O Golpe

Greetings again from the darkness. What a total waste of a cool cast. Having never read Elmore Leonard's novel, I can't say whether the movie butchered the book or not. I can say that this is an extremely unfunny, poorly made movie with a ridiculous story that had me flashing back to those Elvis in Hawaii movies ... only without the charm and music! Director George Armitage ("Miami Blues", "Grosse Point Blank") either hated the story or called in sick everyday. Supermodel Sara Foster lacks the acting chops for her vital role in this triple-crossing fiasco. Talented screen veterans Morgan Freeman and Gary Sinise are totally wasted in this and comics Owen Wilson, Bebe Neuwirth and Charlie Sheen require some funny material to work their magic. Have I mentioned that the script was awful? Everytime I got my hopes up, I was left feeling empty. The domino game with Freeman, Wilson, Willie Nelson and Harry Dean Stanton could have been a classic scene, but instead fell flat. Even an early scene with football heroes Tony Dorsett, Mike Renfro and Pete Johnson goes nowhere because they are just treated as window dressing. When a movie wastes Vinnie Jones ("Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels") we know it has nothing going for it. The scenes of Hawaii and the beautiful shoreline and water are the only good things to be taken from this.

Don't be fooled by everyone's comments on how horrible or how boring this movie is. Sure, if you are looking for an Academy Award-winning drama, you won't get what you wanting to see. I mean look at the star role! ITS OWEN Wilson. Some of his more recent films include Starsky and Hutch, Shanghai Knights, Royal Tenebaums, Zoolander, Meet the Parents, Shanghai Noon, I mean COME ON. As soon as I saw he was in it I knew it was a comedy, and I was expecting a not-so-great storyline and some "controversial" things being said. If you want to see a comedy, then see this movie.

I, went, expecting a comedy, got one, and I give it a 8 out of 10.

Jack Ryan (Owen Wilson) has a tendency for bad decisions and bad luck, including ending up on the wrong side of the law, so he's fled to Hawaii. Unfortunately, his luck is going just as badly there. He hits his boss, loses his job, and is thrown in jail. After he gets out, he sees Nancy Hayes (Sara Foster) and falls for her, even though she's the mistress of an island bigwig, Ray Ritchie (Gary Sinise), and then some. Together they hatch a scheme to rip-off Ritchie, but how many people are involved, and how?

Was it that this large, talented cast was just looking for a paid vacation in Hawaii? I've liked most of the cast's previous films--I've seen tens of them from each principal cast member, and think there have only been a few I would pan. I've liked all of the adaptations of writer Elmore Leonard's work that I've seen so far (although admittedly, I haven't seen anywhere near the majority). But The Big Bounce is just a big, boring mess. I haven't seen any of screenwriter Sebastian Guiterrez or director George Armitage's previous work, so maybe we can blame them.

The biggest problem is that nothing much happens in the film for over half of its length, and when something does happen (primarily at the very end of the film), it is so poorly constructed that it's not very clear what's going on. Most of the film is more of a realist drama about, well, nothing, where Armitage seems to have directed his cast to say all of their lines with bizarre pauses, like they're severe asthmatics, and where Guiterrez' dialogue seems to primarily consist of banalities and non-sequiturs. There were a few moderately funny bits (the break-in at the cop's house, Bob Jr. (Charlie Sheen) visiting Nancy at an awkward time), but even those weren't laugh-out-loud hilarious when they should have been, and more often than not the script's attempts at humor fell flat, as did its attempts at realistic dialogue, intrigue, and just about everything else.

The large cast is primarily wasted. The only person not cruelly underused is Owen Wilson, and Wilson seems to be at a loss with the material. There are some nice shots of scenery, even if a lot of them are composites. I also thought the soundtrack songs were okay to good.

I haven't read Leonard's book yet, but I can't imagine that it's as uneventful, dull and ultimately confusing as this film. Even if it were, surely a script could be constructed out of the material that gradually weaves the various main characters' threads in a compelling and humorous way, leading up to an exciting twist ending. But such a script isn't to be found here.

Even if you're a big fan of the cast or Leonard, The Big Bounce is only worth watching to demonstrate that talented ingredients will not necessarily produce a successful film.

I have to agree with the ratings and a lot of reviewers on this one, it wasn't that great. When I saw the cast, with Owen Wilson, Morgan Freeman, Charlie Sheen, Vinnie Jones and others, all actors that I appreciate, I was expecting a good funny movie but that wasn't really the outcome of The Big Bounce. Instead you get a weak story that doesn't really make much sense, the twists and turns are predictable and not even interesting, and comedy wise it's pretty poor as well. It's watchable but only for once then, if you have no other choice.

Based on an Elmore Leonard novel, Owen Wilson plays Jack Ryan, an affable surfer who gets pulled into a crime caper by Nancy (Sara Foster), the beautiful mistress of a wealthy developer in Oahu, Hawaii. Soon, he and a judge, played by Morgan Freeman, are plotting against the developer, but Jack finds that he got more than he bargained for with Nancy.

I have never read the novel so I can't compare the movie to the book but I doubt the book is this bad. If Elmore Leonard doesn't like it then it's probably a disgrace to the book. The story itself isn't very fresh or new though the film does have an impressive cast. Unfortunately, the cast did little to help this very poor film. It ended up being a big waste of time and talent. The movie is just very dull and stupid. There really isn't a very clear idea of what type of genre this movie is supposed to be in. It wasn't a comedy because it wasn't funny at all. It wasn't a thriller because it offered no surprises. It was a crime caper except it wasn't very exciting and it offered no intrigue at all.

The acting is surprisingly flat and dull. Most of the actors seem to be more interested in a paycheck than anything else. This is Owen Wilson's worst film to date and it's also his worst performance. He just didn't seem to be trying at all. Gary Sinise wasn't used much which is a good thing because his performance was pretty mundane. Charlie Sheen tried way too hard to be funny and he ended up just being annoying. Morgan Freeman just gave a dull performance and Sara Foster was pretty weak but she is beautiful.

I blame director George Armitage for this garbage. He had the right actors and the right story, he just couldn't keep a good focus on it. There were a bunch of ideas going all over the place and the film was just so messy. He doesn't keep the audience guessing because they most likely won't care. He doesn't keep the audience entertained because there are very few engaging scenes. He really has nothing important to say either and The Big Bounce is just a very unnecessary movie. In the end, The Big Bounce is simply not worth watching. Rating 3/10