Rating: 
Summary: Classic Screwball Comedy
Review: Known as the "Sunshine State" to many tourists due to it's abundant good weather and beautiful beaches, Florida has always been painted as a modern-day paradise in today's world. With large population gains every ten years, a plethora of smiling retirees, the absence of a state income tax, or the popularity of Disney World, Florida seems like a place where there are no wrongs, but right. Besides the screwing up of a nation election, that opinion is not true and "Big Trouble" shows us that even paradise can (or in this film, could have) affected the history of mankind. Based on Dave Barry's novel, "Big Trouble," star Tim Allen (television's "Home Improvement") as a former Pulitzer Prize winning reporter on the Miami Herald (where Barry has been a reporter for years) who has seen his luck run dry. Now working for an advertising firm, Elliot Arnold (Allen) is having father-son problems with his offspring, Matt, (Ben Foster of "Get Over It"), is single, and having problems producing a successful advertising campaign. One evening, after Matt gets himself in trouble with the law with a squirt gun incident at the home of a classmate (Zooey Deschanel of "The New Guy") Elliot meets an unhappily married woman (Rene Russo of "Lethal Weapon 3") and her obnoxious, rude husband Arthur Herk (Stanley Tucci of "Maid in Manhattan"). Little do they know that two hitman (Dennis Farina and Jack Kehler) are after Arthur due to his knowledge of too much information in a government scandal. Throughout the film, other supporting characters join the chaos that is about to take place, including a drifter name Buggy (Jason Lee of "Mallrats"), the Herk's Peruvian housekeeper Nina (played by Colombian blonde bombshell Sofia Vergara, who is a major celebrity in Latin America), a jaded cop (Janeane Garofalo, "Reality Bites") and two bumbling crooks (Johnny Knoxville and Tom Sizemore) who happened to steal a ticking nuclear bomb they intend to smuggle out of the United States on a flight to the Bahamas and live a life in luxury. In the tradition of classic screwball comedies, director Barry Sonnenfeld ("Men in Black") captures the zaniness, and comic suspense Barry's novel contained. Unfortunately, when it was released in the spring of 2002, "Big Trouble" never received the deserved attention it should have received due to the events that had taken place in September 2001. Originally scheduled to be released on Friday, September 14, 2001, the film's release was scrapped due to the September 11 attacks in the United States. Due to the sensitivity of a bomb on a plane and a smuggled nuclear device, the studio pushed it's release to the spring. Doing so might have generated some negative publicity for this film, but when it was filming, no one could have predicted that such an evil event would have occurred. Satisfyingly funny, "Big Trouble" is a comedic rollecoaster of a ride. It is definitely one of 2002's best comedy films.
Rating:
Summary: A Great Book and a Great Movie
Review: Okay, so when Dave Barry set about writing a novel, with much coaching from Carl Hiaasen, the general expectation of it was that it would be outrageous, hilarious, and possibly even comprehensible. The result, Big Trouble, was all of these things in spades. The novel Big Trouble is wildly hilarious and written with such a fast pace and stellar wit that it identifies Barry as a uniquely capable talent.
And then news of the movie came along. It was one of those I truly expected to be a let down, another entry in the movies-that-don't-live-up-to-the-book trash bin. Thanks to Barry Sonnenfeld (the guy who did Get Shorty and Men in Black, two of the coolest, in the sense of attitude, and funniest movies of recent years) it avoided that category. The movie is outstanding, and just as wild as the book. My only regret is that more of the details in the book didn't show up in the movie (and, okay, the actress playing the girl needs to emote just once in her life).
Rating: 
Summary: Big Trouble....Big Dumb
Review: This movie has to be one of the dumbest movies I've seen in a long time. One would think of humor when they see Tim Allen's name and Rene Russo has always been one of my favorites. The lady can act and she's proven that time and again, especially in "The Thomas Crown Affair". I was so disheartened with her performance in this movie. If Russo's agent suggested she do this movie, then perhaps she should think about getting a new agent. I've come to expect anything from Tim Allen, but really, this movie was just totally stupid. My thinking, is don't waste your money on this one.
Rating: 
Summary: Amusing diversion
Review: This film serves as a pleasant and amusing diversion--it's not wildly funny, or hysterically funny, but it will give you some laughs. The film is set in Miami and concerns a motley assortment of characters including an obnoxious rich crook (played by Stanley Tucci) who has a foot fetish, his bored wife (played by Rene Russo), her daughter, her friends from school, two hit men, two bumbling crooks, a divorced dad (Tim Allen) who wants his kid's respect, Russian mobsters who run a cuban-style bar, FBI agents, a male/female police duo who always manage to be on the scene, and a frito-addicted tree-dwelling hippie. Confused? Well I was a bit at first, but then I realized that it wasn't necessary to keep track of all the names of all the characters. Just follow the action and don't worry about all the details. This film is full of great character actors--Tucci and Farina, for example, and the film did deliver laughs and good performances. It was strong on the mapcap elements, but weak somehow too--I think perhaps because there were just so many characters running around without any real cohesive plot to help stabilize the film. "Scavenger Hunt," for example is a film with many of the same elements--many characters, mapcap pace--but in "Scavenger Hunt" everything was centered around the hunt itself. The central plot in "Big Trouble," however, was not as clear and concise. But this film is worth seeing just for Tucci's foot scenes with the maid. He works the role with great gusto.
Rating:
Summary: Funniest movie I have seen in a long long long time!
