User Reviews

I've seen one user comment here already that unfairly compares Big Trouble with Snatch or Pulp Fiction, but that's really neither here nor there. Big Trouble is intended for an entirely different audience, and while it never reaches the mighty heights of the former, it does a big crap on the latter because it never takes itself too seriously. It recognises that the audience doesn't want a film as a fashion statement, but merely as a form of entertainment. The makers also recognise that they don't have the material here to entertain and inform at the same time, so they just concentrate on making the best comedy that they can. It is for this reason most of all that they succeed.

The strengths of this film are actors like Tim Allen, Jason Lee, Dennis Farina, and Tom Sizemore. I never thought I would say that about Allen, but it appears that when you give him decent material, he can actually make something out of it. Jason Lee is a pleasant surprise as the unwashed hippie who seems to just magically appear in a tree (you have to see it to believe it). Tom Sizemore, however, really steals the show as the thug who just doesn't quite seem to have the brainpower to do anything correctly.

Put simply, this is a crime caper that was intended for families who want to be able to take their pre-teen children to something with this kind of plot and not be worried about the content. Whether you agree with this marketing philosophy or not, it does allow for success of a different kind, namely that it succeeds because it is so unreal that the viewer can laugh without getting disgusted by some of the characters.

The things that detract from this comedy are some weak supporting actors. Zooey Deschanel even gives the camera the old "stunned mullet" look at times, while Patrick Warburton only seems to know one expression. Stanley Tucci can't give us anything to sympathise with his character over, and Sofia Vergara seems completely doomed to be a bit player for whatever little career she might have. The running length is a bit of a two-edged sword - on one hand, it makes sure that the film is never boring, and no scene goes on for longer than its welcome. On the other hand, possibilities for interesting subplots are often passed over.

In the end, I gave the film a seven out of ten. It's not rocket science, but if you sit back in your chair with a beer and some popcorn, preferably with some friends to share your disbelief with, it makes a good piece of entertainment that won't make you wish you could have those 85 or so minutes back. Recommended for those in a light-hearted mood.

I really enjoyed this film. Think Elmore Leonard meets Donald Westlake, and you've got an idea of the kind of plot and quirky characters you're in for. The Elmore Leonard feel is mainly in the Miami setting (and possibly the fact that director Barry Sonnenfeld also directed "Get Shorty"). The rest... reminds me of some of Westlake's funnier, quirkier stuff, like "Why Me".

I laughed out loud, which I don't often do at movies, and I *loved* the supporting cast.

I'm disappointed that some reviewers have let September 11th make them hypersensitive about anything involving explosives or an airport. There aren't any actual terrorists in the film, no Arabs or other Middle-Eastern types with evil on their mind, just silly characters.

This was good, comic fun, and when it comes out on DVD, it will be a welcome addition to my collection.

It's Easter, and as my parents sit in the living room watching television with the volume turned up to 86, here I sit in my bedroom, typing a review for the movie we just saw, "Big Trouble." It was my father's choice, a choice I assume he quickly began to lament, as the movie almost immediately begins with a scene of a man sucking the toes of his incredibly attractive maid. I mean, if you thought watching sex scenes with your parents was awkward, just try watching foot fetishism.

"Big Trouble" is one of my dad's favorite comedies, and honestly, I can understand why. It's a breezy, quickly paced, and fast moving little flick that's charmingly irreverent and definitely unpredictable. With a surprisingly star-studded cast and everything from bumbling hitmen to a street full of goats to Johnny Knoxville trying to rob a bar, "Big Trouble" has enough characters and plot points to fill the first two seasons of a CBS television show. And somehow, the movie makes it work, most likely because of the overall bizarness of the story.

Ben Foster, Tim Allen, Zoey Deschanel, and Rene Russo all have parts to play in this film, including a laundry list of other stars too numerous to mention. And part of the fun of watching this movie was seeing who was going to show up next. All of them have their own role in this movie, and all of them get into scenarios so unrealistic, bordering on cartoonish, that at times this movie felt like a live-action Looney Tunes epsiode. But, and I hate to say this, it adds to the films charm. I mean, this movie is so out there that I guarantee you've never seen anything like it. It's a very weird, almost surreal movie, but it's fun.

The overall bizarness of this story made it enjoyable for me to watch, and the one liners and running gags sprinkled throughout made me laugh harder than I expected. I'm not as big of a fan of this movie as my dad is, but it had more than enough wackiness to keep me entertained throughout.

