Big Night

I can't even begin to explain how much I love this film. First, it may be one of the great "food movies" of all time. Anyone who considers him/herself a lover of good food and doesn't drool over the "timpano" alone should check their pulse... And the performances are remarkably restrained, yet lively. Stanley Tucci is sublime, Tony Shalhoub is, as always, a marvel. Truly interesting camerawork that draws one in, yet doesn't detract (or distract) from the story or the characters. Because, at its heart, this is a character-driven piece -- about the love and mutual respect shared by two strong-willed siblings. Someday I will take part in a feast like that shared by the characters in this film, and on that day, I will be an extraordinarily happy man. Until then, I'll watch this movie again and again.

Campbell Scott and Stanley Tucci are good friends in real life and together they made this delicious gem. Tucci plays Secondo who along with his brother Primo (Tony Shalhoub) run a restaurant named the Paradise. Primo is a genius as a chef but they are on the verge of going out of business so Secondo goes down the street to a very popular place run by an acquaintance named Pascal (Ian Holm) and Secondo asks for a loan. Pascal doesn't give it to him but decides to help him by having singer Louis Prima come to their restaurant with the press knowing he's coming also. Their restaurant will become famous when its mentioned in the paper so the two brothers plan a big night with special meals. Secondo invites his girlfriend Phyllis (Minnie Driver) and Primo wants to invite the flower shop woman Ann (Allison Janney) but is to shy. Secondo helps him out by inviting her. This is another enjoyable film where food is the common component that enables them to communicate. The food and its preparation is the art of the film. Watching Primo prepare meals is a real spectacle to behold. He really does come across as a great chef, there is no doubt as you watch this. But at the core of this film is the love and respect of Secondo and Primo as brothers. Even when they argue it is done with mutual respect. Yes, they get furious but at no real time do we get the feeling that they will walk away from one another. Scott and Tucci have created a wonderful blend of food and love and its the relationship between the two brothers that is the key here. Secondo is having problems committing to Phyllis and while its an important part of the film, its not the main focus. Janney adds just the right touch as Ann and you can understand the awe that she feels when she watches Primo at work and can witness his skill first hand. Tucci and Shalhoub shine in their roles and together they bring a very good film up another notch! This film also does a believable job of recreating the time period that the film is suppose to take place in. When people ask me for a good film to rent I always think of this one. Its a real gem.

I just need to mention that this is my friend's review that I wanted, with his permission, to share with you. I believe his meticulous view has discovered a veiled aspect which most of us have missed.

MR

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`Big Night' is a movie not so much about food and Italian cuisine but rather about cultural encounter and identity crises that most immigrants face upon their arrival in the new homeland.

The story cleverly unfolds the multi-personalities of an immigrant's character in a metaphorical representation. A character that is overwhelmed in a fierce inner struggle, constantly striving to reach a desired compromised. The big night is a milestone in an eventful and often chaotic journey. It's a moment for close encounter with reality.

The movie is about two brothers, Italian immigrants, trying to run ` Paradise' a gourmet restaurant. Primo is an uncompromising chef, who wishes to educate Americans to appreciate `The Real Italian Food'. Despite the obvious failure of their business, he stubbornly defies his customers' conception of Italian food. He simply cannot stand it when, a customer wants her risotto, painstakingly prepared seafood, with spaghetti and meatballs, and he calls her a `Philistine'.

While the brothers are battling for survival, Pascal, another Italian immigrant one generation older, runs a busy restaurant that fulfills the American conception of Italian food. Pascal is the kind of immigrant who has a clear mission statement. He is here to do business.

Secondo, the younger brother, who is in charge of management and accounting tries to convince his brother to give in and accept the business realities. He is in favor of changes to save the `Paradise'.

Primo the gifted chef, Secondo the manager who wants to run his business with the Rules of the Game, and finally Christian that mysteriously and quietly is there for the brothers in times of need, all are three aspects of the same person. A person lost and exhausted in the `Paradise'. Torn apart between Pascal who runs an enormously successful Italian restaurant across the street and Alberto the isolated barber who preserved his old social values.

The Movie begins with a scene that shows Christian in deep thought looking at the sea. We will see him often around the brothers throughout the movie. He hardly says anything. However, his presence has a mysterious significance yet unrevealed. Perhaps, an aspect of the immigrants' character that is more fundamental than the ones affected by cultural differences.

Primo represents that side of the immigrant that's terrified by the might of the new culture and the impending changes that eventually unravel. He is reserved, strongly opinionated and scared that he may lose it all in this journey and end up `eaten up' by the new culture.

Secondo shows us the willingness of the immigrant for discovery, understanding and adaptation to the new social values. He looks up to Pascal for advice and, as Gabriella (Pascal's mistress) puts it, sees him as a `lighthouse' in a raging sea.

The night of the feast is an important milestone in this evolutionary process. It is an opportunity for Primo to show us what he possesses and how precious those possessions are. At the same time, it's a moment to face the reality that `Paradise' is in trouble and without a compromise it won't make it.

The film ends with Secondo, Christian and Primo eating three scrambled eggs the morning after the big night. Scrambled eggs and bread, a basic food in both cultures, implying a retreat to a common ground, for further evaluation and perhaps some adjustments. The movie, quite appropriately, doesn't reveal the direction that our immigrants will take. However, it beautifully displays the quiet coexistence of three personalities in a more persuasive journey!

I wonder if `the Big Night' is an adaptation of Freudian Psychoanalysis. If so could you identify `Id', ` Ego' and `superego'?

SR

This movie is fantastic. You feel like you are on the Jersey shore and can smell the sauce being cooked. Even Minnie Driver is great! Eat something first because the food consumed and prepared during the movie will have you drooling.

A low-key and highly entertaining indie comedy about two brothers (Stanley Tucci and Tony Shalhoub) trying to make a go of their Italian restaurant without losing their cultural identity in the process.

Shalhoub is the chef stuck on tradition, who refuses to compromise his culinary integrity for whiney customers; Tucci is the more reasonable and business savvy brother who understands the need to change with the times. The acting is good all around, and the the food in the film looks so good I guarantee you will be starving before it is over.

Also with Minnie Driver, Ian Holm and Isabella Rossellini.

Grade: A-