The word "nonsensical" doesn't begin to do justice to "Outta Time", an increasingly ridiculous caper picture starring "Saved by the Bell" alumnus Mario Lopez as a wronged man on the run.
While clunkers like these can still deliver a certain entertainment value, the convoluted plotting and wildly uneven performances ultimately prove deadly.
Expect this low-budget quickie to be outta theaters and onto video in no time flat.
Lopez is nice guy David Morales, a San Diego university student who has to find a way to come up with his tuition after a knee injury effectively wipes out his soccer scholarship.
His dilemma is seemingly solved when his ex-girlfriend (Tava Smiley) hooks him up with Professor Darabont (John Saxon), a shady character who pays David handsomely to sneak suspicious packages having something to do with medical research across the border to Tijuana.
The plan is to keep the gig just long enough to pay off his tuition, but soon David finds himself eluding killers who are after the contents of a red and white Igloo cooler that he must deliver to Darabont in exchange for the well-being of his kidnapped Mexican mother (Dyana Ortelli).
For reasons known only to writers Ned Kerwin and Scott Duncan, David spends most of the movie toting the highly conspicuous cooler, making him a pretty silly-looking target. Apparently he has never heard of a duffel bag.
Despite the Latin flavor and the man-on-the-run theme, the scripters and director Lorena David end up with an unintentionally funny muddle.
While Lopez, who co-hosts "The Other Half" with Dick Clark and Danny Bonaduce, at least possesses a certain affability, the same cannot be said for "Access Hollywood" host Nancy O'Dell, who is determined to show her range by playing an evil but brilliant surgeon.
We'll resist the easy temptation to make some crack about sticking to their day jobs.
Only comic Carlos Mencia manages to generate a little spark, popping in and out as Lopez's supportive buddy Juancho.
With both plot and performances straining credibility at every turn, director David does, however, manage to work in a couple of nicely choreographed action sequences that would have been right at home in a more expensive production -- and one without that dumb cooler.
OUTTA TIME
A Pathfinder release
Artisan Home Entertainment presents
in association with Filmstar Prods.
and Silverstar Prods.
A Roberts/David production
Credits:
Director: Lorena David
Screenwriters: Scott Duncan, Ned Kerwin
Producer: Mark Roberts
Executive producers: Larry Crowder, John Powell, David M. Grey
Director of photography: Lisa Wiegand
Production designers: Devorah Herbert, Cliff Spencer
Editor: Allan Spencer Wall
Costume designer: Luellyn Harper Thomas
Music: Scott Gilman
Cast:
David Morales: Mario Lopez
Bella: Ali Landry
Professor Darabont: John Saxon
Dr. Drake: Nancy O'Dell
Juancho: Carlos Mencia
Gloriana: Dyana Ortelli
Emma: Tava Smiley
Franco: Richard Lynch
Felix: George Lopez.
MPAA rating: R
Running time 90 minutes...
While clunkers like these can still deliver a certain entertainment value, the convoluted plotting and wildly uneven performances ultimately prove deadly.
Expect this low-budget quickie to be outta theaters and onto video in no time flat.
Lopez is nice guy David Morales, a San Diego university student who has to find a way to come up with his tuition after a knee injury effectively wipes out his soccer scholarship.
His dilemma is seemingly solved when his ex-girlfriend (Tava Smiley) hooks him up with Professor Darabont (John Saxon), a shady character who pays David handsomely to sneak suspicious packages having something to do with medical research across the border to Tijuana.
The plan is to keep the gig just long enough to pay off his tuition, but soon David finds himself eluding killers who are after the contents of a red and white Igloo cooler that he must deliver to Darabont in exchange for the well-being of his kidnapped Mexican mother (Dyana Ortelli).
For reasons known only to writers Ned Kerwin and Scott Duncan, David spends most of the movie toting the highly conspicuous cooler, making him a pretty silly-looking target. Apparently he has never heard of a duffel bag.
Despite the Latin flavor and the man-on-the-run theme, the scripters and director Lorena David end up with an unintentionally funny muddle.
While Lopez, who co-hosts "The Other Half" with Dick Clark and Danny Bonaduce, at least possesses a certain affability, the same cannot be said for "Access Hollywood" host Nancy O'Dell, who is determined to show her range by playing an evil but brilliant surgeon.
We'll resist the easy temptation to make some crack about sticking to their day jobs.
Only comic Carlos Mencia manages to generate a little spark, popping in and out as Lopez's supportive buddy Juancho.
With both plot and performances straining credibility at every turn, director David does, however, manage to work in a couple of nicely choreographed action sequences that would have been right at home in a more expensive production -- and one without that dumb cooler.
OUTTA TIME
A Pathfinder release
Artisan Home Entertainment presents
in association with Filmstar Prods.
and Silverstar Prods.
A Roberts/David production
Credits:
Director: Lorena David
Screenwriters: Scott Duncan, Ned Kerwin
Producer: Mark Roberts
Executive producers: Larry Crowder, John Powell, David M. Grey
Director of photography: Lisa Wiegand
Production designers: Devorah Herbert, Cliff Spencer
Editor: Allan Spencer Wall
Costume designer: Luellyn Harper Thomas
Music: Scott Gilman
Cast:
David Morales: Mario Lopez
Bella: Ali Landry
Professor Darabont: John Saxon
Dr. Drake: Nancy O'Dell
Juancho: Carlos Mencia
Gloriana: Dyana Ortelli
Emma: Tava Smiley
Franco: Richard Lynch
Felix: George Lopez.
MPAA rating: R
Running time 90 minutes...
- 4/12/2002
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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