Verdict: A sweet-natured comedy-drama about coming of age at a 1970s prep school.

Details: Starring Shawn Hatosy and Alec Baldwin. Rated R for pervasive teen drug use and strong language, including sexual references. 1 hour, 42 minutes.

Rate it: Write your own review

Review: If they handed out awards for misleading ad campaigns, Miramax would land the top trophy. The film distributor is touting "Outside Providence" as a wacky comedy like "There's Something About Mary." Yeah, the screenplay is by the Farrelly brothers, the "Mary"-makers, and based on Peter Farrelly's novel. But the similarities end there. The movie features a three-legged dog, and somebody gets a dart stuck in his face. But the tone is bittersweet funny, not "ha-ha" raucous.

In other words, most of the people lured by the ad campaign will hate it, while those who actually might enjoy this minor-key movie won't go anywhere near the theater.

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