Written by Matt Swanson
Jonah Hill is long-established in the world of comedy for his acting roles, starring in films such as Superbad (2007) and 21 Jump Street (2012). In 2018, Hill showcased his directorial chops in a coming-of-age drama, Mid90s. With Outcome, he returns to comedy, directing and co-writing a black comedy starring Keanu Reeves. Unfortunately, Outcome is largely unsuccessful in its drama and comedy, with underdeveloped characters, tone-deaf jokes, and confusing stylistic choices.
Outcome follows a beloved aging actor, Reef Hawk (Reeves), who recently overcame a secret drug addiction and is returning to the public eye after getting sober. Reef is contacted by his crisis lawyer, Ira Slitz (Hill), about a video that someone is planning to extort Reef with. Reef is then coached by his friends Kyle (Cameron Diaz) and Xander (Matt Bomer) as he goes on an apology tour, trying to find out who might be extorting him. The film quickly becomes a cycle of Reef meeting with someone to be told a different way he had neglected their relationship. In between these meetings, Reef meets with caricatures of crisis lawyers to try to figure out how to solve the extortion problem.
From a dramatic perspective, the film tries to tell a story about how Reef realizes he hasn’t been considerate of others while on an apology tour. His lawyers tell him that the best thing he can do is become a victim in the public’s eye, while he recognizes the real victims are all of the relationships he burned as he rose to stardom. While the logic of this character arc could work, its execution feels shallow and incomplete. It’s hard to care about a character when there is such a disconnect between what is said about him and what is being dramatized on screen. Additionally, it is said repeatedly that Reef is a recovering heroin addict, but throughout the movie, that is hardly used at all, making that plot point feel completely unnecessary.
The stylistic choices of the film often feel confusing and jarring. The majority of the movie takes place either at Reef’s beachfront home or in the crisis lawyer’s conference room. Both of these settings have a perpetual sunset and strangely saturated lighting that do not lend itself to the tone of any of the scenes, leading to a jarring dissonance between the content of the film and the tone of the dialogue. While there are some big names in the movie, the only enjoyable performance is Jonah Hill, who looks completely unrecognizable in this movie, committing fully to a crisis-lawyer persona. While his performance is good, even his funnier moments are ruined by writing that makes the jokes overstay their welcome.
As far as comedy goes, this movie is a drop in quality from the projects that made Jonah Hill a big comedic name. It does not do enough to earn audiences emotional investment in the characters and the stakes at hand to be a successful drama. The low-brow comedy never commits enough to more daring jokes and censors itself heavily in situations that could be more absurd. The meta-comedy components satirizing cancel culture and crisis lawyers aren’t necessarily flawed, but the delivery feels alarmingly out of touch. The final product is a movie that doesn’t know what it is.
Outcome wasn’t doomed to be a failure. The story of a self-obsessed actor waking up from his complacency is creative and the idea of a dark comedy about a celebrity trying to avoid being cancelled has potential to be funny. While the casting of Keanu Reeves as the universally loved actor is fitting, his performance doesn’t add much to the film’s humor or drama. Unfortunately, the greater problem with the film is a lack of willingness to commit to anything.
