The Out-Laws – An Action Comedy Showing Little Effort

A film may have all the right pieces going for it but what sets it apart from the rest is in its execution. From the minds of Happy Madison Productions, The Out-Laws is an action comedy that simply does not work in any way. While being derivative is one thing, also being dull and unfunny is another. Seemingly allergic to trying anything original, the whole production merely went through the motions. Offering viewers next to nothing in the way of energy or excitement, one can’t help but roll their eyes and/or cringe over the course of its roughly 90-minute running time. Those who have seen any of the film’s promotional material should have a good idea what it is about not that it was ever hard in the first place. Playing opposites against each other for laughs is a common trope in comedies and here, it makes no effort to stray from that formula. Using tropes, cliches, caricatures, and derivative story beats to get by, none of it ever comes together in a satisfying way. As is the case with comedies, some viewers may find more entertainment here than others. That being said, there are so many better options out there, even ones who also happen to feature members of its cast.

The Out-Laws is centered around a caricaturish mild-mannered and principled bank manager named Owen (Devine) who was on the verge of marrying a woman named Parker (Dobrev). On the week of his wedding, his bank was unceremoniously robbed by the infamous Ghost Bandits. However, Owen believed that the people that were responsible for the heist were his future in-laws. Lilly (Barkin) and Billy (Brosnan) McDermott. Leaving him in a complicated situation, he was left conflicted about whether or not to expose Parker’s parents and in the process, jeopardize his wedding. Unsurprisingly, Owen did not handle it well but it was clear that Lilly and Billy was responsible therefore they had to manage him and his erratic behavior which was not easy. Keeping their true nature secret from Parker, under the guise of some supposed larger-than-life lifestyle, the truth would eventually come out as Lilly and Billy’s past came back to haunt them as Parker found herself held hostage by their former partner Rehan (Poorna Jagannathan), keeping her in exchange for the money she believed they owed her.

As desperate times called for desperate measures, Owen had to change his stripes and team up with his future in-laws in search of a big score to save his fiancé. What was surely meant to be funny, that transition was the complete opposite and incredibly painful to watch. The contrast between he and the team of Lilly and Billy and their evolving dynamic was also painful. The circumstances at the root of the story are irrelevant as they were simply a means to an end. Based on everything that proceeded it, the ending shouldn’t come as that much of a surprise either, assuming viewers haven’t already checked out. Meanwhile, in terms of performances, the cast across the board essentially go through the motions. The mediocre material may be one thing but they at least could have made an effort to elevate it to at least make the film watchable. While fans of any part of its cast could work to the benefit of The Out-Laws, that’s about it.

At the end of the day, The Out-Laws had the right pieces but it just never worked out here.

still courtesy of Netflix

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Keith Noakes

The EIC of the coincidentally-named keithlovesmovies.com. A Canadian who prefers to get out of the cold and into the warmth of a movie theatre.