Plot: What’s it about?
Joe Scheffer (Tim Allen) has been through a divorce, gets passed over for promotions at work, and has no real social life, but he continues to push ahead. He works as hard as ever, remains civil to his ex-wife despite his broken heart, and does his best to raise his young daughter Natalie (Hayden Panettiere). Joe encourages Natalie to pursue her interest in writing and develop her talents, but she seems to be more worried about his state of mind instead. Joe’s life takes a turn for the worse when he decides to take Natalie to work with him, as a routine drive to work turns into an event that changes his life forever. As he looks for a parking space in the ten year associate lot, Joe gets cut off by the company bully Mark (Patrick Warburton), who has only been with the firm for seven years. After he insists that Mark find a new spot, Joe finds himself smacked around and humiliated, in front of his coworkers and Natalie. Joe then takes some time off from work and starts drinking again, to try to escape from his current life situation. But soon, Joe discovers what we wants and challenges Mark to a rematch, which sparks all sorts of changes in his life, but is the fight the right choice for Joe to make?
I had some doubts about this movie, as most family films wind up as harmless, but tiresome efforts, but Joe Somebody proves to be an exception. As expected, the movie has some weak moments, but director John Pasquin (The Santa Clause) and writer John Scott Shepherd manage to keep things brisk, humorous, and effective. The storyline is nothing too original, but the line between drama and humor is handled very well, so the emotional content present, but the entertainment value remains high throughout. We’re shown enough to bond with some characters, dislike others, and take an interest in what happens, which is about all we need in this case. Tim Allen puts in a likable effort and adds to the laugh totals, while James Belushi, Julie Bowen, and Greg Germann supply enjoyable smaller roles. Yet in the grand scheme, Joe Somebody never breaks new ground and fully delivers on the promise found in the material, it simply settles for being fun at times and for most people, that might be enough. I think fans of Allen and those in search of a better than average family film will be interested, even though Joe Somebody could have been much more.
Although his entertainment career started with an adult themed stand up routine, Tim Allen has found his niche in family oriented projects. He was able to spin his stand up material into a television series and of course, Home Improvement was a massive success and served as a launchpad to Allen’s film career. Allen was a wise choice to take on this role, as he is likable and also handles the blend of humor & drama well, which is important. His scenes with Belushi are quite humorous and on the whole, he is able to play off his costars with terrific results, even when the material tapers off somewhat. Allen was handed a twelve million dollar paycheck to be Joe Somebody and I think he earned it, even though the film tanked in theaters. Other films with Allen include Galaxy Quest, Toy Story, Jungle2Jungle, Big Trouble, and The Santa Clause. The cast also includes James Belushi (The Principal, Taking Care of Business), Julie Bowen (Happy Gilmore, Multiplicity), and Greg Germann (Down to Earth, Tv’s Ally McBeal).
Video: How does it look?
Joe Somebody is presented in a 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen transfer, with a full frame edition included on the disc’s flip side. I found this to be a solid, sometimes great visual effort, but as the film has little visual flair, the transfer never gets to show off much. The print is clean and shows minimal defects, while compression errors are absent, which means the foundation is solid and the rest just falls into place. The colors are bright and well presented, but never becomes too rich due to the film’s natural color scheme, while flesh tones are accurate as well. No quibbles with contrast either, as black levels remain sharp and refined throughout. In short, the movie might not be a visual masterpiece, but this is as good as it can look on DVD and in the end, that’s all we can ask Fox to deliver here.
Audio: How does it sound?
A solid Dolby Digital 5.1 mix is included here, but it never sparks too much and as such, keep your expectations reasonable for this kind of picture. I found the surrounds to be well used, both with the musical soundtrack and some atmospheric audio elements, but this is a dialogue driven film, so don’t expect explosive content. The dialogue is smooth and always crystal clear however, while lower key sound effects also come through in fine form. As far as the material goes, you couldn’t want much more from the audio and as such, I see no reason to complain here. This disc also includes Spanish & French language tracks, as well as subtitles in English & Spanish, in case you’ll need those.
Supplements: What are the extras?
An audio commentary with director John Pasquin and producer Brian Reilly starts us off, which proves to be an informative, more than worthwhile session. It was insightful to listen to them discuss the fine line the film had to walk, between drama and comedy. This caused some scenes to be shortened of course, so the two detail some of the changes made to the scenes. In addition, the two talk about the general production, the cast members, and the challenges of making a family friendly picture like this one. This disc also includes four deleted scenes (with optional audio comments), a brief look at the martial arts sequences, and the film’s theatrical trailer.
