Tagline: Who’s scamming who? A comedy about taking a chance on paradise.
In “The Big Bounce,” a comedy caper staring Owen Wilson and Morgan Freeman based on the novel by legendary crime fiction writer Elmore Leonard (Get Shorty, Out Of Sight, Jackie Brown), Owen Wilson plays Jack Ryan, a surfer and likeable drifter trying to loot the fortune of a wealthy developer Ray Ritchie (Gary Sinese) with Ray’s slinky mistress Nancy Hayes (Sara Foster) and rival businessman, District Judge Walter Crewes (Morgan Freeman) who’s out for revenge.
Jack soon finds that on the exotic North Shore of O’ahu, temptation is everywhere and in paradise he gets more than he bargained for in Nancy, an opportunist who uses seduction as her weapon of choice. It doesn’t get any sweeter than this: Jack is seduced by a tropical island, a beautiful woman and a lot of cash it’s “The Big Bounce”.
In The Big Bounce, a comedy caper starring Owen Wilson and Morgan Freeman, based on the novel by legendary crime writer Elmore Leonard (Get Shorty, Out Of Sight, Jackie Brown), Owen Wilson plays Jack Ryan, a likeable drifter whose talents lie just outside the law. Hoping a change of scenery will bring him luck, Jack heads for Hawaii. There on the exotic North Shore of Oahu, he soon discovers that whether he is looking for a new con or a little romance, temptation is everywhere.
The Big Bounce is a 2004 American comedy heist film starring Owen Wilson, Charlie Sheen, Sara Foster and Morgan Freeman. It was directed by George Armitage and based on a novel of the same name by Elmore Leonard. Leonard’s novel had previously been adapted for the big screen in a 1969 film of the same name directed by Alex March and starring Ryan O’Neal.
About the Production
Throughout the running course of this latest Elmore Leonard adaptation, already made once before in 1969 with Ryan O’Neal and Leigh Taylor-Young to nauseas effect, I was on that barbed wire fence. Half my body leaned to the left; half my body leaned to the right. I couldn’t make up my mind if I was enjoying this tropical snow cone with each tongue dip, or if someone had pissed in it. Then that last scene sold me home. I was sitting there in my seat, mentally yelling at Owen Wilson’s character, “Don’t do it! Don’t go with that girl. She’s an Asstrophy. She’s playing you out. Get in your limo and drive away.”
But characters in movies never listen to me. They’re usually too busy being manipulated by some irked-up studio executive that “thinks” they know what an audience wants. After watching these mild mannered events, which play out like a half-eaten sandwich, I didn’t want to see these two get together. In a certain realm of reality called our earthly plain of existence, these two shifty people would know better than to climb into a limo side-by-side, off to enjoy the beauty of every given sunset. That would never happen. But, when a movie plays by its own self-inflicted rules of logic, that’s what usually does.
Not this time. That last scene is played exactly as it should be. Owen Wilson actually listened to my telekinetic coconut smoothie and did what I prayed for. That won me over. It sent shivers down my body. I clinched my fist and screamed, “Thank God!” Yes. This rocked the kidney stones out of my pee hole. I’d just like to state for the record: You might not enjoy it as much as I did.
For the most part, The Big Bounce can’t get off the couch. It just sits there, stoned, unambitious in its over-all nature. It’s set at a stoner’s pace. It occasionally crawls its fingers over to that remote control of inviolability, but it stalls at the last minute, dipping its hands into the Funyuns bag on the floor instead. It might as well swallow back a couple of Somas while it’s at it. The spine of this caper flick surely must be on some kind of muscle relaxant.
But stop, wait. I don’t necessarily see that as a bad thing. The atmosphere and vibe given off is a perfect match for Owen Wilson’s aura and inert personality. This movie is as lucid as he’s ever been, and that sudden mix of calmness works in its favor. The plot, itself, is as ambitious as Owen’s thief. It’s one drop of sun-soaked sweat. Wilson’s Jack Ryan doesn’t excel at planning huge heists. He doesn’t rob banks. He’s no master criminal. No. He simply mopes about the Island of Oahu, stealing wallets and collecting no more than a couple hundred bucks at a time. Then he’s off to surf some waves and maybe fix a showerhead or two. That’s it. And the script never reaches above that subtle line of inspiration.
It’s laid-back; a welcome change to any over-the-top action extravaganza I might have otherwise sat through last Tuesday morning. You might have to slightly adjust yourself to its ebb and flow. That’s a given. Instead of Being John Malkovich, this could be seen as its sequel, Being Owen Wilson. This is surely what it looks like inside that man’s head. It’s a tiny treat stolen off that proverbial snack tray of cinema. And the rest of the actors follow suit.
