Rating: 
Summary: People should-a come just-a for the food...
Review: Primo (Tony Shaloub) is a traditionalist, a perfectionist, an artist; he is a chef without compromise. His younger brother, Secondo (Stanley Tucci), will compromise, bend, wheel and deal; he is a desperate businessman who cares about food, but is realistic. Unfortunately, their little restaurant is way, way ahead of its time. When their 1950s customers go out for Italian food, they want red-checked tablecloths and lotsa spaghetti and meatballs, not risotto and delicate wine. How can their restaurant stay in business? It can't, but they try to save it with an all-out feast for a famous Italian jazzman. If you're the least bit hungry when you watch this film, you've got trouble, because food has never looked this good. It's a quiet, slow movie, but you get to know Primo and Secondo completely, and you find yourself wishing their restaurant was in your neighborhood so you could go there and give them all your money.
Rating:
Summary: RISOTTO VS HOT-DOGS
Review: BIG NIGHT is Stanley Tucci's first movie and deserves more than a polite attention. It's the story of two italian brothers trying to make a living with their restaurant specialized in original italian food. We're in the 50's and american people are still in their meatballs and steak culinary period leaving the two brothers without clients nor money. One of their luckier italian fellows played by Ian Holm (!) promises to bring to the restaurant a well-known italian singer in order to give a new start to the brothers. So they will prepare a BIG NIGHT which will stay for all the guests the culinary dream of their lifetime.I must admit that it's the first time in my movie lover life that I was so hungry during a projection. Unbelievable ! The camera was in love with the different menus the brothers offered to their guests. And the actors seemed to enjoy very much the food they were eating ! BIG NIGHT is also a movie about cultural integration in the United States. The Paradise restaurant lies near the sea the two brothers have sailed across to reach America. In fact, this is the real Port of Entry for them ! And there are only two solutions. To get back or to give up a lot of the italian particularities they are made of in order to be a real american citizen, healthy, businessman and fond of hot-dogs. A theatrical trailer as extra-feature. A DVD for Minnie Driver.
Rating: 
Summary: What a delight - but eat before you watch it
Review: Eat before you watch this movie; otherwise, you'll end up painfully hungry and go stuff yourself with every bit of Italian food you can lay your hands on. This is a simple story of two brothers struggling to fulfill their dreams - one to be a "success" in America; the other to be a great Italian chef. Realizing the dreams of the first brother hinges on the success of one important meal depends on the skill of the second - and forces outside their control. Tucci, Shaloub, Holm and company all give wonderful performances. There's no showing off by the many successful actors who are in this movie - they all just do a great job. The climax of the movie is the banquet scene, and it's going to make you hungry and want to get up and dance. The final scene which lasts for several minutes with the only dialog being one line - "are you hungry" - wraps up the movie nicely, and shows what a good director and actors can do when both understand the power of subtlety. This is one fun movie - lots of laughs, amazing food, and a great soundtrack.
Rating:
Summary: The main course of great moviemaking
Review: Big Night is one of those rare movies that really hits every right note in great filmmaking. It's a passionate and heartfelt movie about the bonds of family and the love of class that gives you a sense of majesty and flavor. Tony Shalhoub and Stanley Tucci, (Who by the way co-directed this film with Campbell Scott) Plays brothers who own a struggling Italian Restaurant who puts everything on the line for one big night to save their business. Primo (Tony Shalhoub) Rather live for his art for fine food than be successful, while Secondo (Stanley Tucci) tries to keep Primo and himself above water while being tempted by the extravagances of owning a successful Restaurant. An all around superb cast of characters backs them up in this journey that includes Mark Anthony as their loyal follow coworker, and Sir Ian Holms as an rival Restaurant owner who tries to help them out. This is a true heartfelt movie that should not be missed under any circumstance.
