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Big Trouble

Big Trouble

List Price: $14.99
Your Price: $13.49
Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Roll out the Cliche: Big Trouble = Big Laughs
Review: I haven't yet read the Dave Barry novel from which this movie was adapted, yet I enjoyed it very much. Tim Allen plays Eliot Arnold, a former pulitzer prize winning journalist that wrote satirical columns, much like Barry, but is finally fired for overreacting to an order from his editor. He finds himself divorced and stuck in an advertising job that he loathes. On top of that, he can't get the respect of his son.

Rene Russo plays Anna Herk, the house wife of an executive that is embezzeling money from his employer, which earns him the sights of assassins (Dennis Farina among them). Her daughter is targeted by Allen's watergun toting sun in a school game of 'assassin' in which everyone draws names and attempts to 'terminate' their victim. Everyone seems to show up at Herk's house at once and things get confusing.

Before you know it, two dimwits have stolen an atomic bomb, that resembles a garbage disposal, from some Russian arms dealers, and they get tangled up in the plot. Janene Garofalo and Patrick Warburton play unlikely partners with the Miami police department that tag along for the adventure. Throw in some goats, don't ask--just watch, and a call in show that taunts Florida Gator fans after the football team lost, and this makes for an unlikely funny comedy. Barry Sonenfeld, director, did a great job. I highly recommend it.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: "Big Trouble" has big laughs
Review: It was sheer bad luck that "Big Trouble" was supposed to be released right around the time of the September 11 attacks. And even afterwards, parts of it (about bombs on planes and airport security) just didn't seem that funny anymore. Even so, it's a hilarious slapstick ride (well duh, it's based on a Dave Barry book)

Eliot Arnold (Tim Allen) has a job he hates, a car his son Matt (Ben Foster) hates, and a loud obnoxious client that everyone hates. A bomb in a footlocker arrives in Miami, in a lowlife bar run by Russian arms dealers. (No I am not making this up) Meanwhile, a pair of assassins called Henry (Dennis Farina) and Leo (Jack Kehler) arrive in Miami to shoot a crooked embezzling foot-fetishist businessman called Arthur Herk (Stanley Tucci). Their assassination plot goes awry when Matt leaps out at Arthur's stepdaughter Jenny (Zooey Deschanel) with a squirt gun, and is promptly tackled by Jenny and her mom Anna (Rene Russo, in a peroxide-blonde wig).

Eliot and Anna immediately are attracted to one another. As Eliot tries to figure out his relationship with Matt, Arthur buys the bomb, but soon the two assassins, two street thugs trying to become kingpins, two deadpan FBI agents, an immigrant maid, a spacey homeless guy and two irritable cops are in the middle of a wild chase over a nuclear bomb. And Miami has about forty-five minutes left...

Confused? Oh yeah. This movie is far from simple, in a slapstick sort of way. The humor is unashamedly stupid, making fun of teens, dogs, hallucinogenic toads, goats, people who smoke a lot in restaurants, newspaper bosses, dumb street thugs, Miami in general, and airline security. (Somehow this last one isn't as funny as it used to be) They even get in a nod to the original author Dave Barry. Most of the violence and romance isn't serious either (like the frantic makeout scene where Anna and Eliot gyrate around his office, spilling hot coffee and breaking knicknacks). The one exception is the adorable romance between sweet-natured bum Puggy (Jason Lee, who looks like Jesus impersonator) and maid Nina (Sofía Vergara), who are so sweet and shy that it brings a tear to your eye.

Tim Allen is hilarious as the ad-agent-turned-national-hero, especially the scene where he chases the airplane down the runway. Rene Russo is also great, balancing out the funniness with serious acting; Ben Foster is great as Matt; Farina and Kehler are a pair of endearingly straightforward hit men who are enjoying the whole fiasco; Janeane Garofalo and Patrick Warburton are great as well, as the cop who focuses on crime and protecting the public, and the other cop who merely wants to sleep with any halfway attractive female. Stanley Tucci is outrageously hateable as Arthur.

There's a lot of sex-related humor (nothing too hideous), plenty of swearing, and the makeout scene. There's also violence, but none of it is gory and some is just absurd (like when Eliot runs the car into the goat). The best scenes are probably when the enormous toad spritzes Arthur in the face. What happens? Watch for yourself! I'm not going to tell you!