Review: I can't believe that this movie didn't get better reviews. I know it was held back from release due to the September 11th tragedy but in the end this was a comedy. I wish they had waited until this year to put it out, as it is a hugely funny movie. My husband and I were both just about crying by the end of the movie we had laughed so hard!!! It ahs risen to our top 10 funny movie list along with the Princess Bride. As with all Dave Barry derived material it looks at normal things humorously and puts things together to make you just laugh and laugh. You will know what I mean when you hear about the gator fans and the goats (as well as Martha Stewart). Janeane Garofalo, Patrick Warburton,Tim Allen, Tom Sizemore and Stanley Tucci are just a few of the ensemble cast as well as the poison shooting toad. The premise behind the story is how different pairs of people actually wind up all tied up in the mystery of what is in the case and wind up in Big Trouble. There is the Russians, the cops, the FBI, the mobsters, the friends with the squirt gun shooting game, the couple etc... There is kidnappings, the death of at least 3 TV's etc... If you like comedies and/or Dave Barry's writing you will love this movie!
Rating: 
Summary: Not the greatest comedy but it has its moments
Review: First of all I want to start off by saying I think this deserves 2 1/2 stars but that is not a option and it definately doesn't deserve 3 by my ratings. There are many "main characters" in this movie and while Tim Allen might have been the biggest name in the film, I found the two dumb criminals (Johnny Knoxville and Tim Sizemore) along with Dennis Farina, a hit man, stole the show. The criminals really do act some lines well. Some jokes however were so bad I almost wanted to stop the movie, but rest assured, it gets better as it progresses. I'll leave the plot summary to the editorial review, but overall I'd say if you want to rent a few movies over a weekend or something, this isn't a bad choice, but if you're looking to buy a comedy, go a different direction. (I didn't watch the special features on the DVD but there weren't many.)
Rating: 
Summary: Goofy, lighthearted fun
Review: As an unabashed fan of columnist Dave Barry, I was very excited when I found out that his first novel was going to be turned into a movie. I was even more excited when I heard about the casting. Tim Allen may have done some schmaltz, but when given a good script (such as "Galaxy Quest,") he's great. Jason Lee is good in anything (well... except "Stealing Harvard," but NOBODY could have saved that one), Janeane Garofalo is one of the funniest (and most underused) women in America, and Zooey Deschanel is just plain cute. Then Sept. 11 happened. And this movie pretty much vanished. I can't really tell you WHY Sept. 11 pushed this back without blowing the ending, but once you see it, you'll understand. For months I was afraid this film would never see the light of day. Disney finally released it last spring to little fanfare, although I managed to catch it, and I dug it a lot. It's hard to describe the twisting, meandering plot -- Tim Allen is an ad exec whose son has to shoot a girl he has a crush on with a water pistol, not knowing that a couple of bumbling hitmen are targeting her stepfather whose tree is currently occupied by a homeless man who knows a couple of Russian smugglers with heavy weaponry... See how tangled it gets? But the weird tangling of all these various, unrelated plot threads is exactly what made the book such a satisfying read and made the movie so much fun to watch. It's not a great film, it'll never make any all-time great comedies lists, but it's a fun diversion that'll get you to laugh for a while. Check it out.
Rating:
Summary: Off the wall comedy has some laughs
Review: "Big Trouble' is a serviceable comedy for people in the mood for slapstick, ridiculous characters, outlandish situations and silly one-liners. This is not in the same league as director Barry Sonnenfeld's best comedy, "Get Shorty", nor is it nearly as imaginative as his "Men in Black". The story concerns a diverse group of people whose lives intersect one balmy Miami night. These include two inept hit men, two bumbling thieves, a crooked businessman and his dysfunctional family, a reporter-turned-ad executive and his teenage son, two Russians with some very nasty goods for sale, and a drifter who may or may not be Jesus. And, oh, I should mention the dog, the frog and the goats. With such a ditzy array of characters, it's surprising that "Big Trouble" misses the laughter mark as often as it hits it. The fine cast includes Tim Allen, Rene Russo, Stanley Tucci, Tom Sizemore, Johnny Knoxville and Jason Lee. All but Knoxville have had much better roles in the past. "Big Trouble" was withheld from release for several months because of its subplot involving terrorists and a bomb on a plane. It's nothing really. This is a broad farce, and if there's a problem, it's that the movie reminds us of a happier, more innocent time.
Rating:
Summary: A must see crime comedy
Review: ... Well Big Trouble's release was heald back and when it was released it got some bad reviews. I think critics need their sense of humors checked out as this movie is the funniest movie of the year and has an excellent cast. I think it's one of the years best actually. It's stylist, story is well put together and the jokes are well thought out and delivered. Tim Allen I think has shown he's ready for a lot more challenging and much different roles, mean I'm starting to look at him more than just Tim the tool man Taylor. Besides him being good, Stanley Tucci, Tom Sizemore and Jason Lee are funny in supporting roles as well. Don't remember his name but the former star of the Tick is just hilarious, he should have a role in every comedy. ... Dennis Farina is in the movie too of course, ... Here he's a bit different though, he doesn't curse as much, haha, plus he's a bit more likeable too. Rene Russo is a good actress but here she doesn't have much to do, had a much better role in Get Shorty. Other than that there's a fine esamble cast that just work great together. I strongly recommend Big Trouble to anyone who needs a good laugh.
Rating:
Summary: VERY VERY FUNNY!
Review: I was not expecting much when I popped this disc into my player. I was counting on getting a laugh or two. But I got much more than that! Big Trouble is brillantly directed, shot and acted. It is the perfect movie when you have nothing to do. Please give this one a try...it will be worth it.
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