If ever there was a movie that was meant to appeal to me, at least from the view given in the previews, it should be Joe Somebody. Joe's a "nice guy," like me, Joe's raising his daughter on his own (like me) and the whole thing is set in Minneapolis, the city I grew up in.

So, when my daughter Kiersten suggested the movie this afternoon, I was all for it. We've already seen Harry Potter (multiple times,) Lord of the Rings, Monsters Inc (multiple times) and Jimmy Neutron (are you shocked to hear "multiple times"?) so the change of pace would be nice. We attended a moderately full matinee performance. The bald guy who follows me around to sit in front of me at movies was there, although this time he brought along a couple of tall friends, forcing us to find new seats.


General Plot (minor spoilers)

Tim Allen plays Joe Scheffer, a "media consultant" for a pharmaceutical company. He's either responsible for the creation of internal videos (there are a couple of references to that) or something to do with external advertising, as there are a couple of scenes with him watching commercials for the drugs the company markets (dangerous ones, from the ad, and the lists of "possible side effects" are one of the few laugh generators in the picture.)

Joe is really looking forward to "Take your daughter to work day," but alas, when the day comes, he gets beat up in the parking lot by a jerk who took his parking spot. Unable to deal with his shame, he retreats into his house until coaxed out by Meg Harper (played by Julie Bowen.)


Discussion (major spoilers)

As noted above, I'm not really sure who this is supposed to appeal to. The filmmakers can't seem to decide whether they want to write a romantic comedy, a "little guy makes good" heart warmer or just a story about a bunch of stuff that happens. The only one they succeed at is the last.

Joe clearly still has a thing for his ex-wife, but he latches onto Meg fairly readily (can't say as I blame him :-) As for the ex-wife, Callie (Kelly Lynch,) one can't help but wonder what on Earth their relationship must have been like. Shy and humane Joe, married to the boobs-a-poppin bizarro actress Callie...nope, just can't see it.

Jim Belushi plays Chuck Scarett, a washed up kung-fu actor who has settled into running a small martial arts studio (with one client, apparently,) in Minneapolis. Belushi is one of the few humourous characters in the film, although the vast majority of his jokes involve kicking someone in the testicles.

Joe cures his blues by deciding that what he really wants is to beat up the bully (Patrick Warburton in the rather thankless role of Mark McKinney.) Once he makes this public (no indication of how or why he or McKinney would have) he suddenly becomes a success at the office -- women want him, he's befriended by executives, given the promotion he deserves, etc.)

Although Meg tries to convince Joe that he doesn't need to fight the bully (scheduled for some point in the future,) Joe ignores the "good girl" and does what he pleases. Again, this really flies in the face of what we've been told of Joe's character. In the end, Joe does the right thing (sort of,) although in a less than satisfactory manner (he beats up someone else.)

So, as a "little guy makes good" film, this fails because he really changes for the worse, and the "making good" bit is really just him going back to his original morals. The Joe at the beginning of the film was of the "violence doesn't solve anything" ilk, pretty much what he was at the end.

As for a romance, that's all kind of tied up at the end -- Joe and Meg flirt around a little bit prior to that, but Joe pulls away, saying that he's "not ready." Not quite up to the par of When Harry Met Sally or You've Got Mail.

Then there's the "father/daughter" story, which really falls flat. Joe unceremoniously dumps his daughter on her kooky mother when he begins his crusade to train for his big fight. And that pretty much spells an end to the exploration of that relationship (for obvious reasons, I was interested in that aspect.) The daughter (Hayden Panettiere as Natalie Scheffer) is a typical child actor -- not the best, but not really given much to work with.

Finally, the oddities in the movie...in an early scene, Meg is seen smoking in her office. As the "Wellness Coordinator" for the drug company, that seems a little odd, but with the exception of a later aside, it's never referred to again. There also might have been some cutting room shenanigans that eliminated yet another relationship for Joe, with executive Cassandra Taylor (Tina Lifford.) There are a couple of scenes with the two, but it really feels like there was supposed to be more to it than that.

Watch for a cameo (well, a big ham like him turns any cameo into a "minor role") by Minnesota Governor Jesse Ventura.


Age Appropriateness

Although rated PG, this film will not be of any great interest to most children. While the moral is all well and good, you'll be explaining a lot of "kicked in the balls" jokes to your young ones, and both Harper and Lynch trot around in their underwear in a couple of scenes. But, really, the reason not to take your kids is that they'll be bored stiff. Kiersten sure was.

This is not the Tim Allen of Home Improvement and the Disney-era films. He's not as funny, goofy and genial.


Conclusion

While I won't say that this is the worst movie I've seen in recent memory (Planet of the Apes and Tomb Raider come to mind) it would certainly rank up there. Unless you've got a thing for Allen or Bowen, there's really no reason to see this movie. It might have been better with a little more focus, a bit better editing, and some sense of what makes a decent movie.


Recommended:
No

Suitability For Children: Suitable for Children Age 13 and Older