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| Wednesday, March 10th
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| Movie Forums :: Reviews :: The Big Bounce is a Ball |
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Posted on 2/02/04
The Big Bounce is a Ball
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From the mind of Elmore Leonard (Get Shorty, Out of Sight), comes the next adaptation from one of his many novels. Directed by George Armitage (Grosse Pointe Blank, Miami Blues), The Big Bounce is another story of who is scamming who and who can you trust. This one is set in the lush tropics of Hawaii where nary a cloud shows its face and only the beautiful reside.
Jack Ryan (Owen Wilson) is a construction worker and a part time thief. After a problem with a co-worker (Vinnie Jones), he finds himself out of a job and wondering where his next score will come from. Meanwhile, the foxy Nancy Hayes (Sara Foster) bides her time as a mistress to the wealthy, and previously boss of Jack, construction mogul Ray Ritchie (Gary Sinise). Nancy knows where Ray stashes his laundered money on its way to oversea accounts and all she needs is a partner to get it, fortunately there's Jack.
What makes matters a bit, if not a lot, difficult are the presences of Judge Walter Crewes (Morgan Freeman) and Ray's right hand man, Bob Rogers, Jr. (Charlie Sheen). Both of these men routinely get in the way of Jack and Nancy's plans, though one does it unwittingly and one may, or may not, have ulterior motives of his own. That's the whole plot of The Big Bounce; that no one knows who is part of a scam, or even a larger scam, and that betrayal may be around the corner at all times, but no one knows from which direction, or if at all, it may come.
I liked The Big Bounce, but not nearly as much as I like Get Shorty, Out of Sight and Jackie Brown. The predecessors are much wittier and smarter over all, and show themselves of having much richer plot lines. There isn't as much pizzazz with The Big Bounce compared to the other movies, with their other directors and screenwriters, and the dialogue was kind of blasé to boot. I remember having a better sense of timing and delivery listening to the conversations with the older films, yet the lack of these things didn't make me dislike it at all. Even though it is flat in comparison, it does well with what it has to offer, or at least well enough. I would consider The Big Bounce a perfect date movie. Even if you miss something, you still can follow along well enough. It also delivers some funny moments, but nothing like Travolta knocking a bad-ass bodyguard down a flight of stairs.
As far as the acting is concerned, no one can ever say that Morgan Freeman has ever given anything but a worthy performance in his career, and even though I'm not a huge fan of Owen Wilson's slow delivery, he does quite well as a down and out petty thief and ladies man. If there is a weakness as far as acting, it belongs to Sara Foster. She is absolutely one of the sexiest con women in modern film, but there is absolutely no depth to her performance. It seems that she is not only eye candy, but ear candy as well. Most of her performance is silly girl with a motive. I assume that she would need to be much sharper, when it comes to dialogue, if she is to be the central, and smartest, scammer among the lot. However, she is the only character that seems to never have anything deep to say. It's kind of a let down. But me, being a red-blooded man, forgave her easily since she is just so entertaining to look at.
Overall, The Big Bounce is a fun, light-hearted film, that doesn't have much depth, but has texture. Even though it doesn't have a lot to say, it says what it does have with a little flair, and a lot of fun.
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