And... "She know my name! She knows everything! SHE'S COMING TO TAKE MY SOUL!"

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: A Perfect Adaptation Of A Book...
Review: All I have to say is that, having read the book, I believe that this movie is an extraordinarily rare example of an absolutely flawless film adaptation of a book. Whoever worked on the casting in this film is an absolute genius, and Barry Sonnenfeld, as a director, is remarkably clever in capturing Dave Barry's unique wit on film.

Kudos to Tim Allen as both the main character and narrator, as well as all of the other people who worked to produce such an extraordinary film translation. Dave Barry would be proud.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: One of the funniest movies I saw
Review: Oh my god Dave Barry wrote the book and it was perfectly adapted to the screen. The movie is just spectacular i think it is just awesome. They even included the stupid goats. If you don't like this movie i hate you. I think everyone should see it. Tim Allen is the man and Dave Barry needs to write a sequel so another movie can be made. Not only that i think Rene Russo did a good job and so did everyone else. Cudos to them.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Not for the weak of humor
Review: Big Trouble (based on the novel by Dave Barry) has a fast-paced, complicated plot that works as well on screen as it does in print. The story is like a knot in a shoelace -- when you try to pull on it, you just end up with more knots. There's an advertising guy (Tim Allen) whose son (Ben Foster) is supposed to shoot a girl (Zooey Deschanel) with a squirt gun as a part of a game at school. Meanwhile, a pair of hit men (Jack Kehler and Dennis Farina) are after the girl's step-dad (Stanley Tucci) - and his wife (Rene Russo) couldn't care less. There's a man (Jason Lee) living in their tree house who works for two Russians who sell weapons to the step-dad. Two small-time crooks (Tom Sizemore and Johnny Knoxville) stumble over the deal and decide to get a piece of the action. And then a pair of cops (Janeane Garofalo and Patrick Warburton), a pair of FBI agents (Omar Epps and Heavy D), and a giant toad get thrown in for a little extra fun.

Big Trouble is a wonderfully goofy movie -- but what else would you expect from Dave Barry? Sure, some of the gags miss the mark a bit, but there are plenty more where those came from. Be warned -- this movie is not for the weak-humored. If you can't handle silliness, steer clear. If, however, you love the occasional downright goofiness, you're in for a treat.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: As seen on the Discovery channel
Review: This star packed movie is non stop action. You will not find one cliché or un-original thought in this movie. There is no way to anticipate the plot.

Actually it is like reading a Dave Berry novel; that could be because the story was based on one. As with all his works it starts off reasonable builds up to incredulous and then over the top. You are carried along with out even realizing it.

The story starts off with many overlapping threads. We have a young hit man from school out to get a school girl all wet. There is an unscrupulous character (Stanley Ticci) with a graphic (close your eyes) toe (belonging to Sofía Vergara) fetish. The mother (Rene Russo) goes down of the would-be hit man. The television is shot. Nina meets her maker Puggy. The dog finds aromas. Need I say more?

O.K. there is a frog, goats, and a portable garbage disposal.

On a deeper level it is about families and trust. But don't mind that now just sit back and have some fun

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: AWESOME FUNNY SLAPSTIC LAUGHS
Review: This movie was panned for being a 'great mess' and 'stupid'. Quite frankly it was neither. I am a 'Casablance' Manchurian Candidate, Indiscreet, Vertigo person. But when reanted this movie - FOR MY MOM, in fact (she liked the book, bu ended up never seeing the movie)- I loved it. The laughs were straight forward, very ironicat times. And everyting was so brilliantly random. 86 or so minutes is short huh? Well it was just perfect for Big Trouble. I admit, they could have made it longer, but they didn't want that, no. Because the action in the movie happens the minute you turn it on. All the characters are introduced in their own moments, and they become so humorous, so quirky, you just want to reach outand either hug, them shoot them, or spray them with a squirt gun. Irony is key in Big Trouble, and all the characters are given their proper dosage. As a 13 year old (14 in less than a month, actually about 20 days) I reccommend this movie to -- - -anyone. I don't care if old ladies won't like it, they probably won't but I thoroughly enjoyed it. the only flaw is, the whole 'are you looking at my...' sequnces, which weren't in the book, and I thought could have been taken out. Butthe movie, in my opinion was better than the book, and it was more. . .less... long. Book wasn't too long or anytihng, I've read moby dick, it just dragged for me. Good, but dragged. Anyway, I must be goiing. Please giv Big Trouble a chance, you won't regret it.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: With A Bit Of Glue, Duct Tape, And A Few Thumb Tacks
Review: Big Trouble is billed as a zany madcap comedy, with an all star cast, in the vein of Rat Race or Cannonball Run. You would think having noted director Barry Sonnenfeld at the helm is a sure thing, but instead, the film seems like one big mess.

