Goldie Hawn is a wonderful comedy actress; Steve Martin is a wonderful comedy actor; Neil Simon is a wonderful comedy writer; and New York City is a wonderful place to use as a setting for a movie. Yet, this movie is a clunker; it's as flat as a pancake, and an overcooked one at that. Although certain scenes do provoke a laugh, in general this movie simply is not funny. The story is a pure Hollywood comedy potboiler, that is, a formula movie and a poor retread of the 1970 original, which itself wasn't the funniest movie either, but that's for another review. The idea of everything going wrong during a trip is nothing new, but if properly treated it can produce laughs. But in this movie the things that go wrong are so absurd and contrived that the laughs are lost. What happens to the Clarks would not and could not happen to anyone else, hence the movie becomes irrelevant to the audience and loses its meaning as a satire or parody. John Cleese provides some humor as the hotel manager but his presence is limited and in no way comes close to rescuing this movie from its essential banality.
The Out-of-Towners
1999
Comedy

The Out-of-Towners
1999
Comedy
Synopsis
The remake of the 1970 Neil Simon comedy follows the adventures of married couple Henry and Nancy Clark as they are vexed by misfortune while in New York City for a job interview.
Downloaded times
September 26, 2020
Director
Cast
Movie Reviews
Banality reigns supreme in this tepid retread.
A Funny, Funny Movie
I don't know why so many people are slamming this movie, I thought it was hilarious. Goldie Hawn, Steve Martin, and John Cleese make the movie very, very funny. A decent sense of humor is all one needs to laugh from beginning to end.
John Cleese Is A Bad Girl!
Every time I think about that movie, I always laugh over John Cleese's character, Mr. Mersault. He's rude, sophisticated in the outside, but he's also a transvestite who loves to dress in ladies' clothes dancing to Donna Summer's Bad Girl! And when I hear Donna Summer's song, it reminds me of John Cleese. Another scene I liked was when they were in the limo, and a drugged Steve Martin describes his wife as being "Frisky!. He tells his wife to say that word as well as Mr. Mersault. The hotel manager loved that new word, "Frisky!". Years ago, I went to see John Pizzarelli in concert. Afterwards, I met him & told him I liked him the movie. He started singing "That Old Black Magic". Here's the zinger, I told him that his performance was very "Frisky"! Pizzarelli laughed at my comment! That made the movie funny for me!