Big Trouble

l rented this movie by accident, recommending my girlfriend rent the other film entitled "Big Trouble" (2002). Well, it turned out we were lucky as Alan Arkin and Peter Falk are some of my favorite actors. The chemistry between Arkin and Falk is magical. The plot parallels some old Hollywood movies such as "Double Indemnity" in an odd fashion. I would describe it as "quirky", a throwback to the 1980's and a "must see" for all fans of Arkin, Falk, and Beverly D'Angelo, who looks fabulous in a variety of sexy outfits and carries her part with typical aplomb. Some of the scenes had me laughing so hard I had to stop the tape to recover (see Sardine Liquor). Charles Durning plays his important supporting role to perfection as well. Look for the uncredited cameo by Samuel L. Jackson near the beginning. This is a winner!

I worked on this film in 1986, in a scene that was ultimately left on the cutting room floor. When I auditioned for the film, I met with the director, who was in fact, Andrew Bergman (credited solely as the writer). Several weeks went by before I actually worked, and by that time, Bergman had been replaced by John Cassevetes. What I was told at the time, was that Bergman had been fired, and that Falk, a friend of Cassevetes, recommended that Cassevetes come in to finish the job. I don't know how much of the film was already in the can at that point, but I know that Cassevetes changed the script a bit. In the scene I was involved in, Falk and Arkin go into a hardware store to buy dynamite to blow up a building (An insurance office, as I recall). I played the Hardware store clerk. I remember the script being pretty much thrown out the window, and improvising much of the dialog, which included Falk explaining that the dynamite was need for a luau. "My Wife," he said, "makes a suckling pig, that'll knock your eye out. First you baste it––" "With clarified butter," Arkin chimes in. "Then blast the sh*t of it with dynamite." As the clerk, I apologize that the store doesn't carry dynamite, and end up selling them a hundred pounds of charcoal briquettes instead.

Funny.

And you will likely never see this scene.

Ah well.

This comedy according to Cineaste magazine was not directed by John Cassevettes but was lent his name after a young inexperienced director colleague of his fell into big...well, you know. This article went on to say that he was pretty grumpy on his deathbed knowing that this would be his last "credit". Well, that's a shame, because for a man who only made one comedy, a loopy one at that, this movie might have rounded out a legacy of angst, disillusionment and good old-fashioned middle-class American self-torture.

If that last labyrinthian sentence did nothing to sway you then consider this: the supporting actresses Beverly D'Angelo and Valerie Curtin are quite funny, too, enough to make this silly and completely unimportant take on one American's attempt to "send the boys to Yale" worth a watch. There is an unusual amount of improv in certain scenes that actually give the movie a satirical bite, hey folks,I heard on the radio yesterday that 60% of all Americans have $4500 of debt or more! Anyone who's lost sleep wondering "where will I get that kind of money?" will relate to Big Trouble.

This is a demanding comedy, because much of the humor depends on references to classic films, and will be lost to someone who is not familiar with them. It does have many incredibly funny scenes on its own right, and some great performance bits.

Plus Beverly D'Angelo is gorgeous and very funny both.

See some later reviews for relevent films, and consider seeing the referenced films first to appreciate the humor more. Without understanding the references and parodies of this film-maker's comedy though, it might be confusing.

Also consider seeing some of Cassavetes work first, to get an idea of what he is usually about. This film melds his own idosyncratic style with a more mainstream American comic style, but has the timing and structure of Godard film.

Big Trouble is a a reteaming of some of the acting same talent that made the incredibly funny The In-Laws. It is much more surrealistic and avant-garde, being directed by that greatest of American directors John Cassavetes. Like the films he himself scripted, it is more character than plot driven. Cassavetes is exploring something in this film; it is not a consistently drop-down funny flim like The In-Laws, nor is the action as suspenseful and spine-tingling, but it has some incredibly funny moments, including one of the funniest scenes ever put on film (try some sardine liquor). Not to be missed by Cassavetes fans or die-hard In-Laws fans who want more.

Someone looking for an easy to watch straight-ahead comedy or action/adventure film, however, might be disappointed.

"Big Trouble" is a mediocre film. You will laugh occasionally but that's about all. And that's crushing considering the two leads, Alan Arkin and Peter Falk, and the writer, Andrew Bergman, previously teamed or "The In-Laws" an all-time great film comedy.

Here the two leads play basically the same parts. Falk is the one in control with his devious ideas while Arkin is the meek, unsuspecting one thrown in over his head. This time around the needlessly complicated plot follows an insurance scam.

The film was directed by John Cassavettes, one of our great directors. But comedy is not a genre he handled well. There were numerous reports of problems during shooting. It shows on the screen.

The one bright spot is Beverly D'Angelo looking as sexy as ever. Maybe they should have relegated Falk and Arkin to backup and made her the lead.