Outside Providence is a 1999 film adaptation of Peter Farrelly's 1988 novel of the same name. Like the book, the film is a fictionalized account of Farrelly's own experiences at Kent School, a prep school in Kent, Connecticut.
Plot
Timothy "Dildo" Dunphy A.K.A. Dunph (Shawn Hatosy), is a high school senior living in Pawtucket, Rhode Island in 1974. He also hangs out with a group of friends, mainly to smoke pot up at the water tower overlooking town. His friend Drugs Delaney (Jon Abrahams) makes a suggestion of going out to a local bar called "The Edge," where a sexually promiscuous classmate known as Bunny Cote is known to frequent.
Accepting the idea, Dunph and his friends head back to his house to pick up his bong. Dunph tries to get his wheelchair-bound kid brother Jackie (Tommy Bone) to smuggle it out of the house, but they're slowed down by Dunph's dad Pat (Alec Baldwin), who insists that they all come inside and say hi to his poker-playing buddies. While they're exchanging pleasantries, Jackie shows up with the bong wrapped in Dunph's jacket. The bong falls on the floor, and Pat picks it up inquiring what it is. Jackie tries to fool him by saying it's a horn..."a music horn". Pat's friend Joey (George Wendt) asks Dunph to demonstrate his playing abilities. Dunph tries, but blows air, and Pat, having heard enough, lets them leave. Pat's friends all know what the device is, but choose not to rat out Dunph and his buddies.
After "The Edge", Dunph and his friends pile into a car (with him at the wheel) and drive off, with a big cloud of marijuana smoke fogging up the passenger compartment. Unable to see where he's going, Dunph rear-ends the back of a marked police car, with its occupant inside.
Kaveech, one of Pat's poker-playing buddies, has pull with a local judge, and manages to negotiate a plea to keep Dunph out of reform school. He gets shipped off to Cornwall Academy, a Connecticut boys boarding school with a segregated all-girls school nearby under the same name. As a condition of parole, Dunph must finish his senior year and graduate from Cornwall, or spend a year in jail.
Though Dunph makes a sincere effort to stay out of trouble, it quickly catches up with him. The first incident is when Jack Wheeler (Gabriel Mann), a preppy blond student who comes from an obviously privileged life, introduces Dunph to Billy Fu, a middle eastern exchange student with "the best reefer on campus". The trio fashions a bong out of a 55-gallon drum hidden in a large bush, and smokes about half a baggie of weed. Dunph later learns that Billy Fu routinely cuts classes and gets away with it, because his father promises to donate a large amount of money to the school, under the condition that Billy graduates. The school will then receive the promised money after Billy gets his diploma.
It doesn't take long for Dunphy to incur the wrath of Mr. Funderburk (Timothy Crowe), his rigid dorm master; and Dean Bill Mort, who receives a letter simply addressed to the school, but meant for Dunph's eyes. The letter is from Drugs Delaney, revealing Dunph's hatred of the school and of Funderburk, who routinely assigns "work hours" to students who fall out of line. Eventually Dunph accumulates more work hours than he has class days.
Dunph also manages to make friends with Jane Weston (Amy Smart), whom Wheeler calls "hands down, the coolest girl in school". The pair eventually develops their relationship from friendship to romance, but the relationship is brought to a screeching halt one day. This is the second part of an earlier incident when Dunph's room, shared by a kid named Irving (nicknamed Jizz by his classmates due to a masturbation-related prank), is raided by Funderburk. Wheeler's room is also raided.
The incident bringing Dunph's and Jane's relationship to a stop is when Dunph, Jane, Billy Fu, Jizz, and Wheeler are in Dunph's room smoking pot with a bottle of booze present. Wheeler excuses himself to make a phone call. Moments later, Funderburk bursts into the room, catching everyone in the act of getting high and drunk. Funderburk orders Jane out of the room just as Wheeler shows up, innocently saying he was checking to see if anyone was studying. Funderburk orders him out as well. In the midst of a morality lecture on how he intends to turn everyone in as an incentive for them not to repeat such an incident in the future, Dunph stops Funderburk in mid-sentence, telling him to "shut the fuck up". Funderburk calls Dunph out. Dunph reveals his knowledge about the deal with Billy Fu's father, and if Funderburk rats out everyone but Billy, Dunph will in turn, rat Billy out. Funderburk counters with producing the grass he confiscated in the earlier raid. Dunph offers Funderburk a deal, he'll let himself get expelled if everyone else gets work hours. Funderburk accepts the deal.
When the boys are all called to the Dean's office, they're all surprised to learn that all they got was probation and work hours. Dunph eventually puts everything together and learns why: Funderburk gave him an even worse deal than what they had worked out by having had Jane expelled from the school. Funderburk's actions also reversed her acceptance to Brown University the following year.
Not long after this happens, Dunph learns that Wheeler is accepted into Yale University by a letter of recommendation from Funderburk. Knowing that Wheeler was nailed with pot during the first raid, Dunph concludes that Wheeler cut his own deal with Funderburk to rat everyone out and get Jane expelled. Wheeler denies it, and Dunph threatens to throw Wheeler off the roof, where they're smoking weed one evening and is where Dunph reveals his knowledge of the situation. "Your life's gonna suck anyway." Dunph says to a visibly defeated and weak Wheeler.
Dunph later makes his way into the Dean's office at Brown University, where he tells the Dean that he was the one responsible for Jane's expulsion from Cornwall, and that she was innocent of any wrongdoing. He convinces the Dean of Jane's innocence, which the Dean uses to influence the review board to overturn their decision to revoke Jane's admission.
The movie ends with Dunph graduating and even publicly defying Funderburk by refusing to shake his hand as customary at graduation, with his Dad and Jackie coming to school to pick him up. Dunph is given an acceptance letter from Rhode Island Junior College by his dad. Dunph also reveals his intentions to transfer to a "senior college...where people sleep over and shit."
Alternate Ending
An alternate ending is found on the DVD, which has Dunph exiting the graduation ceremonies, meeting Jackie and Clopsy, their three-legged dog. Also showing up is Jane, whom Dunph shares a passionate kiss with, which draws the consternation of Funderburk, who wastes no time in rebuking both Dunph and Jane. Dunph responds by sucker punching Funderburk, knocking him to the sidewalk.
Cast
Trivia
Business
The film was budgeted an estimated $7 million, with revenues of $7.2 million within a month after the film's release; barely breaking even.
External links
