Joe Somebody (2001)

User Rating:

5.4/10   

Director:

John Pasquin

Writer (WGA):

John Scott Shepherd (written by)

Release Date:

21 December 2001 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Romance | Drama

Tagline:

A Comedy About Somebody Everybody Can Believe In.

Plot:

When Joe is beat up by a co-worker in front of his daughter on "Bring Your Child To Work Day", he decides to fight back.

Plot Keywords:

Fight | Bully | Divorce | Martial Arts | Office

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Tim Allen	...	Joe Scheffer
Julie Bowen	...	Meg Harper
Kelly Lynch	...	Callie Scheffer
Greg Germann	...	Jeremy
Hayden Panettiere	...	Natalie Scheffer
Patrick Warburton	...	Mark McKinney
James Belushi	...	Chuck Scarett (as Jim Belushi)
Ken Marino	...	Rick Raglow
Wolfgang Bodison	...	Cade Raymond
Cristi Conaway	...	Abby Manheim
Robert Joy	...	Pat Chilcutt
Tina Lifford	...	Cassandra Taylor
James Cada	...	Exec. Bill
Tawnja Zahradka	...	Waver 'Tawnja'
Ahna Brandvik	...	Neva

MPAA:

Rated PG for language, thematic elements and some mild violence.

Runtime:

98 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Colour:

Colour

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital

Certification:

Iceland:L | USA:PG (certificate #38706) | Canada:PG | France:U | Germany:o.Al. | Spain:T | Sweden:11 | UK:PG | Singapore:PG | Brazil:Livre

Filming Locations:

Conner's Deli - 5411 Penn Avenue S., Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA

Company:

Fox 2000 Pictures

Trivia:

The scenes of Tim Allen racing a shopping cart were shot at the Target Store in Minnesota.

Goofs:

Continuity: Meg's lipstick appears and then disappears again between shots when she and Joe are on the roof.

Quotes:

Joe: We gotta get you back to school.
Natalie Scheffer: DAD, I really wanna talk about this!
Natalie Scheffer: You know that big jerk took it easy on you, right? What makes you think he wont kill you this time? HUH? Natalie; DAD!
Joe: You mad your point!
Natalie Scheffer: GOOD.

Movie Connections:

References Wo hu cang long (2000)

Soundtrack:

Larger Than Life

An okay family movie, but not particularly memorable

I like Tim Allen and I hate to see him selling himself out like this. Here he's playing an average joe (named Joe! Haha the irony!) who gets beat up outside work one day by a meanie co-worker (played by the brilliant Patrick Warburton, one of the most underrated comedians out there).

Feeling like he has lost his dignity and manhood (and the fact that it occurred in front of his preteen daughter doesn't help any), Joe decides to fight back - by training extensively and preparing for the Next Big Fight.

He employs the services of a guru (Jim Belushi) to help him learn forms of karate and what not, so he can take down Warburton.

The movie is kind of lame insofar that it seems very childish - that's partly the point but, on the other hand, it promotes a bad message to kids. Of course the moral at the end of the story is, "Don't fight." But we spend an hour and a half of revenge-filled fantasy getting there.

It's not a particularly bad film, but neither is it particularly good. I hate to see Tim Allen selling himself out like this because I think he's a fine comedian and this puts his talents to waste. Anyone could play this role. There's a reason it's called "Joe Somebody." Now here's a good idea: put Patrick Warburton in a good movie for once, and give Tim Allen a good role.