Release Date:
Friday, December 21, 2001
Joe Somebody is one of those harmless, forgettable, mildly amusing, and unforgivably sappy comedies that used to be be churned out by the dozen in the late ’80s, usually starring Jim Belushi. The story, about a put-upon schlub (Tim Allen) who seeks redemption after getting pimp-smacked by an office bully (Patrick Warburton), Joe Somebody also features supporting turns from Kelly Lynch and…hey, wait a minute…Jim Belushi.
While not unfunny, Joe Somebody is just too lazy and predictable to have any solid gut-laughs. We have to admit that Belushi is one of the movie’s few high points (his beer-soaked slob of a karate instructor makes him look frighteningly like the reincarnation of his late brother). Love interest Julie Bowen is a poor man’s Elizabeth Shue, and the strange reappearance of A Few Good Men’s Wolfgang Bodison answers the question, “What the fuck ever happened to Wolfgang Bodison?” However, Joe Somebody is stolen by young Hayden Panettiere, as Allen’s precocious daughter (who you might remember as, yep, a precocious daughter, in Remember the Titans). That gal’s going to break hearts when she grows up.
While not unfunny, Joe Somebody is just too lazy and predictable to have any solid gut-laughs. We have to admit that Belushi is one of the movie’s few high points (his beer-soaked slob of a karate instructor makes him look frighteningly like the reincarnation of his late brother). Love interest Julie Bowen is a poor man’s Elizabeth Shue, and the strange reappearance of A Few Good Men’s Wolfgang Bodison answers the question, “What the fuck ever happened to Wolfgang Bodison?” However, Joe Somebody is stolen by young Hayden Panettiere, as Allen’s precocious daughter (who you might remember as, yep, a precocious daughter, in Remember the Titans). That gal’s going to break hearts when she grows up.