The Out-Laws

Given that July is a month loaded to the gills with likely-to-be-incredible films (Barbenheimer 7/21 is the Super Bowl, basically), I decided to get some time back this weekend and skip the new theatrical releases.

Unfortunately, I foolishly remembered that a new Netflix comedy, The Out-Laws, was now playing on the streaming giant and given the inclusion of Pierce Brosnan and Adam DeVine, I figured it could be funny enough to watch while I made/ate dinner. 

Truthfully, that's exactly the kind of film this is. It's white-noise, playing-in-the-background, that you have on while you finish chores. It's quintessentially the definition of what I think of when I say TV movie, edited for F-bombs, and with commercials (except it's on Netflix).

It's the story of Owen (DeVine) getting married to Parker (Dobrev) and meeting her parents - Pierce Brosnan and Ellen Barkin - for the first time mere days before the wedding. They turn out to be criminals, Parker gets kidnapped, and Owen must partner with them despite them being highly critical of him. It's about as predictable as they come and while completely harmless, it never feels like it's trying at all outside of a handful of performances. DeVine is DeVine here - a man-child schtick that is endearing, but has been done better in other places. Brosnan is a delight but doesn't get enough to do and Dobrev is...in the movie I guess? There are some bright spots with side characters - an uber-horny Poorna Jagannathan and power-tripping Lauren Lapkus come to mind - but ultimately this is like many other Happy Madison (Adam Sandler's production company) comedies: utterly forgettable. 

There are always worse films out there - I enjoyed a couple segments - but I'm thankful I was doing other things while watching, because otherwise this would have been a bigger waste of time than going to the theater. Luckily, I'm sure my palette will be cleansed soon enough with all the delightful films we're about to get.

Rapid Rath's Review Score | 4/10