Big Trouble
Review
by : Gareth Von Kallenbach
Starring:
Tim Allen, Rene Russo, Stanley Tucci, Jason
Lee
Directed by: Barry Sonnenfeld
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Misadventure comedies are often a hit or miss proposition.
The success of the film often depends on the mix of the cast,
the premise, and the director's ability to make the absurd
interesting and funny. For every "Airplane" and "The Naked
Gun" that hits big there are the "Brain Donors" and "Clue"
films that bomb. Thankfully "Big Trouble" directed by Barry
Sonnenfeld does not fall into the bomb category as a film,
despite the plot centering on a bomb.
The film
was delayed from its planned opening on September 15th by
the terrorist attacks on America. Despite being a comedy,
the filmmakers wisely thought that scenes of lax and inane
security personnel at a major airport combined with other
plot twists would not be appropriate in light of the tragedy.
The movie sat in the studio vaults until the nation had time
to heal and was ready to accept this comedy of misadventure.
Big Trouble
is based upon the Pulitzer Prize winning novel by Dave Barry,
and centers on a group of people who are brought together
by odd situations that are as funny as they are improbable.
Leading the way is Eliot Arnold (Tim Allen), an award winning
journalist and recent divorcee who finds himself now running
an advertising company and trying to communicate with his
son Matt (Ben Foster). While playing a school game that involves
using a squirt gun to soak a fellow classmate for points,
Matt and his friend accidentally foil a contract murder attempt
on the step father of his intended target. It seems the stepfather,
Arthur Herk (Stanley Tucci), has been stealing money from
his employer, that is, when he is not ignoring his wife Anna
(Rene Russo) and her daughter Jenny (Zoey Deschanel), and
hitting on the maid. The attempted soaking of Jenny by Matt
foils the shot of hired gun Henry Algott (Dennis Farina) and
draws the attention of two local police officers (Janeane
Garofolo and Patrick Warburton), which sets the comedy in
motion. It seems as if a large trunk containing a nuclear
bomb has entered the city of Miami and ends up in the possession
of two very dim-witted crooks (Tom Sizemore and Johnny Knoxville),
who are clueless as to what they really have. The mayhem is
on as they all attempt to complete their tasks, be it an assassination,
soaking of Jenny, gaining the son's respect, leaving the lousy
husband, or in the case of Puggy (Jason Lee), find his next
bag of Fritos.
The cast
is great and it works. The emphasis is not on plot or character
development but rather on situations and outcomes. Even the
bad guys in the film gain plenty of laughs as it is hard to
dislike the characters, as they are honest about who and what
they are, and make no excuses for that. I loved the speech
Dennis Farina gives about manners in a crowded restaurant
while planning his next assassination. It is quirks like this
that make the characters fun and entertaining, and everyone
in the cast has a solid performance. Tim Allen is great in
his role but never hogs the scenes from his fellow cast, as
there are plenty of laughs and good lines for everyone in
this comedy.
I chose
not to go too much into the film as many of the laughs and
situations are best left discovered and deeper explanation
of the characters and their situations would in my opinion
spoil what is to come for many viewers. Instead let me leave
you with this: "Big Trouble" is a funny, light hearted, and
enjoyable film that will have you exiting the theater with
a smile.
Gareth
Von Kallenbach
Gareth@nwlink.com
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