover that the company bully took his parking space. When he confronts the issue he is assaulted right in front of his daughter and co-workers. The bully is suspended but Allen is unable to face work again. His boss fears a lawsuit so he assigns Julie Bowen to bring him back. She wishes to get out of her job and become a guidance counselor. He decides to meet the bully again and is trained by a former stunt person. Setup works but it never avoids formula and its ending is too obvious. Third collaboration between director John Pasquin and Allen who previously made the inventive The Santa Clause and the inexcusable Jungle 2 Jungle. Allen holds his own right up until the predictable outcome. Bowen is flat as a potential romantic prop. James Belushi as the stunt person had potential but needs better material than this. Patrick Warburton plays the ever familiar low IQ office bully. Hayden Panettiere plays Joe's daughter and the role is predictable drivel. Strong theme of self worth and violence. Too bad the screenwriter didn't train as hard as Joe. Score: 4 ½ / 10

I have the distinct impression that this film was the victim of studio-dictated edits. A terrific premise - someone who suddenly seems to earn the respect of his peers by trying to become the type of person he believes others want him to be rather than simply being himself - that was not fully realized. There is good casting and there are characters I wanted to know more about, but there were too many loose ends and too many questions left un-answered. The Director - John Pasquin - has shown in previous efforts like "The Santa Clause" and "Jungle 2 Jungle" for Disney that he is capable of helming a good story. Therefore, I have to assume the Studio folks at Fox decided to make some cuts for running time.More background for Tim Allen's character would have helped us to understand why Joe is the kind of person he is, and possibly why the marriage failed. There was exposition that both Joe and his ex (Kelly Lynch) still have deep feelings for each other, and that a reunion of sorts might be in the offing. Joe's ex-wife is shown expressing greater and greater interest in his new personae, and we are led to believe that there will be some kind of emotional showdown eventually between Joe, his ex, and his new love interest. That plot line is just suddenly dropped, and in the end the ex-wife is sitting in a theater with her former husband and his girlfriend (Julie Bowen), and everything is just peachy keen. Huh? Didn't Joe give his ex-wife grief over kissing her new boyfriend in front of him, but thirty minutes later it's just fine for him to be doing the exact same thing? There was no satisfying resolution to their relationship situation, aside from the daughter (Natalie Scheffer) warning her mother not to be too quick to break her father's heart again. There had to have been some scenes shot where these characters find some way to work out their relationships, but if this was done, they were left on the cutting room floor and we are left with unanswered questions.There was also no satisfaction in seeing Joe's boss, or the company as a whole, receive some comeuppance as a result of an obviously flawed, and certainly illegal, human resources policies. Was Greg Germann's character at least fired by the company, and Joe's work ethic rewarded with a real position in the company? Did Joe continue to work for this company, or seek his fortunes elsewhere? Did the co-workers who embraced Joe before the fight day come to understand his choice, and decide that he is still an "Ok guy", or did the entire office drop him like a bad habit? Maybe a "Directors Cut" will answer these and many other questions.Also, if Jim Belushi's character was intended as a partial-parody of Steven Seagal (as it would seem), then don't hold back - bring on the barbs! Belushi's character was great, but it needed fleshing out as well as more screen time. Where did this guy come from? Former military? Did he only work in action films, or did he have another career before retreating to his storefront Dojo? He suddenly shows up in the daughter's play at the end, but we are left to wonder how and why.While overall this is a fun movie to watch, it could have been a better film in the end with even an additional fifteen minutes of story to clarify plot lines and character development.

I watched this on the big screen on dollar movie night. There's nothing like dollar movie night. After watching a string of OK movies every Wednesday I sat down to see 'Joe Somebody'.I don't think I've ever walked out on a movie before. Every movie seems to have at least some sort of entertainment value. I almost walked out on 'Joe Somebody'. Tho I stayed till the end, the movie didn't really improve. It's hard to say what was so 'bad' about this movie. Perhaps I felt it was insulting my intelligence. I think mostly I just didn't care about any of the characters, or if I did care, none of their actions seemed to matter. I don't think it was a matter of knowing the message already. I didn't know how the movie was going to end. It may have been I just didn't believe the build up. That after agreeing to the fight he suddenly becomes the most popular guy at work.Joe Somebody may have just struck too close to home for me. Who knows? I was like trying to turn my head away for the whole movie, perhaps. Maybe for me, the whole movie was like one long love scene. The kiss or embrace at the end a movie often builds up to. I was trying to turn my head away, trying to resist the brainwashing of the love scene! Can a man stand 2 hours of a love scene? I think not. Surely now we know a way to break AlQuida terrorists. . .

Joe Somebody is one of those cookie-cutter mediocre films where we can predict the ending long before it actually happens. Not only that, but our 'hero' (Tim Allen) is unconvincingly made into a better person as the film progresses (what the hell?). He starts out as a nobody, who wants revenge on a bully who humiliated him, but becomes a somebody after proclaiming revenge and then refraining from fighting the bully. Along the way, he falls in love. (Get it? That's why they call it Joe Somebody). I think I have seen this plot line many times before, only I don't know where.Another issue with this 'comedy' that I have is that there are only two real laughs to be had: One where Joe (how American!) reveals that he has steel balls and a line where Jim Belushi says: "It was maximum punishment to watch it." (after a film called Maximum Punishment) I didn't cringe at the film, but I got nothing out of this film either. I was living in the hope that Joe would beat the hell out of the bully, but of course I knew in my heart that he wouldn't and of course, he didn't. The romance is (for me anyway) meant to be awkward, but I felt no emotion when seeing Julie Bowen and Allen interact.The acting is OK I guess, but let's face it, anyone can play Tim Allen's role as a nobody. Ditto Julie Bowen's role as the love interest and Patrick Warburton as the bully. Every time I see Tim, he's starring in a sub-par or worse film: look at Christmas with the Kranks. Shame.Overall, this is not a terrible movie, just a sub-par one. If you like predictable, half-baked, forgettable comedies, then this is for you.2/5 stars