Over the past 8 years, Happy Madison’s partnership with Netflix has blessed us with a ton of awful movies, a few mediocre ones, and one surprisingly really good one. If you look at those stats, I’m sure you can make a calculated guess which group The Out-Laws falls into. It’s a movie that, even with low expectations, still manages to underwhelm and disappoint.
The first problem stems from a lazily written script that feels like little more than an idea scribbled on a cocktail napkin at 2am. So much of the plot structure relies on a lack of logical communication between characters, and plenty of nonsensical decisions. The premise is razor thin and the execution is extremely sloppy for the most part. I say “for the most part”, because this movie is billed as an action comedy, and while almost all of the comedy falls flat, the action is surprisingly fun.
That brings me to the next, and also biggest issue - Adam Devine. He can be really funny in the right projects (see Workaholics), but under the wrong circumstances, he can also be insufferable. This movie brings out his most annoying comedic traits and dials them up to the max. It’s a whole lot of screaming, crying and singing. His character and performance made me want to shut the movie off at times. Pierce Brosnan and Ellen Barkin are here, but their performances seem like two people looking to do nothing more than cash a pay check.
The Out-Laws is another lousy effort from Happy Madison and Netflix. It doesn’t quite scrape the bottom of the barrel compared to some of their other collaborations (I’m looking at you, Ridiculous Six), but lazy writing and an insufferable lead performance have it coming pretty close.
1.5/5
Review by: Benjamin Garrett
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