FOR RICHER OR POORER RATING: 4.5 / 10 --> Poor movie
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TV stars Tim Allen and Kirstie Alley jump into a cinematic comedy about a rich couple having to deal with the sudden loss of all of their assets.
PLOT: Rich, self-absorbed husband and wife team fall into major IRS problems, when their accountant steals from their funds, and flees the country. Forced to hide from the government until their lawyer gets things settled, the duo crash in on an Amish community, and pretend to be long-lost cousins. Then, the "hilarity" begins.
CRITIQUE: Uninspired, predictable, and mostly unfunny comedy that joins TRIAL AND ERROR (4/10) in proving that for some reason, Hollywood executives like to correlate bad comedies with longer run times (This one clocks in at a little under two hours.) I never really understood why people in the Woods of Holly liked to explore the Amish community to such an extent in film, and this bad movie does little to resolve my unanswerable query. KINGPIN (8/10) successfully stepped through such a community last year, but this movie just doesn't gather any comedy or originality out of this age-old community of people.
In regards to the actors, Tim Allen doesn't add anything to this horrible punch, and Alley barely musters any added value, after she spends the first hour and a half of the film whining about her newfound situation. Larry Miller is actually pretty funny as the overly exuberant IRS agent on their tail (He carries a large gun with him at all times.) But other than him, the film is basically retreading the old "fish out of water" tale for the umpteenth time, without a whimper of innovation or entertainment.
The worst part about this movie is that even the lame attempts at humour are marred by adult content, which disavows any kids from seeing this dud on video. And to top that off, they decide to pull another pseudo-case of MY GIANT (6/10) and get semi-serious near the end of the film (This is where we recognize these people as regular folks like you and I with hearts.) Not one laugh out loud joke here. Nothing original to add to anything based in Amish folklore. Actors are very generic in their roles. Avoid this one at all costs, and please try to recommend it to those all those people who you deeply despise.
By the way, if you do happen to rent it by mistake, at least stay tuned for the outtakes during the end credits. They are actually the only snickerable things in the whole movie (Not a good sign.)
Little Known Facts: In 1978, Tim Allen spent 28 months in jail after being arrested for attempted drug dealing. His real name is Timothy Allen Dick. He has nine brothers and sisters. Kirstie Alley stands 5"7, and is a member of the Church of Scientology. She was part of TV's "Cheers" ensemble cast from 1987 to 1993. Larry Miller's most famous role was as the nice Rodeo Drive salesman to Julia Roberts in 1990's PRETTY WOMAN (7.5/10). Director Bryan Spicer's previous attempt at cinematic humour was the ill-fated MCHALE'S NAVY.
Review Date: August 9, 1998
Director: Bryan Spicer
Writers: Jana Howington and Steve LuKanic
Producers: Bill, Jonathan and Sid Sheinberg
Actors: Tim Allen as Brad Sexton
Kirstie Alley as Caroline Sexton
Larry Miller as Derek Lester
Genre: Comedy
Year of Release: 1997
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(c) 1998 Berge Garabedian
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