7/10

Big Trouble is most assuredly one of the funniest movies ever produced, written and directed. An all-star cast, in my opinion. Tim Allen, Rene Russo, Ben Foster, Dennis Farina, Stanley Tucci, Janeane Garrafolo, and Tom Sizemore all star in this laugh out loud comedy about how a (seemingly) easy hit-job goes terribly awry. This movie is so funny and the subject matter is so easy to follow, however, very difficult to write about, because without giving the movie away as far as what the plot is and how it ends, you can't really tell what it's about. But, Allen and Tucci are funnier than ever. Tucci is one of the best character actors, you always believe he is who he's playing, and Allen is just always good at delivering those quick-witted lines. Ben and Zooey are also very good in their apathetic performances and the kid from "The New Guy" and "Road Trip" is also funny in the few scenes which he is in. I really dislike Dennis Farina and Rene Russo in most films, but in this they both are extremely likeable and make me forget how bad they are usually. It's not so much that they're normally bad, but they always have the same performance in every role that they play. However, these two roles that they play suite their personalities better. Jason Lee was also one of the stars, who is always good in everything that he does, even in the worst movie ever made, 'Vanilla Sky', he was extremely good. At the beginning of the movie he's sitting in front of the camera talking and it makes him appear as though he is Jesus. But, it's not as sacreligeous as it may sound. The lines that are delivered by everyone are hilarious and fast. That was the other thing about this movie that was really well done. The fastness of the speech. The director was really smart in having everyone deliver their lines as quickly as they could, I've seen this done in a couple of other movies, the most specific one that comes to mind is 'Brain Donors'. Some of the movie is realistic, for example the scene in which Farina is eating in a restaurant. If you've seen the movie, you'll know what I'm talking about. I enjoyed this movie a great deal, and I've seen it twice now. I hope everyone watches it, because they don't make movies this funny anymore, and they really should. Cynical, and dry were two words that come to mind. I hope you check it out because it's a definite 10 out of 10. See ya at the movies!

Everyone might remember "Big Trouble" as the movie that September 11th tried to bury. But once audiences actually see the film, they will remember it as a fast-paced, quick-witted, entertaining romp with a fantastic ensemble cast that fires on all cylinders. No doubt that Dave Barry's story provided the actors with a plethora of the one-liner ammunition that never seems to run out. Barry Sonnenfeld proves that he has a tremendous talent for timing and his cast, especially Zooey Deschanel, Johnny Knoxville, Andy Richter, and Jason Lee, prove to be more than able puppets in this smart and slick comedy show. This is easily the funniest film to be released so far this year... give it a shot!

I think the thing that struck me first about the movie was how great the cast was. I think all off the actors were well suited for their rolls. Dave Berry wrote the book that the movie was based on, and his style of humor was evident through out the movie. There weren't any huge belly laughs, but there was almost a constant stream of chuckles. The plot of a Russian arms trader working out of a small Miami bar gives the opportunity for a group of characters including a drifter, a maid, few high school kids, a couple of hit men, the fbi, the local police, a corrupt business exec, a couple of small time crooks and an ad man to all become entangled in the same search for a stolen weapon. The story is told in kind of a merry-go-round fashion, with no one really stealing the show. You get to know a little about each character, when another story line comes along to merge with the one before it. I enjoyed the light hearted nature of the film and the humor.

Lots of things are going on in this movie but the movie itself provides very few laughs and overall nothing refreshing or memorable.

It's very obvious that the writers and director tried to make a movie in the same style as the successful British movies; "Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels" and "Snatch.". Of course there is nothing wrong with impersonating a movie its successful and refreshing style- and way of storytelling but in this particular case they took the style and storytelling to an horrible level.

Main problem is that the movie is too obvious. It tries to obvious and desperately to connect every story-line and character in the movie to each other. Everything feels forced and therefor none of the characters and comical situations really work out. Also a very major problem with this movie is that it simply isn't a funny one. Although the movie is somewhat fun and entertaining to watch, the humor in it never works out. Maybe it's because the way and style of American humor, in which everything is over-the-top and everything is highly unlikely, simply don't work out in this typical case of British storytelling. The movie is nowhere as subtle and its characters are nowhere as likable. Everything feel over-the-top and forced.

The story is just so ridicules and totally unbelievable that it becomes terribly uninteresting to follow. It also is probably somewhat due to the story, that most of the characters don't really work out.

Lots of crazy characters (too many) pop up in the movie and problem with them all is that they just aren't funny. They are being played by some good, well known actors in the movie but none of them makes an huge impression, due to the fact that there are simply too many characters are introduced in the movie that are all being tried to be given an own personality, likable level and a level of comedy. It all feels so forced. Every time a new character pops up in the movie, you just know that they are going to try to make him look as crazy and funny as possible. And this is not only the case with its characters but also in every single sequence. Every sequence has to be funny and has to have one or more jokes in it. It all is done way too obvious and forced, with as a result that the movie gets incredibly annoying to watch at times.

