A Bit of Context
A novel vision of Providence from one of Rhode Island's most successful filmmakers.
By Diane Vadino
Looking for a bit of context before traveling to Providence?
If you're a fan of the Farrelly brothers' films, including There's Something About Mary and Dumb & Dumber, you may be interested in Peter Farrelly's debut novel, Outside Providence. It's a sincere, affecting debut work, not quite as broadly comic as the Farrellys' other films, and it offers a glimpse into the mind of a local teen.
The director and novelist grew up in nearby Cumberland before striking out for a career in the arts, first in New York (where the book served as his MFA thesis at Columbia) and then California, where he adapted this book for the film shot partly in Providence and starring Amy Smart and Alec Baldwin.
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