Summary
The jokes are dated, the characters are annoying, and the plot is predictable.
Here is our review of the 2023 Netflix film The Out-Laws, which does not contain spoilers or plot twists.
The Out-Laws is a Happy Madison production (Adam Sandler’s company) written by Evan Turner and Ben Zazove. The film was directed by Tyler Spindel, the same man behind the 2011 atrocity Jack and Jill (yet another Netflix original, courtesy of Happy Madison). While the action comedy features an all-star cast, including Pierce Brosnan, Richard Kind, and Ellen Barkin, going for it, that’s also where the positives end.
The Out-Laws (2023) Review and Plot Summary
A constant presence in Netflix originals, Adam Devine stars as Owen; a moronic bank manager about to marry the way-out-of-his-league Parker (Nina Dobrev).
Owen’s parents (played by Richard Kind and Julie Hagerty) are a bit of a handful. And by that, I mean they spend the first half of the movie referring to Parker as a “stripper” when she’s actually a yoga teacher.
It’s unclear how this ongoing joke is supposed to be in any way funny, but here we are. Further down the line, we get a recurring joke about orgies, which is just as unfunny as the stripper one.
Yet Owen’s own “quirky” parents have nothing on the future in-laws he’s about to meet just a few days before the big wedding, Billy and Lilly (played by Brosnan and Barki). Not only have Parker’s parents been living off the grid for the entirety of their relationship, but Owen starts suspecting they are the two most-wanted Ghost Bandits who’ve targeted his place of work.
Throughout the painfully slow run-time, we meet more quirky characters; there’s the FBI agent (Michael Rooker) whose life mission is to catch the infamous bank robbers. We also have Poorna Jagannathan playing the film’s main villain, who is madly in lust with Brosnan’s character (another tired recurring joke).
And, of course, the film wouldn’t be complete without a cameo from OITNB’s Lauren Lapkus, who plays Owen’s professional rival, or the hero’s two token black friends (played by Lil Rel Howery and Laci Mosley).
The main problem with this film is how incredibly unlikable the lead is. There’s a fine line between funny and irritating, and Owen is the former. As are all the people around him.
Aside from the cast and the few worthwhile action shots, everything about this film is terrible. The jokes are dated, the characters are annoying, and the plot is predictable.
Is The Out-Laws (2023) good or bad?
The Out-Laws is a ridiculous movie with little saving grace. While the premise had some potential, the execution is awful.
Is The Out-Laws worth watching?
A cast of talented actors can’t make up for the awful writing. The few smile-worthy moments in this mess of a movie are all in the trailer, so you’re better off just watching that and then picking something more noteworthy for your evening entertainment.
What did you think of the 2023 Netflix film The Out-Laws? Comment below.
