Film

The Out-of-Towners

A slapstick comedy about a Midwestern couple whose trip to New York City spirals into chaos. Steve Martin and Goldie Hawn fumble through escalating disasters with physical comedy and genuine affection for each other. It's broad, earnest, and built entirely on the premise that things will keep getting worse—the kind of film that asks you to enjoy watching likeable people suffer beautifully.

TMDb rating2.9

Should you watch it?

Watch it if you like farce where a mild-mannered couple's bad luck snowballs into full-blown physical chaos, and you enjoy seeing Steve Martin and Goldie Hawn play it straight.

Skip it if you want something subtle, because the jokes are broad and the mishaps pile up until they start to feel repetitive, even at only ninety minutes.

What it asks of you: Brisk, it moves quickly through its ninety minutes, asking you to go along with escalating coincidence and keep your sense of humor loose rather than your guard up.

Not sure? Find tonight's pick in a minute.

If you liked this

National Lampoon's Vacation1983

The template for chaos-tourism comedies. Chevy Chase's optimistic dad and his fractious family drive across America chasing the perfect vacation, hitting every possible disaster along the way with warmth underneath.

But Feels dated in places, and some of the humour is meaner than the Martin-Hawn version. Also longer and less focused on the central couple.

National Lampoon's Vacation poster

Planes, Trains and Automobiles1987

Two strangers trapped together by travel disasters, forced into mutual reliance and genuine friendship. Steve Martin again, this time paired with John Candy's warmth. Hilarious and unexpectedly touching.

But The emotional core means it trades some laughs for sincerity. If you only want pure slapstick, the slower passages may feel like a shift.

Planes, Trains and Automobiles poster

It Happened One Night1934

The ancestor of all screwball couple comedies. Runaway heiress and cynical journalist forced together, trading quips while everything falls apart. Elegant, fast, and genuinely romantic beneath the gags.

But Pre-war pacing and sensibilities feel very distant. The jokes assume context you may need to bring. Black and white, seventy minutes.

It Happened One Night poster

Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from The Out-of-Towners

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

After Hours1985

Both films weaponize New York City as a character that defeats visitors through pure accumulated Murphy's Law. Same setting, opposing tones.

Martin Scorsese's New York nightmare: a man's evening spirals into surreal chaos when his date stands him up. It has the same journey as Out-of-Towners—arrival, disaster, escalation—but reimagined as existential dark comedy instead of sitcom.

But Genuinely unsettling in places. The humour is alienating, not warm. Scorsese's vision is bleak and the ending is ambiguous in a way that frustrates rather than satisfies.

After Hours poster
More like this (8)

Ghostbusters II1989

Another Martin and Hawn era comedy where a couple gets dragged into escalating nonsense in New York. Less mean-spirited than many comedies of that decade, with genuine character warmth.

But The supernatural plot can feel tacked-on. Depends on sequel affection and willingness to accept 1989's special effects as fun rather than convincing.

Ghostbusters II poster

Beetlejuice1988

A couple stuck in their own nightmare with witty supernatural chaos. Tim Burton's visual invention meets slapstick logic. Goldie Hawn energy even when she's dead, playing against genuine eeriness.

But The tone swings wildly between funny and grotesque. Michael Keaton's performance is unpredictable—some find him brilliant, others find him grating.

Beetlejuice poster

The Grand Budapest Hotel2014

A globe-trotting adventure where nothing goes right but everything is beautiful. Wes Anderson's geometric chaos, but warmer than his usual work. Similar DNA to Out-of-Towners: travel, disaster, and fondness for characters.

But Anderson's style is precious and can feel airless. If symmetry and pastels bore you, this will definitely bore you. Moves fast but feels mannered.

The Grand Budapest Hotel poster

Enchanted April1991

A restorative comedy-drama about two married women on a transformative trip to Italy. Less manic than Out-of-Towners but built on similar principles: travel as catalyst, with quieter humour and genuine character work.

But Slower, more romantic than comedic. The understated British tone is miles from Martin's physical humour. If you want constant jokes, you'll feel the drag.

Enchanted April poster

The Princess Bride1987

Adventure, romance, and constant comedy woven together without any of them cancelling out the others. A couple against the world, witty dialogue, and genuine affection. Endlessly re-watchable.

But Decades of fame mean you've probably heard every quotable line. The self-aware narration is charming or annoying depending on your tolerance for winking.

The Princess Bride poster

Overboard1987

Goldie Hawn herself, opposite Kurt Russell, in a fish-out-of-water comedy about class, marriage, and con artists. Lighter than Out-of-Towners but with similar energy and genuine chemistry between the leads.

But The premise involves deception played as romance, which lands differently now. The comedy relies on physical humour that some find dated. Also very 80s in its sensibilities.

Overboard poster

Rubber2010

Both are structured as pure escalation: if things can go wrong, they will, and the film never breaks its own promise. Total commitment to premise regardless of logic.

A sentient tire rolls through a desert killing people and causing chaos. Absurdist, surreal, genuinely bizarre. It commits completely to the premise that something inexplicable is happening and won't explain itself—similar commitment to Out-of-Towners' refusal to let anything improve.

But It's a 90-minute comedy built on a concept that exhausts itself in 15 minutes. If you need conventional narrative logic, this will feel like a joke you don't understand.

Rubber poster

The Ladykillers1955

Both find comedy in capable people (criminals/innocent tourists) undone by circumstance. Both trust that watching intelligent people get progressively worse at their own lives is inherently funny.

An Ealing comedy about criminals pretending to be musicians renting a house from a sharp old landlady. Post-war British charm, gentle humour, and characters constantly undone by their own planning. Watch for the restraint and affection in the comedy.

But Very British sensibility from a very different era. Moves slowly by modern standards. The plot pivots on circumstance rather than character, which some find thin.

The Ladykillers poster

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