O Grande Engano

The Big Fix is a mystery that does not answer every question that it raises, but it nails the Zeitgeist of the late 60's from a vantage point 10 years later. I have only seen it once, when it first came out and I have looked for it ever since.

The story is slow to develop with Moses Wine (Dreyfuss) having trouble with seemingly every aspect of his life. We learn that he feels displaced in time, and cannot get past the radical time in his life. I and many others have had those same feelings in the 35+ years since.

The sense of confusion and struggle fits exactly the feelings many of us experienced at the time. Taught to respect the police by our Greatest Generation parents, we often found that we were at the top of the police list of suspects for anything from subversion to bad manners and bad dress. The sense of alienation that I felt at the time permeates the viewing. I may have read too much of myself into it; if so, The Big Fix evoked it from my own life.

Best scenes without spoiling the story:

Leon Redbone's "I Wanna Be Seduced" while Moses gets ready for a date with Lila Shay (Anspach).

Moses at the TV station reviewing scenes of past demonstrations; the images are shown projected on his face. No real detail is visible except the tears on his cheeks. Powerful.

The reunion of old friends as they dance around the swimming pool of the house that was built by selling out the old radical values.

Finally, a sense of something incomplete at the end. The mystery solved, but every question not answered. How true to life!

This is not your usual detective story. It also is not your typical conspiracy political thriller either. So I understand if people have their issues with how the movie was made and with the pace it has. But if you like the craziness and down to earth performance by the cast (especially Richard Dreyfuss, Richard being a name that can has a nickname that might remind one of a slang word for detective - just as a side note) ... well you are on to a good start.

Talking of starts, the movie does start with our main character on a stakeout. And he acts a bit childish one might say ... not a wrong observation. While there adult themes and there is a real story to his broken wrist/hand, many things are utilized for the story or the characters purposes.

Not a masterpiece I reckon - but still a very well made movie to say the least. And tension filled from start to finish ... even if it feels a bit uneven.

I am a fan of the 1970s semi-genre of throw-back style detective movies. My favorites are Robert Benton's "The Late Show" and Robert Altman's "The Long Goodbye". "The Big Fix" doesn't come close to those films. It's watchable but only barely. Richard Dreyfuss does a nice job but the story is weak and uninteresting. Dreyfuss' character is strong but he's surrounded by a bunch of bland or unnecessary supporting characters. "The Big Fix" does have a few nice moments but not enough to make it worth while. Dishonorable mention: the annoying Aunt.

This movie and John Sayles's "The Return of the Secaucus Seven" are the best movies I know about the post-hippie years.

"The Big Fix" is funny, fast, and smart -- and also touching. The scenes of the old activists in jail and around the swimming pool are touched with aching nostalgia. Richard Dreyfuss plays an adorable, idealistic nebbish who really thought the future was going to hold more than EST trainers and deteriorating VW Beetles. I think it's his best performance (though "Inserts" was also fine).

I have read the book on which this was based, and it is not only nothing like the movie but considerably worse than the movie. This is one case ("Roger Rabbit" is another) in which the Hollywood rewrite was a noticeable improvement over the original.

An excellent film for Dreyfus. At this point (1978), the best known films with Dreyfus were "American Graffiti"(1973), "Jaws"(1975), "The Goodbye Girl"(1976) and "Close Encounters"(1977). Dreyfus did a great job inviting the viewer in and sharing his (Moses Wine's) feelings about the late 60's and its effects on the students at Univ of California Berkley. Wine wanders aimlessly to find out who is pitting various ethnic and political groups, etc. against each other. He does not find out who the true enemy is until the end of the movie. You won't either. John Lithgow also appears in one of his first films. Look for Mandy Patinkin as the pool cleaner. F. Murray Abraham and Susan Anspach also star.