Joe Somebody (2002)
Review by HTQ4
Film:
DVD:

Written by John Scott Shepherd
Music by George S. Clinton
Directed by John Pasquin
Starring Tim Allen, Julie Bowen, Kelly Lynch, Greg Germann, Hayden Panettiere, and Jim Belushi

Features:

• Running audio commentary with director Pasquin and producer Brian Reilly
  
• Fight Choreography Featurette
  
• Four deleted scenes with optional commentary
  

Released by: Fox Home Entertainment
Rating: PG
Region: 1
Anamorphic: Yes

My Advice: Rent it

Joe Scheffer (Allen) is your average company man. He's put in his time for the company and worked hard doing so. He only wants what every hard working man wants, to be recognized for his efforts. Well, actually, Joe would settle for just being noticed at all. Then he gets beaten up by a hot new stuffed suit in the senior parking lot (over a parking lot space, none the less). After going through a brief period of depression, Joe finally decides that he's not going to take this one lying down. So, he confronts this stuffed suit demanding a rematch. Word gets around the company about the confrontation and Joe becomes an instant celebrity in the office building, but will his newfound fame provide him with true happiness in his life?

And that's really what this movie boils down to. I know this is going to sound cynical, but when you distill the whole thing, this is just a new thirtysomething version of the same John Hughes high school underdog movies that we grew up with. After all, most of us have grown up, gotten families, gotten jobs with the fast track for promotion, gotten divorces, and started dating girls who look like they are just out of high school themselves. I guess that's why I thought I could relate to it. And I hate to admit it to myself (much less all of you), but I actually enjoyed this movie despite the fact that I could see through it. Tim Allen is just a funny guy. It's mostly the same type of stuff he did on Home Improvement, but it worked for him there, too. Jim Belushi is no slouch either. He gives Allen a run for his money and their scenes together are perhaps the best in the movie. Everyone else seems to understand that they are there to make these two guys (but mostly Allen) look good and this helps the movie move along as well.

This is a decent DVD, too. For starters, it has a commentary track, which is always a step in the right direction. However, a great commentary track about a movie you could give a rat's ass about isn't going to do much for you. And, even though this is a decent movie and a lot of fun, how much can you really say about it? Well, not much that is interesting apparently--as the director and producer both prove. No, the real meat of this DVD is the Fight Choreography Featurette. There are clips from interviews with both Allen and Belushi as well as the fight choreographer. They talk about Belushi's action movie past and how he is trained in several different martial arts. It doesn't last long--maybe fifteen minutes at the most--but it is just a fun little ditty to watch. There are only four deleted scenes on this disc, but you can watch them either with or without the commentary track. Regardless of which way you decide to watch the deleted scenes, the answer to the question "why did they cut these scenes?" is very obvious. They definitely didn't add anything to help move the story along at all. And, unfortunately, this is about all you learn from watching them.

So, you should definitely should see the movie, especially if you are a fan of those types of underdog movies with the sappy endings that we enjoyed during the 80s. Just don't plan on adding it to your collection.