THE BIG BOUNCE has the bounce of a beach ball with a six-inch hole. Never have
I heard such loudly vocal and universal complaints from the people leaving a
screening, saying that the movie stunk -- and worse.
A film that leaves you waiting in vain for a single laugh that never comes, it
makes eighty-five minutes feel like an eternity. But, with one glaring
exception, it has a good cast -- all wasted. The exception is Sara Foster, who
is the female lead in the picture. With zero chemistry with her male costar
(Owen Wilson, who does the only good acting in the movie), she shows no visible
talent. Since the movie wants to be taken as a sexy comedy, her looks aren't
much help either since she has a quite unremarkable face, stringy blonde hair
and skinny legs. But the blame for the movie's lackluster quality lies on more
than her shoulders. Sebastian Gutierrez's script is threadbare, and George
Armitage's direction is absolutely aimless. The main supporting cast (Charlie
Sheen, Morgan Freeman, Gary Sinise and Bebe Neuwirth) turn in the lamest
performances of their careers. In short, THE BIG BOUNCE will undoubtedly
bounce right onto many worst of the year lists.
Based on an Elmore Leonard novel, the story concerns Jack Ryan (Wilson), a
two-bit scam artist whose biggest heist was two-hundred dollars, and Nancy
Hayes (Foster), who wants to help Jack move upscale with his robberies.
Nothing really happens until the predictable ending, which features a quick
orgy of "surprises." Don't be surprised if you couldn't care less about any of
them.
Some movies have gratuitous sex or violence. THE BIG BOUNCE, on the other
hand, features lots of gratuitous travelogue moments. Filmed on location in
Hawaii, the movie cuts to the surf whenever nothing interesting is happening on
the set, which is often. The shock is that they couldn't even get this right.
Jeffrey L. Kimball's cinematography is downright dull. But that does fit right
in with the rest of the film, which is as dull as dishwater.
THE BIG BOUNCE runs a very long 1:25. The film is rated PG-13 for "sexual
content and nudity, violence and language" and would be acceptable for kids
around 11 and up.
Copyright © 2004 Steve Rhodes