Out on a Limb (1992) User Reviews

Only 15 reviews, let's keep it that way...

[imseeg · 4/10 · 27 March 2022]

It's silly, it's completely silly. Some people must have thought this was funny and I can remember I did watch it entirely in the nineties as well, but watching it now again, it hasnt aged well, to put it politely.

I started watching it (again) for Matthew Broderick's appearance, but he simply aint suited for this kind of slapstick, silly comedies. Thankfully the movie only last 1 hour and 15 minutes...

Bizarre, quirky and thoroughly enjoyable little flick

[waltflanagansdog · 25 May 2001]

I caught 'Out On A Limb' on TV late one night and expected to hate it. The plot is everywhere at once, there are so many characters only a competent director could give each their own traits and personality and the seen were Jeffrey Jones kills himself is so "B-Movie", one can't help but cringe.

However it's these "negative factors" that make Veber's movie so watchable. Broderick, Jones, Kling and the young girl playing the narrator all give decent performances, however it is the then-unknown John C. Reilly and Michael Monks that steal the movie as the dim-witted, red necks Jim and Jim.

Visually, the film seems to capture that small town middle America feel. And the two "temp" Deputy's are an utter delight to watch onscreen.

I'd recommend this movie to anyone who wants to unwind with a plot that draws you in without becoming stressful.

For the locals...

[SLVSteve · 2/10 · 3 June 2008]

For those of us that lived thru those weeks of filming in town and around the Valley - lest we not forget the tedious days of road closures and "film-making". As a reminder to those that live here - locales include Boulder Creek, Bonny Doon, Davenport, Big Basin. etc. The bank was the BC firehouse; chase scenes included Moon Drive off Hwy 236, Empire Grade Rd, and Hwy 1.

Production: Jeffrey Jones was the most approachable, Matt Broderick was above us all - even back then. As far as the film goes - a joke of a script and even a bigger laugh regarding acting and plot - but who cares at this level. A nice time capsule for those that enjoy our coast and valley scenery.

Additional notes; Joe's Bar (Jed's Tavern in the film), original name of the film was Welcome to Buzzsaw - the Old Erba's parking lot was the town square, the backyard shots were off of Grove Street in Boulder Creek; turn off the thinking cap and see a few actors in their early days.

Unbelievable, but very Hilarious!!

[rainbow_143 · 7/10 · 17 November 2001]

This movie has an unbelievable plot (at least it has a plot ... I have seen way too many that have no plot) but that is what makes it so funny. Just the Jims alone make it funny. Two drunk brothers with the same first name that find a dead guy and think he is just drunk too. Definitely worth a watch at least once.

Light distraction

[sbb3 · 7/10 · 1 July 2001]

Sometimes I watch a movie for it's distractive escape value. This silly, multi-faceted story with the back drop of a child's "What did you do this summer?" tale is fine a beer and potato chip viewing and leaves you with "Hey Baby, Que Paso?" humminn' in your head. Lighten up!

From the worst possible reviews an amazingly fun movie rises.

[uksludge · 8/10 · 17 May 1999]

This movie received a 1 star out of 5 rating (=awful) in the Radio Times but I decided to watch it none the less since it starred Matthew Broderick, looked fun and some of these 'dreadful' films are quite fun.

Well, I loved it, perhaps because I felt sorry for this poor, put upon underdog, but my opinion was genuine, one of the most fun films I'd seen (maybe ever). Dumb and Dumber is similar in some respects but much too brash in my opinion and without the subtlety and charm and downright sense of fun of this effort.

Have a drink or something, loosen up

[sbb3 · 7/10 · 4 July 2002]

If you didn't like this movie...you didn't get it. That's Okay, most people don't...Too Bad. It has a memorable quality even if you didn't like it, obviously. It did it's job just giving a point of comparison that you remember. Try singing "Hey baby, que paso?" and people know where it's from. Try it on home video with your favorite whatever and find your inner child. It's a "What you did over the summer?" flick, after all.

