Recap: Joe Scheffer is a hardworking single (recently divorced) father. Although all the effort Joe Scheffer puts in his life he remains a Nobody. No one pays attention to him at work, women don't look his way and everyone feels like they can step on him. The only person that seems to really like him is his daughter. So when a fight over a simple matter as a parking space ends with Joe being humiliatingly slapped, in front of not only his co-workers but also his daughter, something snaps inside him. He stays home, and when Meg Harper, the company's health coordinator reaches out to him and asks what he want, the reaction is great. What he wants? He wants to fight, to gain respect. And suddenly he is Somebody...
Comments: This is a simple, sweet, feel good company with a few funny quirks. And throw in a few moral pointers and the package is complete. It's all about the little man, growing, maturing, and becoming the Big Man that's walking the High Road. And then of course everyone finds love, succeeds and becomes happy. If you expect something controversial, something deep and philosophical you will be disappointed. But if you sit down, and follow Joe's struggles, you will leave with a smile.
Tim Allen, although according to trivia second in line behind Carrey, is a better match for the role than Carrey would have been. This is not that kind of comedy that Carrey does so well. This is the kind of comedy Tim Allen does well. He can be the small trampled guy, and he can be the confident smiling man. Julie Bowen has the role of the love interest, and even if she has pretty much screen time, her role is kind of limited, and Bowen's talents not really put to use. The character of Meg hints at a complex and interesting side, but that is never explored. I guess that is because it would have stolen focus from the story, and changed the feel good comedy-genre into something else.
There are two other memorable characters. First, the daughter Natalie, skillfully played by Hayden Panettiere, who also hints of a more complex truth beneath the smart and talented surface. All blissfully ignored of course. And then there is James Belushi, whose character Chuck Scarett, an action-movie star turned martial arts trainer fits the movie much better.
All in all, a movie certainly good for a simple evening of entertainment...
6/10
Comments: This is a simple, sweet, feel good company with a few funny quirks. And throw in a few moral pointers and the package is complete. It's all about the little man, growing, maturing, and becoming the Big Man that's walking the High Road. And then of course everyone finds love, succeeds and becomes happy. If you expect something controversial, something deep and philosophical you will be disappointed. But if you sit down, and follow Joe's struggles, you will leave with a smile.
Tim Allen, although according to trivia second in line behind Carrey, is a better match for the role than Carrey would have been. This is not that kind of comedy that Carrey does so well. This is the kind of comedy Tim Allen does well. He can be the small trampled guy, and he can be the confident smiling man. Julie Bowen has the role of the love interest, and even if she has pretty much screen time, her role is kind of limited, and Bowen's talents not really put to use. The character of Meg hints at a complex and interesting side, but that is never explored. I guess that is because it would have stolen focus from the story, and changed the feel good comedy-genre into something else.
There are two other memorable characters. First, the daughter Natalie, skillfully played by Hayden Panettiere, who also hints of a more complex truth beneath the smart and talented surface. All blissfully ignored of course. And then there is James Belushi, whose character Chuck Scarett, an action-movie star turned martial arts trainer fits the movie much better.
All in all, a movie certainly good for a simple evening of entertainment...
6/10