Dec. 20, 2001 – Perhaps Joe should have just stayed a nobody. However, Tim Allen doesn't think so, and, so, "Joe Somebody" chronicles his quest from obscurity to, well, to … something.
Let's see. It all starts out when Joe (Allen), a divorced corporate and personal nobody, is beaten up in the parking lot in front of his adoring and astonished daughter (Hayden Panettiere). Abashed, Joe initiates a martial arts program to ensure this will never happen again. He enlists the help of a washed-up martial arts star (Jim Belushi) to learn to fight back.
Now, what do you think will happen? Does Joe win the respect of his daughter and the whole corporate world? Would they film the story if he didn't?
The "Rotten Tomatoes" online review service gives the movie an eponymous rating — "rotten." The actors "contend gamely," acccording to the review, but "in vain, against the deluge of chiches and banalties." Maybe Allen should have stayed safely with the comedy of TV's "Home Improvement."
On the other hand, Allen and Belushi are quite likable actors, so maybe you should arm yourself with chocolate Santas, or any other seasonal refreshments they'll allow you into the theater with, and give it a go. Oh, yes — it was filmed in Minnesota, and that state's notoriously camera-shy governor makes a cameo appearance. So there's three reasons to spring for a ticket: Allen, Belushi and Jesse Ventura.
"Joe Somebody" was directed by John Pasquin, (Allen's on-set buddy from "Home Improvement") and features Julie Bowen, Kelly Lynch, Patrick Warburton and Greg Germann.
It starts Thursday at Sunny Isle Theaters.
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