Eliot Arnold (Tim Allen) is a recently-fired, freshly-divorced newspaper columnist, who acts as narrator of a very tall tale involving arms trading, psychedelic toads, and assassination attempts, all going down in modern Miami. Based on a story from noted humorist Dave Barry, the film does have lots of famous stars, doing crazy things for the sake of a weak film. While some individual bits are worth a few yucks, overall, it seems to be patched together. The performances range from tops (The always solid Stanley Tucci), to totally embarrassing, and unfunny (Rene Russo). Lacking the smart sophistication of Get Shorty, Big Trouble goes nowhere fast. Madcap is fine, as long as it's a fun ride along the way. This is neither a fun or funny excercise.

Despite my issues with the film, I have to say that I enjoyed the solid screen-specific audio commentary from Sonnenfeld. His dry wit throughout made it a lot more fun than the movie itself. Totally wasting space on the DVD is a 7:30 minute chronological montage of the movie. What? Did they include this in case, you couldn't spare 85 minutes, to watch the main feature? What purpose this serves escapes me. What, no trailer...Web links for various websites top off the disc.

Other than the commentary, there is very little one can find entertaning about the Big Trouble DVD.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: You are indeed sir...
Review: For the love of all that's holy, will actors ever learn to use some discretion when considering their roles? Tim, I thought you were the Toolman, Rene I thought you...nevermind. Tom, come on man you were Sgt. Horvath for Pete's sake! I just don't get it and I never want to.

Try and enjoy it, I dare you.

Lance Manion

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: my name is Puggy and I live in a tree
Review: the beginning is hilarious with Jason Lee(Dreamcatcher, Stealing Harvard, Vanilla Sky, Almost Famous) as Puggy who lives in a tree and fancys the snack chip Fritos(genius, I borrowed this movie to my friend Jesse, who at the time had the long hair like Puggy and looked exactly like Puggy in the movie, so my friend Jesse went along with it and started to eat Fritos everyday). its about this damn silvercase which everyone mistakes it for a garbage disposal but its a nuclear warhead and it falls into the hands of the stupids, as I like to call them, played by Johnny Knoxville(Jackass The Movie, Men In Black 2) and Tom Sizemore(Heat, Dreamcatcher). also trying to stop it is secret agents Omar Epps(Scream 2, Dracula 2000) and Heavy D(The Cider House Rules). the characters intervene with each other nicely to bring this comic grande to life. Dennis Farina(Snatch, Out Of Sight) and Jack Kehler are hitmen who are assigned to kill Stanley Tucci(The Pelican Brief, Americas Sweethearts) who gets maced in the face by toad venom and starts to see Martha Stewarts head on the family dog(another genius moment). also starring is Tim Allen(Joe Somebody, Who Is Cletus Tout?) Ben Foster(Get Over It), Rene Russo(Get Shorty, The Thomas Crown Affair), Zooey Deschanel(The New Guy, Almost Famous), DJ Qualls(The Core, The New Guy, Road Trip), Janeane Garafolo(The Minus Man, MysteryMen) and Patrick Warburton(tv's Family Guy, Scream 3) are two cops, so is Andy Richter(Scary Movie 2, Dr. T and the Women) who plays two twin brothers who are cops. Daniel London(Minority Report, Patch Adams) plays one of the Russian bar owners.

Favorite Line
Puggy(Jason Lee, who eats a Frito and says)- you cant beat these when their fresh


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