‘Somebody’ Wrestles With Values

Tim Allen and “Joe Somebody” were made for each other. As in the 1994 comedy “The Santa Clause,” Allen displays his special knack in revealing the discontent just beneath the affable surface of a regular guy.

In this warm, serious comedy about midlife crisis, Allen’s Joe Scheffer is a talented video specialist for a Minneapolis pharmaceutical company. On the home front, Joe has lost his cherished wife (Kelly Lynch) to a younger man (Ken Marino), an actor who has swept her up in a trendy lifestyle; at the office, Joe, who has long been promised a promotion, feels that he’s become invisible.

A lovely colleague, Meg (Julie Bowen), does notice him, appreciates his abilities, his reliability and his dedication to his mature-beyond-years 12-year-old daughter, Natalie (Hayden Panettiere), who is the mainstay of his life.

But Joe is not yet ready for the possibility of romance that Meg represents, and his bleak mood intensifies, erupting in the company parking lot one day when the office bully, Mark (Patrick Warburton), cheats Joe out of the last available spot to which his tenure entitles him. An altercation is aborted, but a boxing match is set for three weeks from the day.

Joe has embarked inadvertently on a new direction in his life, one that holds promise and potential disaster. This comes about as Joe begins to take notice of Meg and to take martial arts instruction from a one-time movie action star (Jim Belushi, never better) who, should Joe care to take heed, has lots more to teach Joe than the right moves in taking on the burly Mark.

“Joe Somebody” marks a felicitous third teaming of Allen and director John Pasquin, a key creative force behind Allen’s “Home Improvement” series; Pasquin made his theatrical feature debut with “The Santa Clause,” and he and Allen re-teamed for “Jungle 2 Jungle” in 1997. John Scott Shepherd’s script is perfect for Allen and Pasquin’s talent for giving dimension and depth to mainstream commercial entertainment.

“Joe Somebody” is as shiny as a Christmas tree ornament, and it’s loud too, thanks to George S. Clinton’s bombastic score that’s supposed to appeal to youthful audiences. Yet amid the slickness and noise, this film is grappling with issues of values and priorities as seriously as any art film of far narrower appeal. The team of Allen, Pasquin and Bowen, backed by a top-notch crew and cast, which includes standout Greg Germann as Joe and Meg’s slimy boss, is so adroit as to be subversive.

“Joe Somebody” sends audiences home happy but also with an awareness that happy endings have to be earned in real life as on the screen.

*

MPAA rating: PG, for language, thematic elements and some mild violence. Times guidelines: suitable family entertainment.

‘Joe Somebody’

Tim Allen...Joe Scheffer

Julie Bowen...Meg Harper

Kelly Lynch...Callie Scheffer

Greg Germann...Jeremy

Hayden Panettiere...Natalie Scheffer

Jim Belushi...Chuck Scarett

A Fox 2000 Pictures and Regency Enterprises presentation of a Kopelson Entertainment production. Director John Pasquin. Producers Arnold Kopelson, Anne Kopelson, Matthew Gross, Ken Atchity, Brian Reilly. Executive producers Arnold Milchan, Chi-Li Wong, William Wilson III. Screenplay John Scott Shepherd. Cinematographer Daryl Okada. Editor David Finfer. Music George S. Clinton. Production designer Jackson De Govia. Art director Scott Ritenour. Set designer Windy Fleischaker. Set decorator Michele Poulik. Running time: 1 hour, 37 minutes.

In general release.