Elmore Leonard's novels have become somewhat chic to bring to the big screen. In the mid 1990's when Travolta's career was soaring, Get Shorty was the first film, as Elmore put it, to get his writing right on the big screen. Get Shorty wasn't the first film to try as way back in the lat sixties, Ryan O'Neal tried to lead the role of Jack Ryan in The Big Bounce.
Flash forward to 2004 and Owen Wilson, who we just saw do a wonderful job in Starsky and Hutch, takes on the role of Jack Ryan. Jack is a slacker who runs from life, always taking what he can get and moving on. He finds himself in Hawaii working for a construction company that is corrupt from the top down. During a confrontation with one of the bosses, Jack flips out and knocks the guy upside the head with a baseball bat. This scene is caught on camera by the company and seen by local DJ, or district judge, Walter Crewes (Morgan Freeman).
Crewes, along with his friend Joe Lurie (Willie Nelson), discuss the brutality but decide that Jack needs a break and convince owner Ray Ritchie (Gary Sinise) and his assistant Bob Jr. (Charlie Sheen) to drop the charges. Extending his good gesture further, since he doesn't like how Ray Ritchie does business, the honorable judge offers Jack a job as handyman of his ten bungalows. Jack accepts mainly to piss off Ritchie but also so he can get closer to a beautiful blonde he just met, Nancy Hayes (Sara Foster).
Nancy, as the judge tells him, is just trouble waiting to happen, as she likes the criminal type and has a record of her own. Of course Jack finds his way into her life and the two plot a scam of Ritchie involving 200,000 dollars. With all the players in place and some catchy dialog, the question becomes who is really scamming who? The movie keeps one guessing all the way through to the surprising end.
I have to say that although I enjoyed the ending, the film is too loose for the most part, leaving many unanswered threads. Elmore has been quoted that his books are not mysteries and this film isn't a mystery really, except for all of the missing pieces that are never answered. It's like the judge says in the film, "Sometimes Jack things are exactly as they seem."
The Disc:
Director George Armitage's (Grosse Pointe Blank) film looks fantastic on DVD presented in its original anamorphic 2:35:1 version that preserves the look of the film. This is a very clean print that makes Warner look like the best of the studios as it continues to present awesome transfers. Sounds in the movie are equally impressive for such a talkative movie with little action.
Extras on the disc are few and far between but begin with "The Big Bounce: A Con in the Making", a standard feature of interviews and behind the scenes. Like the movie itself this is pretty empty but pretty looking.
Next are two features on surfing, which Jack enjoys doing in the film. First is "Wicked Waves", which offers eight minutes of stunt surfer outtakes, while the second "Surfin' the Pipeline" looks at the techniques that went into capturing the footage used in the film.
There's also some trailers and upcoming films.
bottom line:
The Big Bounce failed to get it right just as Get Shorty did. Still not all is lost as the location is beautiful on a transfer that is gorgeous. There's some witty dialogue at times and decent acting with many famous faces. Hell just seeing Willie Nelson was nice but don't expect a great film.
3 out of 5
By - Brian Gray
