Baldwin delivers a very funny evocation of the old man's benighted One day, a stoned fender-bender with a police car seals Dunph's fate, and the father pulls strings to have him shipped off to boarding school. In Pawtucket, spends his time loafing and smoking dope with his own no less dead-ended buddies, he inevitably serves as a lightning rod for his father's angry outbursts. Old Man Dunphy, who spends much of his time playing cards with the group of like-minded bigots who are his cronies, has raised his boys alone and has not been made more pleasant by that experience. Beneath that leading man's exterior is a tough, versatile character actor who can dominate a story from the sidelines, as the loudmouthed senior Dunphy does here. The part of the film that details Dunph's fractious relationship with his father is especially potent, thanks to a splendid performance from Alec Baldwin in a far cry from his Nickname for his son is notably more coarse than 'Dunph.')īut 'Outside Providence' also has an affectingly dramatic side thanks to Michael Corrente ('Federal Hill'), another of Rhode Island's finest, who wrote the film with the Farrellys and adds some 'There once was a boy from Pawtucket.' reads a road sign featured in ads for 'Outside Providence,' indicating that the 'There's Something About Mary' sensibility is not far from hand.īoth its frat-house raunch and its improbable sweetness color this account, circa 1974, of a boy from a blue-collar Rhode Island background who is sent into culture shock by his bellicose father. That certainly qualifies as having the last laugh. 'Outside Providence' doesn't have time or piety for the usual coming-of-age hallmarks, and it doesn't even bother to contrive much of an older-but-wiser happy ending, unless you countįarrelly, whose book was somewhat autobiographical (though he is a doctor's son with a background significantly different from Dunph's), went on to write and direct 'There's Something About Mary' Since Dunph, as his friends call him, has not the faintest desire to make good in this setting, his irreverence sets the tone for Peter Farrelly's laid-back, raffishly funny 1988 novel and for this eminently likableįilm version. He also tries 'NASA' when asked who launched the New Deal.Īlec Baldwin, center, and George Wendt, right, in a scene from 'Outside Providence.' Utside Providence' is about the circumstances that plunk Tim Dunphy (Shawn Hatosy) into a Connecticut prep school classroom, where he winds upĪnswering 'Hamlet' when asked to name his favorite author. Selected Scenes and Trailer From the Film 'Outside Providence'.

The New York Times on the Web: Current Film.'Outside Providence': What's Up at Prep School? Culture ShockįILM REVIEW 'Outside Providence': What's Up at Prep School? Culture Shock

Outside providence