Overall Rating Awesome: 2.94% Worth A Look: 2.94% Average: 29.41% Pretty Bad: 52.94% Total Crap: 11.76% 3 reviews, 16 user ratings

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Big Bounce, The (2004)

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by Greg Muskewitz

"The convolutions, once they begin, stack up plenty high."

A remake of the forgotten 1969 film of Elmore Leonard’s mini-caper novel, is little and low-key enough that it, too, will be forgotten not long from now. (Judging from the initial box office receipts, it was forgotten before it could be remembered.)

Which is not to say that the transitory fun it includes cannot be enjoyed during its company. A drifter con man (Owen Wilson) is to be run out of Hawaii after taking a bat to the head of his employer, but not before a deal is made with an unscrupulous judge (Morgan Freeman) for him to stick around and get caught up in a hatched plot with a local femme fatale (the emaciated Sara Foster) to fleece $200,000 from her lover — who owns the company Wilson was fired from, and whose planned construction of a resort threatens Freeman’s own little monopoly on the area. The convolutions, once they begin, stack up plenty high, but it takes a while to get the motion going before realizing you’re already standing in the middle of a bunch of stagy twists. As the title suggests, it tends to be bouncy in that flippant, rhythmic attitude, the winkingly self-assuredness so prevalent in the actual assuredness of Get Shorty. But seeing as how this is directed and written by nobodies, it cannot efface the excess smarty-pants reflexivity of the source material (or embellish them like Tarantino so superbly did with Rum Punch’s transformation into Jackie Brown) without going completely overboard with them. There is still a fair share of charisma to be doled out, and the kooky casting choices and odd cameos that turn up admittedly bring to it an airy breeze of satisfaction, which is also being constantly brought to your attention by the obligatory wave scenery that is slightly above-average for its normal use. On the other hand, the concealed treatment of Foster’s nudity, a desperate attempt to open up to the PG-13 crowd, is very un-adult and the lamest in its laidback ways. With Charlie Sheen, Gary Sinise, Bebe Neuwirth, Vinnie Jones, Willie Nelson, and Harry Dean Stanton; directed by George Armitage.

[Worth-seeing.]

link directly to this review at http://www.efilmcritic.com/review.php?movie=8627&reviewer=172
originally posted: 02/13/04 18:09:31

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User Comments

8/15/05 Donna Gelpigi Starts tame and lame. Then, more of the same 2 stars

8/02/05 Bobby da Squid Decidedly average despite the great cast. The plot wanders and the comedy is often forced. 3 stars

7/14/05 Steve Newman Utter utter rubbish - BUT - Sara Foster what a fantastic body, she is perfect, WOW WOW WOW 1 stars

6/05/05 Ubu the Ripper Sure, Sara Foster is hot. But what o what was Morgan Freeman thinking? 2 stars

4/10/05 Agent Sands I watch again a year later, and realize it's a lot less contrived than I thought!Enjoyable! 5 stars

11/28/04 brian disappointing waste of time and money 1 stars

9/15/04 Isabella Gutierrez FOR YOUR INFORMATION THAT'S MY DAD & THEY CHANGED EVERYTHING IN THE SCRIPT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 4 stars

8/24/04 Spaace_monkey Second worst film in history 1 stars

7/28/04 Elizabeth Feels like everyone came to Hawaii for a vacation. 2 stars

3/19/04 Priscilla Postlethwaite Best line is "I have a head start in that department". Too bad about rest of movie! 2 stars

3/19/04 Donna Gelpigi Starts tame and lame. Then, more of the same. 2 stars

3/17/04 lyndon Why are scams so difficult to follow.? needed time to digest all the double-crosses. 3 stars

2/29/04 Sheryl Disappointed 2 stars

2/14/04 KingNeutron They REALLY could have given Charlie Sheen some better lines. Nice char interaction tho. 3 stars

2/04/04 Agent Sands Great first half hour, nice intro to characters. No follow-through, unsatisfactory ending. 3 stars

2/02/04 bender Terrible, slow-moving, unfunny and one of the most boring "comedies" I've ever seen. 1 stars

IF YOU'VE SEEN THIS FILM, RATE IT!
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USA 30-Jan-2004 (PG-13) DVD: 20-Jul-2004 UK N/A Australia 11-Mar-2004

Directed by George Armitage Written by Sebastian Gutierrez Cast Owen Wilson Sara Foster Morgan Freeman Gary Sinise Vinnie Jones Charlie Sheen

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