All of the good actors are simply wasted in this movie. Tom Sizemore, Stanley Tucci, DJ Qualls etc. they all deserve better than this. And who's bright idea was it to cast Tim Allen as the main lead? He is like the worst possible choice they could had made. He felt totally out of place in a comedy like this one and he certainly wasn't good enough to carry the entire movie. The movie is filled with some more strange casting choices that all feel terribly out of place.

Barry Sonnenfeld comedies are often lacking in good humor, consistency and likable and believable characters. This movie really is no exception. His movies often have an awkward sense of humor that has both its hits and misses. The way his movies are created make it really seem like the creators seriously thought they were making something brilliant but the end result always feels lacking. We as the viewer are the victim of this overconfident way of movie making.

The movie gets even more annoying to watch thanks to the musical score by James Newton Howard. It really is one of the most annoying musical score I have heard, the last couple of years.

I don't know, I guess the movie is still somewhat fun and entertaining but the movie has too many obvious and forced elements in it to call this movie completely a successful one, as pure entertainment. Instead it's a more annoying than funny movie to watch.

4/10

http://bobafett1138.blogspot.com/

When my husband and I heard that Barry Sonnenfeld was going to direct the film version of Dave Barry's first novel, we were pretty excited. Both men have a similarly nutty knockabout comic sensibility with a touch of the surreal, and this wacky farce about a motley crew of Miami citizens embroiled in a race to recover an atomic bomb seemed like the perfect vehicle for them to pool their talents on. Well, it was! Hubby and I had a grand time -- but alas, we seemed to be among the very few moviegoers who even gave the flick a chance! I guess it didn't help that BIG TROUBLE's originally-scheduled December 2001 release was delayed due to worries that a plot involving smuggling an A-bomb through laissez-faire airport security would seem more disturbing than funny after the horrific events of 9/11/2001. Maybe most audiences are still too spooked right now to appreciate the satiric possibilities in Sonnenfeld & Co.'s cynically funny, Billy Wilder-esque treatment of these elements -- but I hope that down the line, folks will give BIG TROUBLE a chance, because really, it's like what might have resulted if Billy Wilder had ever had an opportunity to direct The Marx Brothers. We were laughing throughout! The ensemble cast is superb, from Patrick Warburton and Janeane Garofalo as members of Miami's Finest, to Tom Sizemore and Johnny Knoxville as dunderheaded crooks, to Tim Allen and Rene Russo's chemistry as single (well, unhappily married in Russo's case) parents who get drawn into the shenanigans when their respective teenage kids Ben Foster and Zooey Deschanel (both delightful -- I wouldn't be surprised if these two became big stars someday!) accidentally foil a hit on Stanley Tucci (hilariously obnoxious as Russo's dreadful second husband) by Jack Kehler and Dennis Farina (spoofing his earlier role in Sonnenfeld's GET SHORTY adaptation). Everybody gets a moment to shine, even Jason Lee as a hippy-dippy drifter and Sofia Vergara (who looks remarkably like a Latina Denise Richards) as Tucci's put-upon maid. C'mon, give this unfairly underappreciated gem a chance when it hits home video!

Not as much fun as the book, but still funny. Okay, the characters aren't well-developed and the plot races, but lower your expectations. "Big Trouble" is a fun way to spend an evening. Lots of fun quotes, too.

I wanted this movie to be entertaining. Oh so very much. I read Dave Barry's book--couldn't put it down--when the novel came out. I own many old Dave Barry books with collections of his columns. The guy is a good humorist. So with delayed glee, I finally attended this movie when it opened in April 2002. What a stinker. I chuckled to myself twice. The people who came with me to the theater on my recommendation of this movie from the novel, how I told them it would be hilarious wall-to-wall situations like nothing seen before, still have not forgiven me for making them sit through BIG TROUBLE. Now I'm in big trouble with them and my movie-recommending cred has been irreversibly damaged among my friends and family.

I think what ruined this movie for the most was the voice over and Tim Allen. Also, a lot of the actors seemed to be just phoning in their performances. This is probably due to the root problem of this movie. What really hosed this movie was the flywheel in charge, I speak of Barry Sonnenfield. Big Barry sure can drain the funny out of some of the most talented comedic actors. Hopefully after this movie, Barry paid off his gambling debts and will never need to direct another comedy again.

After watching parts of the movie again recently on TV, I was still left with the same bad sentiments about this movie.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not some tight butt who cant relax and enjoy humor of all types--I enjoy and laugh at all kinds of movies, but just not BIG TROUBLE. Here's hoping the next Dave Barry adaptation, if Hollywood producers even take that chance again, is a better movie.

