Truly Dreadful Film

I don't have all the words right now but this film is a work of art.

Fresh and Exciting

Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

Here in the UK we have the famous BBC. With the BBC there's something that serious film lovers are aware of. Namely that BBC1 shows what are considered to be duff movies late at night during the working week. The reason for this is that children are in bed and so are the adults who have to get up in the morning, thus viewing figures are not of any great importance. And mainly, the BBC gets to fulfil it's showing quotas for film's they have the rights too but wish they hadn't. So when I saw that this Tim Allen starrer was showing at midnight on a Monday night, I didn't expect much other than an average time filler of a movie. So it proved.It's a safe parable piece about male egos, bullies and the reaction of others to violence. Hell there's even a little romance in there to make sure the piece stays on the warm side of the safe haven bed. Tim Allen turns in an engaging performance as the guy beat up in front of his young daughter who then gets some martial arts training with the intention of beating said attacker to a pulp. Once the word is out that he is going to fight this guy, everyone starts to react differently to him. Co-workers want to play squash with him, his ex now finds him sexy, you know, that sort of thing. Naturally the ending doesn't hold any great surprises, this is a message movie and its message is delivered with all the subtlety of a thunder storm. But it is watchable, family friendly stuff. Even if, when all is said and done, its vanishes quickly from the memory about two seconds after the credits have rolled. 4/10

Tim Allen may have top billing, and his character's name in the title, but it's Hayden Panettiere as his sharp daughter that is the best thing about Joe Somebody. She played the young firecracker of a daughter to the white coach in Remember the Titans and she shows the same skill as a thoughtful and far too smart girl in this. That's not bad for a girl of eleven. The rest of the movie plays like a bad after school special with pat morals. The entire plot is about a guy being b*tch slapped in the parking lot by a co-worker, learning how to fight from a washed up action star, and finding out that he wasn't that bad of a guy to begin with. Aww. It's not a bad moral, but it's always handled as subtly as an anvil to the head. Tim Allen is a comedian, not an actor. He just doesn't have the skills to pull of some of the more emotional scenes in any of his movies. This was a poor choice for him and exposes his weak range. One thing is easy, he gives up on the fight for his daughter, and I am there with him, she is the only reason to sit through this.

This is an excellent family movie, if you have the disc you will want to watch it a second time in a day or two. It is worth having in your collection, you will want to go back to it time and time again.Tim Allen is lovable and does an excellent performance. Julie Bowen also excellent and lovable. The supporting actors and direction were superb.A great underdog movie turning top-dog with a couple scenes that were stretching the imagination. (please excuse the cliché's they are unavoidable.)To make this review submission-able I have to add this last line. I think it deserves a better score than 5.5

I can't say that this was a bad movie, but it wasn't really a comedy either. It was more of a feel-good romance story with a message about being yourself and doing what you really want to do rather than doing things that will make others like you or that are somebody else's idea of success.The three main characters, Joe, Meg - the Wellness co-ordinator at the Pharmaceutical Corporation where Joe works and Joe's daughter experience that sort of realisation during the film and in the end are better people and happier for doing what they want to do and being who they want to be.As such, the film has a positive moral and happy ending. But it's definitely more cheesy than funny. The funniest part is probably the advertisement for one of the drugs.