I love this movie but.... (contains spoilers)

[goldfeesh-119-601582 · 29 July 2011]

every time I've seen this movie since the first time I saw it in 1993 or so on television it has been missing about 10 minutes in running time. I just watched it again on Netflix and it has a run time listed of 1 hr 22 minutes which is 82 minutes instead of the total 93 it should have. I also own a copy on VHS which is missing a section. This missing scene is of Bill and Sally running from the bear and Skearns which is an extended chase scene which includes them being literally out on a limb of a large (redwood?) tree which breaks resulting them falling into either a river or pond. This is why in the next scene they are in- when they enter the Van Der Haven home- their clothes are wet. Also missing as I recall is a scene with the Siskel and Ebert schoolchildren giving Marci's storytelling a thumbs up/down.

I don't know why this movie isn't more popular than it is- I keep expecting it to turn into a cult classic.

Come on, this is a good funny movie!

[Hogslice · 7/10 · 8 October 2006]

This is a great movie for some laughs, but more importantly it leaves a smile on your face the next day as you think about it. Seeing Broderick's short, stubby, naked body as the kids in the school bus drive by and scream is classic! John C Reilly played a great "Jim" along with his brother "Jim." And the twins, played by Jeffrey Jones, are nigh unto hilarious. The "Evil Twin" has to take over the role of his good twin and become husband, uncle and mayor, and this creates a lot of humorous situations. When they think the twin is drunk in the bar and say that he is "shitfaced," but he was dead, was funny. There are a lot of one-liners that make you crack a smile. Overall, it's a great movie for a relaxing night with friends and popcorn...er, popcorn and friends, whichever you give priority.

Can't understand the low rating - very funny movie

[fandomfatale · 7/10 · 19 January 2022]

I can't understand why this only has a 5.3. I was thoroughly amused and entertained, and was even laughing out loud for several seconds during a couple of parts. The movie is framed in a very interesting way with the younger sister telling the story to her class, some of whom critique it like film critics, which was so clever.

I actually would have liked the movie to be longer, so that some of the various situations could have played out fully, like the return of the wallet.

Greatest low budget movie of all time

[ringaw · 10/10 · 2 April 2002]

The 2 brothers named Jim are hilarious drunks. Plus there's the whole mistaken Identity thing going on, with evil twins, except that neither one of them is really the good twin.

They're both fairly evil. It's a lighthearted silly comedy, but I still think it's great.

A barrel of fun and laughs

[helpless_dancer · 8/10 · 30 January 2000]

An executive leaves his hometown to complete a $140M deal. Along the way he loses his wallet which contains the main ingredient for closing the deal. While trying to get the wallet back he meets every manner of opposition and zany characters. I really liked Jim & Jim and the Siskle & Ebert clones. One of the funniest comedies I ever saw. 4 stars.

A great Laugh!

[hlguthrie · 10/10 · 4 January 2007]

My wife and I watch this film whenever we want a good laugh. The plot, characters and cast combine to provide the most hilarious "good feeling" comedy we have ever seen (this is our favorite!). The whole story is built around the classroom recitation by a young girl about how she spent her summer. The bizarre chain of events she tells about are deliberated at intervals throughout the movie by her unbelieving classmates. During these brief interludes she is coaxed to go on with her intriguing story and the action takes off -- again! This movie is superbly acted and directed to avoid the pitfalls of becoming "slap stick." While the plot is a bit far fetched, it is plausible. If you want to see a movie that makes you feel good and is viewable by people of any age, this is a "must see."

Don't waste your money on this movie

[ilcd · 18 November 1999]

I'm glad I didn't waste my money on this movie. I borrowed it from my cousin. 2 adults who are jealous of each other and don't know anything about positive conflict resolution. If I had a 13-15 year old child, I wouldn't even let him/her watch this movie. Lots of violence and jealousy in this movie. Cruelty to a cute dog. I didn't find this movie funny or entertaining. It was a waste of my time to watch this movie. There are also 2 stupid guys who get drunk everyday and don't know the difference between alive and dead. I gave it a 1/10

Finaly got it!