I still remember laughing so hard I was in tears in a theater filled with less than 20 people! A great cast and well written, this movie got the shaft after it was suddenly moved to a 12/2001 release (with almost no publicity)after the events of 9/11 because the movie had scenes depicting lax airport security. We Americans were far to fragile to see someone smuggling an atomic bomb and a gun through poor security! What people missed was a funny story and some of the best one-liners I have ever heard ("maybe you guys should plead Not Guilty by reason of stupidity!). Honestly, I have never been able to drive into an airport without thinking about Arriving and Departing ("We're arriving, but then we are departing?")and Florida Gator fans just get hammered! Great flick, get the DVD and see it for real, not the Comedy Central version.

I wasn't looking to enjoy this movie, but it really got smiling with little effort. For me, it is a cross between the Coen Brothers "Raising Arizona" and one of Kevin Smith's comedies. I didn't laugh as much, but I really enjoyed it.

Eliot Arnold (Tim Allen) is divorced from his cheating wife, fired from his Miami Herald job and opened a struggling advertising firm. His son Matt (Ben Foster) hates him. Henry Desalvo (Dennis Farina) and Leonard Ferroni (Jack Kehler) are hit men in town to kill Arthur Herk (Stanley Tucci). Puggy (Jason Lee) is a drifter who decided to come to Miami for the Cuban food. He gets in trouble with two idiot ex-cons buddies Snake Dupree (Tom Sizemore) and Eddie Leadbetter (Johnny Knoxville). Puggy is living in a tree and witnesses Matt and his friend Andrew (DJ Qualls) sneak in to spray Jenny Herk (Zooey Deschanel) as part of a game at school. Arthur is an embezzler and makes passes at the housekeeper Nina (Sofía Vergara) behind his wife Anna Herk (Rene Russo)'s back. The hit men fire a shot and miss. Police Officers Monica Romero (Janeane Garofalo) and Walter Kramitz (Patrick Warburton) investigate. There's also a suitcase with big boom.

It's a screwball comedy with limited comedy. There are a couple of cute moments that are chuckle worthy. The movie tries to replace comedy writing with a lot of quirky characters doing weird things in an interconnected crazy plot. They also set off a nuke smuggled onto a plane. That was never going to work post 9/11. It's questionable whether it would have work pre 9/11. The movie keeps moving from one character to another which keeps the audience from developing interest in any of the characters.

After I rented the film, I bought and read the book. Unusually, I preferred the movie. The bad guys in the movie are buffoons, and everything stays comedic. The bad guys in the book are nastier and more offensive, and for me that distracted from the comedy.

My Mother and I could not stop laughing.As soon as you got through one fit of giggles something else hilarious would come along!

I noticed that there are a lot of big names in this movie.Stanley Tucci and Rene Russo to name two. Very funny and I highly recommend it. 10 stars

Actually there haven't been many good comedies out recently. Except a few, of course. This one, however, is anything else but funny. Hard as I tried, I was unable to find even a remote note of humour in this one.

On the other hand it has a good plot, we see some good action, some effects appear here and there. In fact I hardly noticed as the 85 minutes passed by as I was really taken by the movie.

In conclusion: I would never recommend this movie to a friend. I would not recommend it to anyone - ever! There might be some good idea behind, but it certainly cannot make me laugh! It simply is not funny! Sorry!

I consider myself an intelligent person, a lover of movies, and having seen this movie twice now, I still think it's great. "Laugh-out-loud-embarrassing-the-person-sitting-next-to-you" great. The film was perfectly cast, perfectly paced, just bizarre enough to keep one's attention, and loaded with funny, crazy scenes. I haven't met a person in the flesh who hated this film, and yet the critics and several folks here have trashed the heck out of it. Frankly, it would seem that America has lost its sense of humor.

This Tim Allen vehicle is a fun ride. If you're looking for Pearls of Wisdom, you're in the wrong place. If you're looking for a movie that pokes good clean fun at some of the issues of today, while making you laugh, you're in the right place.

Grab a box of Goobers, a large popcorn with extra butter, a non-diet drink and set your slightly big butt in a comfortable seat. When you suspend your disbelief, also forget about your diet, cholesterol problems and life's little worries. Just let everything go and enjoy everything that is going on in this FUN movie!

It didn't win any Academy Awards, there are no life-affecting truths, it won't solve your real-life problems. However, this movie will let you relax and laugh without care. Take a break from real-life and get Happy!

In a keystone cops / mad comedy approach to humour, this movie should have been half decent given the cast and investment.

