Another case of potential on paper never being fully realized is Outcome, the latest from director Jonah Hill. The multi-hyphenate also co-writes and co-stars in this absolutely unhinged celebrity satire that is nowhere near as funny as it thinks it is, nor is it as edgy as it thinks it is. The end result can be barely be classified as a film to begin with, not just because it only runs at 84-minutes, but it is merely an exposition-led cardboard fest that goes nowhere. Thin characters and a thinner story make for a drag that contributes absolutely nothing to the discourse other than dated humor, as there is no arc to be found, or any point to any of it. A film whose only purpose is to seemingly use its thin premise to shoehorn cameos, its many flaws become apparent very early on and never improve. In the end, audiences who can get on its level may get more out of it, as most are likely to find themselves in a permanent state of cringe at the sight of whatever Hill was doing on screen, if they are not already pained by the horrendous script. That being said, the cast assembled here, led by Keanu Reeves, Hill, Cameron Diaz, and a few other surprises, is quite impressive, despite being let down by essentially everything else going on. Intentional or not, the contrast between Reeves and everything else is striking. Playing it straight, for the most part, it almost feels like he is in a different film and during Outcome, most will wish they were watching a different film themselves.
Outcome centers around Reef Hawk (Reeves), a beloved Hollywood star who has dazzled audiences from a young age before becoming one of the biggest names working today. Taking a multi-year break out of the spotlight while dealing with his own personal demons, the star must dive back into those demons after finding himself extorted with a mysterious video that threated to shatter his image and perhaps end his career. Audiences are not privy to the contents of said video as the film expects others to believe that Hawk was this big Hollywood star with an illustrious career that he could not afford to lose. Telling but now showing, other characters did most of thee talking as they lined up to hype him and his many exploits. However, all that exposition wears thin rather quickly as audiences are led along a journey where the film tries too hard and beats them over the head with how smart and edgy it thinks it is. Doing much of that hyping is Hawk’s lifelong best friends Kyle (Diaz) and Xander (Matt Bomer), who offered him guidance and assistance throughout his career. Meanwhile, his outrageous crisis lawyer Ira (Hill) had his back. A fixer to the stars, his purpose was to utter the most outlandish dialog and obnoxiously suck up all the air in every room. In order to determine the identity of his extortionist, Hawk must set out on a journey to make amends with anyone he could have wronged.
Knowing very little about who Hawk is or the kind of person he was, the backstory of these encounters mean next to nothing as they are basically a pretense to introduce, what amounts to cameos, to play the so-called people he may or may not have wronged along the way. Presenting an opportunity for introspection for Hawk, any potential emotional impact is rendered null and void for the simple fact that there is nothing for him to dive into. In the meantime, the longer his extortionist’s identity remained unsolved, the more Hawk continued to unravel under the pressure of his supposed misgivings, including self doubt and questions. How they could have affected the people he has wronged, and the impact his behavior impacted the trajectory of his career, weighed on him heavily, as Ira, and his team of support staff, tried to work their magic in crafting the perfect PR strategy in response to the potential fallout. As the story approached thee finished line, never having come out of the starting gate to begin with, the final outcome would end with a whimper. Offering up very little in the way of conflict to move the needle, its resolution went as such. Giving audiences no reason to care about the beginning, middle, or end of the proceedings, the film is destined to fade away as soon as the credits roll.
Though it may not be saying much, Reeves is the best part of Outcome, solely for being lucky enough to evade the awful dialog. Fitting the bill as the movie star Hawk was made out to be, the lack of material for him to work with, made the character incredibly dull to watch. On the other hand, one can’t help but feel bad for the film’s other stars, who are collectively painful to watch, none more than Hill. Obnoxious to the utmost degree and saddled with the worst dialog, Ira uttered the most unfunny quips with the kind of energy bringing forth unheard of levels of cringe. Operating at a level above everything else, he could not yell loud enough to distract from the film’s multitudes of glaring flaws.
Outcome is a fruitless venture that wastes all the talent involved on both sides of the camera with a cardboard-thin and painfully unfunny celebrity satire.
still courtesy of Apple Original Films
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The EIC of the coincidentally-named keithlovesmovies.com. A Canadian who prefers to get out of the cold and into the warmth of a movie theatre.