Big Trouble
Rated PG-13 for language, crude humor and sex-related material.
reviewed by Christopher Lyon
“Big Trouble” is one of the movies that got put on hold right after the September 11 attacks. Since it includes some scenes with a bomb carried onto a plane by criminals, the studio thought it would be insensitive to release it right away.
And while that segment of the movie is a little sobering (though played for laughs) in the age of terrorism, it isn’t the biggest problem with “Big Trouble.” In addition to lots of bad language and crude sexual material, the movie just isn’t as funny as you keep wishing it would be.
It’s one of those films that feels like it should be funny. It’s got a great cast—Tim Allen, Rene Russo, Patrick Warburton, Johnny Knoxville, and lots of other familiar and formerly funny faces you’ve seen before. It’s directed by “Men in Black’s” Barry Sonnenfeld. And it’s based on a novel written by funny newspaper columnist Dave Barry.
The plot is certainly “wacky.” Miami teenagers playing a squirt gun game called “Killer” cross paths with real killers who cross paths with a Frito®-loving guy who lives in a tree and a couple of cops and some arms dealers and a hallucinogenic frog. There’s this whole big caper about a big bomb and a couple of really stupid thieves. All of it tries really hard to be funny. Every scene, every bit of dialog, is as wacky as possible.
I think the problem is that nothing in the movie isn’t wacky. With a little bit of cleverness and a little bit of purpose, all the wacky might have been really funny. So much is going on all the time that we never get to know any of the characters as more than stereotypes—the angry kid, the crooked businessman, the lady cop, the stupid criminals, the sarcastic teenage girl (think Daria). Even the core relationship, between Tim Allen’s low-confidence dad character and his angry teenage son character feels like the lite version of the same relationship in a dozen other films (including a recent one starring Tim Allen).
Beyond a few chuckles, I just couldn’t work up a good or steady laugh at any of the outrageous things going on on the screen. And if a movie can’t make you laugh when it’s this disjointed and wacky and crude, there’s just not much reason to spend seven bucks on it.
If you see the movie, questions you can discuss with friends, parents, or just think about yourself:
• Do you ever really want to laugh at a comedy, but just can’t seem to get there?
• What are some of your favorite comedies?
• When does wacky and off-the-wall become really funny to you?
• Who is your favorite cast member? What other movies have they been in that you liked?
Let us know what you thought of this review!