But instead of quality and humour, what you get is a hand thats overplayed and acted badly.

Immdiately remove the "performance" by DeSchanel (wooden as ever - anyone know a good carpenter?!). Then remove the cringe-making product placements and other mediocre actors and what you're left with is barely enough to constitute a "starter".

About the only really funny reference in the whole film is that Ford now make Jaguars....which they've consequently turned into mediocre mondeo clones! This type of reasoning might go some way to explaining their financial problems...

This movie is substandard in too many ways to make it anything approaching a viable adversary to the many other decent movies that came out around the same time.

Essentially a hotch-potch of bad ideas loosely glued together with awful acting and desperate attempts to find something (anything) to laugh at / about. Doesn't try hard enough in the areas that it should and tries too hard in many areas that it shouldn't.

May appeal to accountants or civil service personnel, otherwise one for the garbage.

Its been a while since a movie has made me laugh out loud... at home... on DVD without the help of a theater audience to provide a helpful laugh track... but this Dave Barry adaptation did it. The wildly slapstick script keeps its wildly varied cast hopping... and hopping admirably! Tim Allen, Rene Russo, Zooey Deschanel, Ben Foster, Stanley Tucci, Janeane Garafalo, Dennis Farina... heck, the entire ensemble is so good that I would gladly sign on for a sequel... hey Mr. Sonnenfeld, welcome back to funny!

There was so much happening in this movie.

Hit men, Russian weapons smugglers, 2 really stupid thieves, one who is Knoxville, no nonsense FBI who shoot then ask questions. Then the normal father Elliot (Tim Allen) who has a son who thinks he's a loser.

Also the banker who's stolen money who the 2 hit men are after, his wife who's interested in Tim and the plot continues with a large suitcase which contains what isn't a garbage disposal.

Highly entertaining movie, non stop in less than 90 mins, so many ridiculous moments, the actors lines are hilarious, backed with great acting. The movie's over before you know it.

When I first saw ads for this film, I thought it looked great. A great comedic cast, a good director, and excellent material to be based upon. Unfortunately, due to September 11, the film had to be postponed. I didn't realize this at first. When I didn't see it show up in theaters, I thought I must have missed it and it had bombed. But I found out it was just postponed. When it finally did come out, I never got a chance to see it, because it literally was off the box office in one week.

After reading numerous bad reviews on "Big Trouble," I feared it would be a "Big" flop, so to speak. Still, underneath this, I still felt certain that it received negative comments just because of 9/11, and no one could enjoy "dumb" comedies anymore. Maybe because I am a fan of Dave Barry -- though I never read the "Big Trouble" novel -- this helped make my decision.

Regardless, after so many bad reviews, I had low hopes for the film, yet at the same time, high expectations.

So I rent the film, pop it in the DVD player, start it up, and: it's a bit funny at first. I chuckled at the Frito joke in the very beginning. Then, I liked the parody on Dave Barry -- it was probably in the novel. Dave tends to make fun of himself. Tim Allen plays a pulitzer prize-winning (sound familiar?) writer for the Miami Herald -- Dave's real job.

Anyway, I found that funny, and started thinking, "Boy, this IS going to be good!"

Boy, I was in for a "Big" Surprise.

The film quickly deteriorated into a horrible, unfunny joke. The only funny thing about this film was that it claimed to be comedy.

Tim Allen, who I thought would be the main character, narrates in the beginning. But, all of a sudden, we're shows a bunch of characters, including: Rene Russo, Stanley Tucci, Denis Farina, Ben Foster and DJ Qualls. Not bad actors in any sense of the word (well, at least the first three), and not a bad scenario. Unfortunately, what ruined it is how we are thrown into it. I felt like saying, "Whoa, hold on, what?" It's so hard to follow.

Then, we are introduced to more characters, including Tom Sizemore, who I've always enjoyed seeing on screen, especially in war films; Patrick Warburton, who in my opinion is a funny guy. Perhaps it's the way he talks with an almost Clint Eastwood-like low hiss. Hard to explain. Anyway, he's a funny guy, but the film isn't.

If it's a Russian bar, to a goat on the road, to an airport scene that parodies airport security (I doubt that would be in the film now), Big Trouble had so much potential, but the way it was edited was horrible. Tim Allen is barely in the film, then is thrown in at the end to save the day...

"Big Trouble" is one of the worst comedies I have seen this year. It pains me to see Dave Barry's comic humor go to waste. I wondered why he didn't help at all with the production of the film -- he probably knew it would be a flop. Or, is it "Big" flop?

1.5/5 stars -- funny in the beginning, but deteriorates quickly into a dumb, unfunny film.