Customer Reviews

Big Trouble

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

The In-Laws is the standard, but there are scenes in this one that I still can't get through without choking laughter 15 years later. This movie goes beyond off the wall in some spots, and the cast gets it done. It's all about Arkin, Falk, and of course, Richard Libertini in an "In-Laws" like wacky role. No cerebral stuff going on here, but you'll laugh throughout. Find this movie somehow. You won't be sorry

A follow up (but not a sequel) to the comedy "The In-Laws", Peter Falk and Alan Arkin pick up where they left off. A lighthearted comedy about an insurance salesman (Arkin) who unwittingly gets caught up in a scheme by Falk and his wife, played by Beverly D'Angelo. Many twists and turns in this classic! You will long remember the highway scene, the nose reconstruction, the drink, the kidnapping, the drugstore, the train, the homeless man, the adjuster. 4.9 stars

For a fascinating behind-the-scenes info about Big Trouble and a list of books about Cassavetes' work, go to Ray Carney's website dedicated to John Cassavetes (found through any search engine).

Don't be fooled by the big name cast, script writer, and director. This film is a dog. A complete dog. The story is wholly unbelievable, the laughs are few and far between, and the overall production makes one wonder about the sobriety of all concerned. It isn't a screwball; it isn't black comedy; it isn't much of anything. Arkin has never made anything this bad.

This film, as far as I know, is the "real" last film Cassavetes directed -- not LOVE STREAMS, alas, though that makes a much more fitting final movie. Cassavetes was probably trying to generate funding for a film biography of Django Rheinhardt he was preparing to make (which, of course, he never did get to); either that or he was doing a favor for his friend Peter Falk. In any case, the film has NO bearing on Cassavetes other work. You'll see no sign of his touch at any point, and little sign that he particularly cared about the project. It plays through as a mediocre commercial comedy, poorly written and not very funny. It's professionally done -- but that's about it. Don't even be curious.