Apple TV over the last few years has solidified them as a premium streaming hub that continuously produces quality media. They’re well known for their shows, such as The Morning Show, For All Mankind, and Shrinking, but their films, on the other hand, haven’t got the same acclaim. Apple has produced a few films that have been released theatrically and received critical acclaim, such as Martin Scorsese’s Killers of the Flower Moon and John Kosinski’s F1. When it comes to their streaming films like The Family Plan, Wolfs, and Ghosted, they unfortunately pull the shorter end of the stick. Jonah Hill now arrives with his third directed feature after Mid90s and Stuz, with Outcome.
This film follows Reef Hawk (Keanu Reeves), a famous, washed-up Hollywood star who has been sober for the last five years. After taking a break, he’s ready to return to stardom but learns from his crisis lawyer, Ira Slitz (Jonah Hill), that someone is extorting him with a video that could jeopardise his career. Without any knowledge of what’s in the video or who’s blackmailing him, he sets out to make amends to those he has wronged in the past in hopes of figuring out who the blackmailer is.
Keanu Reeves, one of the most loveable actors of our generation, is cast as a character that’s set out to be believed to be a jerk, which, throughout this entire runtime, is just hard to believe. At times, it feels like Reeves was the perfect fit for this movie, but for most of the duration of the film, he feels miscast. He’s not given much to work with as Hawk begins going around to make amends, but each visit feels rushed, lacking the emotional impact that is expected as we learn about Reef Hawk through these characters.
It’s not wrong to say that Jonah Hill and Ezra Woods delivered a poorly written script that lacks any depth to its characters and struggles to say something worthwhile on cancel culture. It becomes incredibly clear that Outcome is a movie Jonah Hill has made due to being cancelled himself after allegations were brought to his name in 2023. You can see the workings of a good film somewhere within the framework.
A movie that focuses on a celebrity fearing the loss of their career from one mishap, with the audience having to figure out whether the main character is truly a good guy like the public is led to believe or if he has his morals in the wrong place. Not once does Outcome say anything intelligent about morality or about anything else for that matter.
Instead, it decides to make excessive, tasteless jokes about Kanye West and Jewish people and have framed pictures of other cancelled celebrities like Kevin Spacey seen in the background. To add to it, Jonah Hill plays Reef Hawk’s lawyer, and while I don’t think his performance was all too bad, as it took me a while to even realise it was him, Hill loses his touch with the character that feels like a Temu version of Tom Cruise’s Les Grossman from Tropic Thunder, a character that has a lot less screentime and involvement but is 10x funnier and is real satire on the selected profession.
Outcome is at its strongest when supporting cast members Cameron Diaz, Matt Bomer and Martin Scorsese are on the screen. Diaz and Bomer respectively play Kyle and Xander, Reef’s best friends, and aside from Ira Slitz, are the characters we spend the most time with. If there’s any emotional levity in this film, Diaz and Bomer are able to bring it.
Scorsese returns in yet another Apple TV project, but this time as Richie “Red” Rodriguez, his old agent from when he was a child actor. There’s a scene where we discover he’s now working as a bowling instructor, and the best part about their conversation is when Red asks, “What are you sorry for?” and this feels like the crux of the whole movie.
If not for being extorted, Hawk wouldn’t have gone out of his way to make these amends, and unfortunately, it doesn’t feel like Outcome does much with this, which is where it shoots itself in the leg. These characters are the only ones, including Reef Hawk, to get any sort of development in the film and get a full-circle story arc, and it just makes you think that instead of making an 80-minute film, it could’ve been turned into a TV series which would’ve allowed for more time with these characters.
Outcome is a poor attempt at taking a jab at celebrity and cancel culture as it struggles to juggle its characters and provide any emotional depth within its story. Jonah Hill fails to understand what he wants Outcome to be, as it doesn’t do too well at being a comedy, although it does have its comedic moments, and it also doesn’t excel as a drama. Cameron Diaz, Matt Bomer, and Martin Scorsese are laughably the only good additions to the film, with Scorsese funnily enough elevating the movie, even if it’s for a few minutes.
