BIG TROUBLE
2002 -- PG - 13 -- 85 mins
Directed by Barry Sonnenfeld. Screenplay by Robert Ramsey and Matthew Stone, from the novel by Dave Barry
Tim Allen: Eliot Arnold
Rene Russo: Anna Herk
Stanley Tucci: Arthur Herk
Tom Sizemore: Snake Dupree
Johnny Knoxville: Eddie Leadbetter
Dennis Farina: Henry Desalvo
Jack Kehler: Leonard Ferroni
Janeane: Officer Monica Romero
Patrick Warburton: Officer Walter Kramitz
Ben Foster: Matt Arnold
Zooey Deschanel: Jenny Herk
Dwight 'Heavy D' Myers: Agent Pat Greer
Omar Epps: Agent Alan Seitz
Jason Lee: Puggy
Sofia Vergara: Nina
Andy Richter: Jack and Ralph Pendrick
Michael McShane: Bruce
"My hands are kind of full right now, what with holding my dick and all"
PLOT SYNOPSIS:
Eliot Arnold is a former journalist who's life has taken a downwards slide. He lost his job, he's divorced and his son doesn't respect him. However, things go from bad to worse when he accidentally becomes involved with an assorted of oddballs and criminals, and a mysterious suitcase which everyone wants to get their hands on. Among those involved is slimeball businessman Arthur Herk, and his none-too-happy wife Anna. A pair of professional mafia hitmen are on the trial, but for Eliot and co, the more immediate threat comes from a pair of moronic petty crooks who proceed to take a number of them hostage while pursuing the all-important suitcase.
JANEANES CHARACTER:
As Monica Romero, Janeane has a surprisingly good supporting role. Unlike many of the characters in the movie, she doesn't come across as lunkhead. In fact, Romero is a highly competent police officer and acts far more realistically and convincingly than those around her. Like her engaging law enforcement part in Clay Pigeons, Monica is the more assertive, intelligent half of the duo. Another plus is the tiny bit of back story to her character; during an incident on the job, partner Kramitz caught a look at her bra, which has resulted in his desire to sleep with her ever since. Although this doesn't actually lead anywhere, it's a nice touch. Janeane has a good rapport with Warburton, who is his usual, amusingly deadpan, boarderline-lifeless self. Interesting (to me, anway)...both actors played lovers to the key characters on both Seinfeld and NewsRadio...
MY REVIEW:
**
This is a rather curious movie. It features an all-star cast and has an A-list director (we'll overlook Sonnenfeld's potentially career-derailing dud Wild Wild West), which would suggest something special attracted these people to the project. I'm not familiar with humorist Dave Barry's novel in the slightest, so I can't judge the source material. But I'm guessing something got lost in the translation from page to screen, because Big Trouble comes across as a basic, often bland farcical comedy; it's no better or worse than many other such movies you'll find on video shelves anywhere. This movie has no shortage of mistaken identities, comical pratfalls and bumbling caricatures.
That's not to say this is a bad movie, because it really isn't. Indeed, there are some funny, even inspired, bits and pieces scattered throughout the film. The most memorable moment is when Tucci undergoes a toad-related hallucination of Martha Stewart that is slightly more disturbing than the real thing. Another amusing animal moment comes from a freeway roaming goat. One sequence that actually does have some directorial style in the climax, in which one character meets his fate; it's here that Sonnenfeld delivers some of the bizarre, clever visual flair he displayed back in his earlier days of helming the Addams Family movies.
The casting is obviously strong, but ultimately the movie is too short and too swallow to allow the large ensemble to really do what they could have. Allen is a performer who I never thought much about, but both he and the always attractive Russo are likeable, although not especially deep. Farina and Kehler are amusing as the two hitmen, although Farina has played this kind of thing before. Tucci is one of the most exciting actors of the last decade, thanks to a series of fantastic performances (Murder One, Big Night, Undercover Blues, etc), and he's funny again here as the weasely Arthur Herk. One of my personal fave screen actors is Sizemore, who tears up the screen in heavyweight fare like Bringing Out The Dead and Natural Born Killers, and it's interesting to see him playing a knucklehead slimeball. Not his best form though. My personal favorite performances in the film come from Heavy D (seen recurring on Boston Public as the shrink) and Omar Epps (who, alas, featured in the awful Mod Squad) as the take-no-shit FBI agents. With their Dragnet-ish delivery and remarkable grasp of general knowledge, they're the best thing in the movie. Takes them a long time to show up, but they immediately click into the story. Lee (as a hippy slacker) and Vergara (as a sexy maid) ultimately end up too minor and undeveloped to mean anything.
There's some good stuff in Big Trouble, but if you want a really funny Sonnenfeld film about thugs and comical crime, rent Get Shorty again.
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