The Big Bounce
Release Date: January 30, 2004
MPAA Rating: PG-13 for sexual content, nudity, violence and language
Directed by: George Armitage
Starring: Owen Wilson, Morgan Freeman, Gary Sinise, Charlie Sheen, Sara Foster, Vinnie Jones, Bebe Neuwirth, Kris Kristofferson, Willie Nelson, Harry Dean Stanton
Plot:
Jack Ryan is a likeable drifter whose talents lie just outside the law. Hoping a change of scenery will bring him luck, Jack heads for Hawaii. There on the exotic North Shore of Oahu, he soon discovers that whether he is looking for a new con or a little romance, temptation is everywhere. Jack takes a job working construction for Ray Ritchie, a shady real estate developer who is building a resort despite protests by local Hawaiians. Almost immediately, Jack has a run-in with Ray Ritchie's foreman, Lou Harris, and cold-cocks him across the jaw with a Louisville Slugger. Bob Jr., Ritchie's right-hand man, warns Jack to get off the island if he knows what's good for him. Jack happily ignores Bob Jr. Impressed with Jack's knockout ability, North Shore District Judge Walter Crewes offers Jack a job while taking an unusually keen interest in Jack's past crimes and uncertain future. Enter Nancy Hayes, a thrill-loving local who specializes in good looks and petty crime. Wh! en Nancy tries to seduce Jack into helping her double-cross Ray Ritchie and steal $200,000 of his payoff money, Jack is intrigued, but hesitant. This could be the perfect score, or the perfect setup.
Review:
The majority of Big Bounce has to do with plans. Planning out a way to live life by conning different people and
living the good life without "actually" working. But its just amazing how The Big Bounce drifts away from the whole
point of the film, scene after scene. And not only does it drift away, but it drifts away to pointless situations that at
the end it makes this look terribly off and like just a big mess.
So in this film you basically have quite a few great actors trying to con one another. Everyone is setting up each
other and sticking to their own plan. The others are suspicious and speaking behind each others back and Owen
Wilson's character Jack as well as Sara Foster's character Nancy seem to be teaming up with each other and at
the end to track and take two hundred thousand dollars from Gary's character Ray.
Eighty percent of the film is just Jack and Nancy together usually running in the beach naked or getting undressed
and jumping in the bed. While they are not doing that, they are going over houses and stealing money and food
and many more things that you can imagine. The biggest turn on for Nancy is prison guys in which this case Jack
has been a couple of times, therefore leading to a small relationship.
It all can sound good on paper, but once you lay your eyes on this movie for the entire length of an hour and
thirty-five minutes, you'll certainly want that time back to do something worthwhile.
No one can deny that the acting is good, it is probably the only thing that shines in this film. But oh boy, if they
didn't select these actors and just regular average actors, this film would certainly be one of the worst things to
come around this year. However, even the list of actors it had couldn't save it from being completely drastic and
horrendous.
If you round The Big Bounce down, it doesn't bounce a foot in the air. It has a few laughs, but the rest is filled with
gaps that the writer packed with garbage and to fill in the time to a crappy conclusion at the end. Once the film
delivers its ending, it doesn't hit you, but instead it is the funniest part of the entire movie.
I wouldn't go ahead and blame this film on the director, but more to the writer. This screenplay is packed with
situations that will draw the audience away from the movie and bore them to a slow and painful death. There are
so many silly things that when I picture it on my head, it hurts even more. Instead of sticking with the plot, the
story divides itself and enters the world of just Jack and Nancy and how they play with each other.
Not even the very pretty Sara Foster can save this film from being the total disaster that it was. You have great
actors in this movie like Morgan Freeman, Gary Sinise, Charlie Sheen, Owen Wilson and a few more. But its a
shame that it is a waste for them, because this is far from everything a movie should be.
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