“How many individuals named Drugs could you possibly associate with?”

Justin’s rating: Does every ’70s movie come stocked with the same exact period soundtrack?

Justin’s review: The early years of the ’90s were marked by a great period teen stoner movie in Richard Linklater’s Dazed and Confused. What seems to have gone overlooked is that the decade also closed out with another ’70s-themed teen stoner comedy in the form of Outside Providence. Written, but not directed by, the Farrelly brothers, this film was actually based on Peter Farrelly’s early life growing up in Rhode Island.

Peter’s avatar for this story is Dunph (Shawn Hatosy, The Faculty), a drug-saturated slacker who lives with his wheelchair-bound brother Jackie and his gruff dad Pat (Alec Baldwin). Seeing his son’s potential drifting away with every puff of smoke, Pat enrolls him in a Connecticut prep school with the hopes that Dunph might actually straighten out in his senior year.

The lower-class Dunph quickly finds himself struggling in an upper class world as well as being apart from his brother for the first time. While he grapples with the academics, Dunph does find a few likeminded friends and even a hard crush in the form of Jane (Amy Smart).

This being a Farrelly brothers movie — sort of, I guess? — I expected their unique mix of crude humor and genuine heart. Kind of more of a raucous comedy, like There’s Something About Mary. But I was surprised to find a coming-of-age flick with a side dish of romcom, school rebellion, and troubled family dynamics.

It’s humorous in parts, but it’s not aiming to be a raucous outing. Dunph is over his head in life, especially in his blossoming relationship with Jane, yet his compassion and clever thinking get him further than you might think. In his background is the pain that comes with the loss of his mother to suicide and the residual guilt over the accident that took his brother’s legs.

Between the standard (but welcome) ’70s rock soundtrack, Dunph and Jane are often shown simply hanging out, smoking, talking, and laughing. There’s something refreshing about a romcom where its principal characters aren’t either in a state of unbridled passion or freefall distress. Here, they’re allowed to be.

Even with the Farrelly brothers’ name slapped on this during the height of their popularity, Outside Providence struggled for recognition — and I can kind of see why. It doesn’t get the balance right between heartbreak, jokes, and character development. Often this movie goes a little too dark when it should’ve swung hard in the direction of genuine laughs. Sometimes it’s weirdly preachy out of nowhere, and don’t get me started on Alec Baldwin’s attempt at a Rhode Island accent.

I kind of wanted to like this movie but couldn’t find it in myself to land at such a spot. It wasn’t bad, but there’s a certain frustration when a movie gets close to being good but can’t seal the deal.

Intermission!

• Starting off with a three-legged dog is a good sign of quality
• NORM!
• Never a good day when you crash into a police car
• “It’s to protect you from not getting your neck broke by me.”
• Always fun to be greeted by The Rules when you get to school
• Forget the school fight song, you get thrown into the lake
• NASA did not launch the New Deal
• Don’t think that Dunph could sink any lower in that chair
• Wheelchairs in the back of pickups aren’t that safe
• “Any particular college?” “Yeah, probably.”
• How to make someone pull a fire alarm
• 8-tracks make great Christmas gifts
• The sailfish on the front of the van
• God is all right, you know?
• Dart to the skull
• “You just yorked on me!”
• Sleeping in a cemetery looks uncomfortable
• “You were already going to boot us, what are you going to do, eat us?”
• Jumping and slapping a window does get you an appointment sometimes
• Mental floss
• “What’s the point? Your life is going to suck anyway.”