Rating:
Summary: Wonderful "Little Film" -- So-So DVD
Review: Stanley Tucci, as actor, co-writer, and co-director (with Campbell Scott, who also plays a pitch-perfect small part as a car salesman), deserves a great deal of the credit for this small, intimate, delightful film. But the film resonates because it got so many of the little touches right, from the ensemble cast to the soundtrack to the editing to the cinematography. So there is a lot of credit to go around. Tucci plays Secondo, the aptly named younger of two Italian brothers who have emigrated to New Jersey from the Old Country. Secondo is the entrepreneur, the guy who wants the big Cadillac. Primo (Tony Shahloub), the older brother, is the magician of a chef. Primo is so good, in fact, that his culinary masterpieces go over the heads of the good folks of New Jersey. When contemplating a wonderful seafood risotto, a diner complains that she can't see the seafood, and that her desired side of spaghetti doesn't come with meatballs (inspiring the wonderful line, "Sometimes spaghetti wants to be alone"). Primo bemoans the fact that he is serving food to Philistines, but the sad fact is that most of the Philistines are eating across the street at Pascal's restaurant. Pascal, played with great zest by Ian Holm, knows that you have to give the customer what he wants -- even if it is culinary sacrilege. The contrasts between the restaurants, from the colors to the lighting to the clientele, could not be more staggering! Secondo laments to Pascal of his financial woes, but refuses Pascal's (repeated) offer to come work for him. Pascal, being a big-hearted guy, tells Secondo to pull of a "big night," with no holds barred. Pascal will invite his good friend, Louis Prima, who will come, eat, and love Secondo's restaurant. Then, the people will come. So the story builds to the big night (a side plot regarding Secondo's tortured love life notwithstanding), which is where the movie really takes off. Organizing the banquet scene into courses, "Big Night" revels in the wonders that can only be brought about by great cooking. The cast has a difficult task -- how do you emote rapture without going over the top? The ensemble cast, which includes Isabella Rosselini, Minnie Driver, and Allison Janney, nails this task just right. The cooking scenes are also hectic and impressive without going over the top, too. Following the big night, many truths are revealed, perhaps because it is impossible to deceive after having such a wondrous experience. If this film doesn't move you, or inspire you to get thee hence to an Italian restaurant, you have no heart! But again, the heart of the movie is its dedication to the small touches. From Primo using his cup to tamp down his espresso grounds to the making of a simple omelet, this movie gets it all just right. The DVD does not have much to offer as far as extras go. What it does have is one heck of little film.
Rating: 
Summary: A bland meal
Review: I've seen BIG NIGHT described as "one of the great food movies". Let me clarify something here. The adjective "great" modifies "food", but not "movies". Primo (Tony Shalhoub) and Secondo (Stanley Tucci) are Italian immigrant brothers who've opened the Paradise restaurant in an unidentified surfside town on the Eastern seaboard sometime in the 1950s. The elder Primo is a superlative chef, and both he and Secondo know it. But, Primo cooks to his desires and not the customers'. So, two years into the venture, the brothers are almost broke, the bank is about to repossess, and Secondo, the one with the business sense, is driven to despairing distraction. Down the street is the competing Italian restaurant owned by Pascal (Ian Holm). While he admires Primo's talent, Pascal gives his patrons what they want, so his eatery is enormously successful. To help the boys out, Pascal arranges to have his friend, the Italian-American singer Louis Prima, come to the Paradise with his band for dinner. Secondo spends virtually the last of their savings preparing for the BIG NIGHT with the expectation that the event and its attendant publicity will yank them back from the brink of insolvency. In the meantime, he avoids emotional commitment to his girlfriend Phyllis (Minnie Driver) while having an affair with Gabriella (Isabella Rossellini), Pascal's mistress. After all, what are pals for? The best bits of this film are the too infrequent cooking sequences. But the best ends there. BIG NIGHT doesn't know whether to be a drama or comedy, and succeeds at neither. The dialogue is flat and uninspired throughout, and the plot goes nowhere of interest. My wife, perhaps a dollop more impressed than I was, called the film a "character study". But no persona in this otherwise dull movie is engaging, and, indeed, I found Pascal's ebullient crassness positively annoying. About the only other good thing I can say about BIG NIGHT is that it uses as props some well-preserved, large tail-finned, period Cadillacs that will perhaps stimulate vintage car buffs. Better films to rent that revolve around food preparation are MOSTLY MARTHA (2001) and EAT DRINK MAN WOMAN (1994). These, at least, portray characters to care about.
