Strictly a middle-aged comedy, which consists of more easy lobs than sharp smacks, but manages to get the job done.

Lightweight but likable entertainment.

Ragged as some of it might have been, that old "Out-of-Towners" had a unified and surprisingly dark comic vision to go with its nifty one-liners. This big, glossy picture is set in movie-movie land, that shiny, peachy place where a celebrity -- like Mayor Rudy -- waits around every corner. [2 April 1999, Friday, p.A]

As the harried household head in The Out-of-Towners, the thrill is gone. Martin's character is dull, and his performance is fatigued -- Hawn, a trouper, locates all the available giggles and wins applause for her big tantrum scene. And John Cleese is riotously funny.

Competent, to be sure, with some good lines.

The only possible reasons to do this concept again is sheer laziness (it's easier to borrow an idea) and pure greed (it's cheaper to borrow an idea). [2 April 1999, Life, p.6E]

The movie is a mess of bits and pieces that try to gel but don't. Still, it is stupidly fun.

You may want to take a chance on this new Out-of-Towners because of its stars, but keep in mind that while its characters take chances, the picture itself plays it awfully safe. [2 April 1999, Calendar, p.F-12]

Don't hate yourself for chuckling at this sweetly anachronistic update of the 1970 Neil Simon comedy.

A slight, oddly lifeless movie with dubious appeal for even the most incorrigible Simon devotees.

It's a little frightening to watch Hawn be "bubbly" at her age.

Jogs doggedly on the treadmill of comedy, working up a sweat but not getting much of anywhere.

Unremarkable. A more honest description would be to label it as mirthless, pointless, and banal.

Director Sam Weisman's pushy, subtlety-free direction certainly doesn't help. Martin is still capable of making a decent film, but The Out-Of-Towners isn't it.