[peterrifkin · 8/10 · 11 June 2019]

There are some films that i grew up on that i still love today. Silly comedies to many people like "Who's Harry Crumb", "The Burbs" and many others. I´ve had great memories of this movie since i owned it on a tv-recorded VHS back in the early nineties, and now i finally found it on a DVD at Amazon, some vault version edition.

The reason i ordered it is because of the good memories, watching it many times. And thankfully this is one of those that has survived the test of time. At least for me. And if you dont´t get it, you just don't.

The humor is at times clownish, but still it has some great moments. Jeffrey Jones in his prime, no doubt. Thinking the dog is named Marcy, telling "maybe they should put her to sleep" when it´s Broderick´s sister. Just those little things making it actually pretty smart. But then again you have to get the tiny suddle humor-thingsto appreciate it.

Cool stuff: Broderick´s sister has "The terror whitin" and "Nightmare 4"-posters on the walls. It´s cool to see that the director wanted to build her as a horror-freak, and the storyline is actually a crimestory done the parody fun way.

Just a great revisiting, and YES i will watch this many more times.

A comedy disaster

[lor_ · 5 August 2023]

My review was written in September 1992 after a screening in Manhattan's Chelsea neighborhood.

Matthew Broderick sinks with the shiip in "Out on a Limb", a moronic comedy that leads the pack as the worst film of the year so far.

In a very unwise career choice, Broderick stars in what's usually the Michael J. Fox role: a fish out-of-water yuppie. Planning to finalize a $140,000,000 company takeover over the weekend, he's drawn instead to the small California town of Buzzsaw to rescue his young sister Marci (Courtney Peldon) from the clutches of a mad villain played by Jeffrey Jones.

Evidently rewritten and reshot repeatedly, the film makes no sense and develops not an iota of credibility. It's crudely framed as a "How I spent my summer vacation" tall tale told in school by Peldon, despite the fact that she's not present for 99% of the incidents she narrates in such great detail.

The picture's one clever gag is not original: two young classmates of Peldon's are made up as a junior parody of Siskel & Ebert to periodically criticize her far-fetched story. In the real world, "Out on a Limb" was not screened for critics.

In the release version, the leading lady played by Heidi Kling is never given a character. Made up with red curly hair like a refugee from a 15 years-after reunion of stage "Annies", Kling enters the film on the run, kidnaps and torments Broderick for several reels and finally wins him romantically with no explanation of who she is or why she's running.

Intervening segments consist of well-staged but pointless car chases and stunts from second unit director Glenn Randall Junior, as well as a boring story of Jones playing demented twin brothers who make John Lithgow in "Raising Cain" seem like a nice guy. One twin is the mayor of Buzzsaw, who happens to be Broderick and Peldon's stepdad. The other is just out of prison after a 15-year-stretch with revenge on his mind.

The screenwriters are twins Joshua and Daniel Goldin, who besides creating the Jones twins overemphasize a tedious running gag involving imbecilic, inbred hick brothers, both named Jim, whose slapstick is crucial to keeping the pot boiling.

The plot complications include that old wheeze of a corpse mistaken for a still-living drunk and Broderick's missing wallet containing a vital phone number.

Byh the time "Limb" (originally titled "Welcome to Buzzsaw") concludes with Peldon's most cynical classmates applauding her story, the unconvincing finish to that tale has Broderick suddenly chucking his millionaire financial career to settle down with Kling and run for mayor of Buzzsaw. It's as phony as what passed for entertainment in the preceding 75 minutes.

Broderick struggles to keep his poise in this shambles, and he's not aided by being saddled with an extended nude scene hitchhiking after Kling steals his BMW and clothing. Kling deserves another shot with some material to work with, while young Peldon proves to be a precocious scene stealer.

Director Francis Veber, known for his French farces, is out of luck here. Tech credits are adequate but except for the stunts give no indication of a big-budget film.