Rating:
Summary: The American cinema needs more BIG NIGHTS!
Review: The film "Big Night" is not a small little picture that was over-hyped by critics. The only person who would be disappointed in this film would be some 15-year old kid that was looking for some kind of "2 Fast 2 Furious" crap. Over all the Amazon editorial staff does a fine job of presenting the plot or scope of a film, book, or CD. In the case of "Big Night" I am left to wonder if the reviewer watched the film or just read the back of the DVD case. Her opinions are fine but in the review itself she wrongly guides the reader as to both the plot and the outcome of the movie- Two things that should never be done.
Rating:
Summary: big deal
Review: Spineless indie film. At the end, the Ian Holm character, when chided by Tucci that he's only a businessman while Tucci's brother--played by Tony Shalou--is a real artist, asks Tucci... so what are you? Is Tucci an artist or a businessman? Well, the question applies to this movie which is neither Hollywood product not soul-searching art movie.
It's middling, warmed up stew for those who wants some entertaiment and some art. Beware of a movie credited with two co-directors. It lacks the personal integrity of movies made by authentic auteurs gifted with singular vision and total mastery. Can you imagine Scorsese co-directing a movie? No, a Scorsese film is like a juicy steak done rare. Tucci's filmmaking is pure vegan cinema.
And, yes, it has a sappy ending with two brothers hugging and kissing; how conventional and cliched... but there is no uplifting music so I suppose it's meant to be subtle. Gimme a break or a sandwich instead.
Rating:
Summary: More than the sum of its parts
Review: This is a little movie on steroids, but it's still a little movie - and it's delightful. It's about the struggles, survival, and triumphs of the little immigrant guys to make it big in the hugely competitive world of restaurants. Two Italian brothers open a bistro in NJ that serves 'real' Italian food, food for the soul, food from the old country. The chef hatches a plan to boost business that will either succeed or bankrupt him. The Big Night joins the host of other wonderful foodie genre films, such as Tortilla Soup, Dinner Rush, etc.
Terrific.
Rating:
Summary: A Small Triumph for The Immigrant Experience
Review: How did I miss this film when it first came out? I've just discovered it on DVD, and I'm glad I did. What a wonderful celebration of food, family and heritage! I'm a second generation Italian-American whose immigrant maternal grandparents came through Ellis Island from Naples in 1907. They opened a small Italian restaurant in New York that is still in business today. Big Night brings back many poignant memories of growing up and working with my mother's family in the business. It also shows the wonderful cuisine that my Nonna prayed would delight her customers and feed her dreams of success for us in America. For her, every night was a Big Night. This quiet film is a small triumph in its realistic depiction of the immigrant experience in America. It shows how the cultural clashes and and business differences can confound even the most intrepid newcomer; however, it also shows how the immigrant's cultural background, unique skills and innate dignity cannot be erased, thereby adding some wonderful new flavor to American life. Stanley Tucci's obvious labor of love is an achievement for its point of view as well as for its writing, acting and editing. The final long, uncut scene, which I hear is studied in film schools, has a beautiful timeless quality that lives on in the memory long after the film is over.
The only reason I gave this 5-star film a 4-star rating is because of the DVD quality. It deserves a better transfer and some enhancements, like the actors' commentaries or some background on the food's selection and preparation for the film. Perhaps a future edition will be kinder to it. Until then, this version of Big Night will live happily between Babette's Feast and Chocolat in my Best Food Films collection. Mangia!
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