Written by Amanda Clark
Netflix’s latest comedy, The Out-Laws, is no different from any other Netflix comedy, but it is worth a watch to get some careless enjoyment. It stars Nina Dobrev as Parker McDermott, whose parents (Ellen Barkin and Pierce Brosnan) and finally meet her fiancé, Owen Browning (Adam Devine). When her parents run into trouble from their past, they need Owen’s help to rob a bank.
Owen allows Devine to keep the same personality we see from him movie to movie, but Devine still makes the viewer unexpectedly laugh even though we should already know how goofy he is about to be. Devine’s character supplies more than half of the film’s entertainment, primarily due to how easy it is for Owen to be turned into a joke with his actions and facial expressions. It seems like Devine will never escape the warm, loveable, moron type, but if it gets laughs from the audience every time he is on screen, something is working.
Parker, on the other hand, is shockingly barely in the film compared the trailer. Dobrev’s role is basically only there to get Devine’s character motivated and be the reason behind everyone’s actions in a way where she doesn’t actually do anything. But because of how much Parker means to everyone, the audience gets a chain of events that allows people to tune out the real world for a moment by sitting back and watching The Out-Laws.
However, if you want to have a laugh from this film, but only have a few minutes out of the day or don’t feel like wasting time on another basic comedy, the trailer will suffice. In less than three minutes, it takes out the best clips of the hour and 35-minute film (like most trailers do) and uses them to tell the whole plot, even giving away the ending by showing a shot from the very last scene.
Still, after watching the trailer, it will most likely entice viewers to want to watch the entire film just to enjoy a few hours of nonsense. It is a fun movie, but it doesn’t give the wow factor for any aspect of the characters or plot because of how unoriginal the characters feel—even though none of them are a direct rip-off of something else. The characters are comedic archetypes that can be found in almost every comedy movie.
Parker’s parents balance Owen out. Both Lilly (Barkin) and Billy (Brosnan) are the classic character trope of the logical, smart one, but in this film, both parents hold that label. Lilly and Billy counteract everything Owen says and they function as the group in comedic films that banters back and forth. The parents are well put together and seem to know how to figure everything out. While Owen might have an idea as to how to deal with each situation as well, he then becomes the opposite and doesn’t quite know what to do. The three of them are what make this film comical.
Additionally, the ending has a plot hole, but, again, even though it seems major, does it really matter if the film itself is amusing to watch? No, it doesn’t. Because the film makes it easy to root for certain characters and want a happy ending regardless of logic.
The Out-Laws is a lighthearted film that will make anyone laugh but will be lost in the sea of Netflix comedies and rom-coms. Even with that, for anyone who is going to queue it up, expect a film that isn’t serious in the slightest, but makes the viewer get emotionally involved in what the ending will be—even if it is pretty predictable.
