The Out-of-Towners (1999 film)

The Out-of-Towners
File:Outoftownersmp.jpg
Directed by	Sam Weisman
Produced by	Robert Evans Robert Cort David Madden Teri Schwartz
Written by	Marc Lawrence
Starring	Steve Martin Goldie Hawn John Cleese
Music by	Marc Shaiman
Cinematography	John Bailey
Edited by	Kent Beyda
Distributed by	Paramount Pictures
Release dates	April 2, 1999 (1999-04-02)
Running time	90 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$75 million
Box office	$28,544,120 (USA)

The Out-of-Towners is a 1999 American comedy film starring Steve Martin and Goldie Hawn. The movie is a remake of a 1970 film by the same name; the original version, written by Neil Simon, starred Jack Lemmon and Sandy Dennis.

Plot

Henry and Nancy Clark are a couple living in a quiet Ohio town. Married for 27 years, their last child has left home and Nancy is suffering from empty nest syndrome. Unbeknownst to her, Henry has lost his job due to corporate downsizing and has an interview in New York. Nancy sneaks on the plane with him and they begin a disastrous series of misadventures. Their plane is rerouted to Boston, their luggage is lost, they are mugged at gunpoint and their daughter has used their credit card to the point where it has reached its limit. They are thrown out of their hotel by a pompous manager (John Cleese) who also indulges in cross dressing. Forced to live by their wits on the street, the couple find themselves caught up in a robbery, chased by the police through Central Park and also finding renewed love between them. In the end, Henry aces his job interview and the two begin a new life together in "The Big Apple".

Comparisons to the 1970 film

There are subtle differences from the original, such as the couple's credit card being declined at the hotel (instead of their room being given away as in the original), but the script is largely faithful to the 1970 version. The remake also has the addition of John Cleese as Mr. Mersault, the hotel manager, a character similar to the one Cleese played in the television series Fawlty Towers. Most of the differences are due to the characterizations of Hawn and Martin, who are both mainly comedic actors with very individual styles (the 1970 film had Jack Lemmon and Sandy Dennis playing their roles very seriously, largely the source of many of the film's laughs). Consequently, the 1999 film stands alone as a Hawn and Martin collaboration, rather than as a comparable remake of an already successful film. Some compared this film to Planes, Trains and Automobiles that Martin had previously acted in. The films are similar in that they show a series of disasters on a trip.

Cast

• Steve Martin as Henry Clark
• Goldie Hawn as Nancy Clark
• Mark McKinney as Greg
• Oliver Hudson as Alan Clark
• John Cleese as Mr. Mersault

Reception

The movie was a disappointment critically and commercially. It has a 23% rating on the Rotten Tomatoes website, with Roger Ebert commenting that the movie "was not a proud moment in the often-inspired careers of Martin and Hawn." Most of the negative reviews point to Cleese as the only redeeming factor of the film.

See also

• List of American films of 1999

External links

• The Out-of-Towners at the Internet Movie Database
• The Out-of-Towners at Rotten Tomatoes
• The Out-of-Towners at Box Office Mojo