The Out-Laws review: Even Pierce Brosnan can’t save this lackluster comedy

2/5

Story: Days before bank manager Owen Browning’s (Adam Devine) wedding to his yoga instructor girlfriend Parker (Nina Dobrev), they get word that her parents, Billy (Pierce Brosnan) and Lilly (Ellen Barkin) will be in attendance after all. After a day out with his future in-laws, during which time Owen gets terribly wasted, his bank is targeted by a couple of burglars. Owen suspects Billy and Lilly were on the job, and decides to help an FBI agent, who has been on their trail for long, to capture the elusive duo. But then, things go south when Parker is abducted by her parents’ former business partner.

Review: The Out-Laws has been produced, among many others, by Adam Sandler, who would have led this ensemble cast, if it had been made some 20 years ago. So, in steps Adam Devine trying his best Sandler impression, with moderate success. The premise of the film is built on silliness from the word go. Owen’s the goofy and gullible banker, who not only tells his soon-to-be in-laws about the security system at his bank after a few drinks, but also joins a later heist, when his girlfriend Parker’s life is in danger.

Turns out, Billy and Lilly have been in the business of robbing banks - they are the Ghost Bandits, the most notorious bank robbers in American history - and didn’t give their former partner, Rehan (Poorna Jagannathan with a ridiculous accent), a cut of the takings from their last job. Rehan’s a trigger-happy gangster who wants her money back, for which she takes Parker as surety, giving Billy and Lilly 24 hours to hit the next bank and get the moolah. This time, though, Owen’s joined the crew. How they get themselves out of this pickle, with FBI agent Oldham (Michael Rooker) after them, forms the rest of the narrative.

The Out-Laws is a film that, ideally, should not have been made. But then it’s there and I had the misfortune of watching it. Adam Devine is no Sandler and try as I might, I can’t shake the feeling that had the latter been in this film, it would have worked a lot better. Nina Dobrev has pretty much nothing to offer – if they’d not cast the role and only just mentioned the character in dialogues, it would have had the same effect. Ellen Barkin and Pierce Brosnan did their best given the circumstances – there was not much to work with. Poorna Jagannathan was the biggest miscast, as the most unconvincing gangster, even for a comedy.

Verdict: The Out-Laws does not merit a watch. Remember the title, though, because there is a British crime comedy by (almost) the same name – The Outlaws – that is an infinitely better watch. It is, unfortunately, not available in India yet, but when it does come, don’t forget to tune in.