You might be inclined to take a look at this and cry, “These douche bags were in it simply for the Hawaiian vacation.” But you’d be wrong. You’re thinking of the cast from next month’s 50 First Dates. These guys here play their surrounding climate to perfection. Have you ever been to Hawaii? Everyone there acts just like they do in this movie. There’s really no concept of time. No concept of action. It’s all about standing on the beach and looking at pretty girls in tight bikinis. The Big Bounce nails that mindset with precision.
The North Shore of Oahu can’t help but upstage the talent. It’s essentially a character within itself. If I had to wager a guess, I’d say she’s the most important player in the game. The lead. You can’t help but look past the hired help and gaze at her natural attributes. The tiny con playing as this piece’s main plot thread is as spent as every gentle wind that passes by those grass shacks in the background. None of it matters. Just shrug it off and stare at the sunset. That’s island life. It’s not a significant thing. This bounce isn’t big at all. That’s a play on words. You have to dig that scene.
My advice to you? Roll a big fatty before you breeze through that theater door. Get lit. Take a backpack full of cheap beer, Miller High Life maybe (it is the champagne of beers), inside with you and crack a few cans for your own sake. It’s okay. Those ushers and ticket takers won’t mind. This film demands it.
Otherwise you might be susceptible to The Big Bounce’s fault lines. It’s not a perfect film. The dialogue is often times hard to hear. Characters have a tendency to mumble softly under their breath. You’re continually wondering, “What did he just say.” But then, you don’t really care. It’s not important.
There were two things that really bothered me. The camera set-up is supremely artificial. In a film, you’re not supposed to be aware of an actor hitting his mark. Here, you are. It’s like watching a bunch of stoned drunkards trying to pass through a DUI checkpoint. They’re driving under the influence and trying to keep the side of their car against that solid white line. When they stand still, the converging vectors are too static. Too perfect. Too out of the way. This looks to have been composed by a man used to that standard three-camera set-up found at most cable access stations.
The other thing that really perturbed me was Morgan Freeman. He’s just so lackadaisical; he gives Owen Wilson a run for his money. The man has a real God-like presence that’s unstoppably good. He kicks ass as an actor. The guy’s a man of means. You can feel the energy shimmering off of his body at any given time. But not lately. Christ, Freeman has been resting his jaw with a requisite aptitude. Look at his last three films. The Dreamcatcher, Bruce Almighty, and this, The Big Bounce. He’s down right awful in all of these. He’s gotten lazy. I guess he doesn’t need this. It’s just another boat in his back pocket.
He kind of brings this film down a notch. He’s giving it that ol’ B movie try. My guess is that he can’t find anything that really interests him enough to be good in. That’s a little sad. If he’d have just brought up his chin a bit more, here, I might have been willing to give this higher praise. At this juncture, I won’t blame the man. I’ll blame Hawaii and the copious amounts of questionable substances these guys probably imbibed on a daily basis. But next time, if he rolls himself on screen in sheet plastic, unable to interest himself in the material he’s throwing at us, I’m going to cry foul and wave a flag screaming, “Fire this man!”
I just want him to be as awesome as we know he can be. It’s a little disappointing to see an actor of this caliber not care about his craft anymore. What, has he been hanging out with Kevin Spacey and Al Pacino? Maybe he has- So, don’t pay too close attention to The Big Bounce’s threadbare plot contrivances, and you might just come away with a thin smile on your face. I’m not saying you’ll wake up the next morning reveling in the afterglow of its magnitude. I mean, really? Have you done that since the 80s? I don’t think so.
Movies nowadays seemed to be solely about that bottom line. If you come away not hating it, that seems to be good enough. Well, the Big Bounce is just good enough- Now scram, get out of my face! You f’ing gits!
The Big Bounce (2004)
Directed by: George Armitage
Starring: Owen Wilson, Morgan Freeman, Sara Foster, Gary Sinise, Charlie Sheen, Vinnie Jones, Bebe Neuwirth, Kris Kristofferson, Andrew Wilson, Pete Johnson
Screenplay by: Sebastian Gutierrez, George Armitage
Production Design by: Stephen Altman
Cinematography by: Jeffrey L. Kimball
Film Editing by: Barry Malkin
Costume Design by: Betsy Cox, Tracy Tynan
Set Decoration by: Chris L. Spellman
Art Direction by: John Bucklin
Music by: George S. Clinton
MPAA Rating: PG-13 for sexual content, nudity, violence, language.
Distributed by: Warner Bros. Pictures
Release Date: January 30, 2004
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