Big Trouble Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		2.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		2.5
Overall		3.0

Big Trouble Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Brian Orndorf November 10, 2018

To be fair to “Big Trouble,” it’s not like it had a chance to be a success at the box office. A chaotic comedy that includes a subplot concerning the movement of a nuclear bomb around an airport, the movie was originally scheduled for release on September 21st, 2001, only to find its content reconsidered by Disney after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, who decided to push the release date to April, 2002. By the time the feature finally opened, it was damaged goods, lacking a refreshed marketing push and positive press, with the studio basically scraping the film off the bottom of its shoe before moving on to more important pictures in the pipeline (like “The Country Bears” and “The Hot Chick”). “Big Trouble” isn’t a masterclass in cinematic storytelling, but as silly, swiftly paced ensemble endeavors about Floridian mischief go, it’s very entertaining, becoming something of a highlight in the disturbingly uneven career of director Barry Sonnenfeld.

Eliot (Tim Allen) is a former newspaper columnist forced to go into advertising to make ends meet. His son is Matt (Ben Foster), who’s playing a high school squirt gun game, tasked with wetting down Jenny (Zooey Deschanel), sneaking up to her home late one night to pull off the hit. During the mission, assassins Henry (Dennis Farina) and Leonard (Jack Kehler) are nearby, ready to gun down Jenny’s father, Arthur (Stanley Tucci), a corporate criminal with fetishistic fondness for housekeeper Nina (Sofia Vergara). When the hit goes wrong, cops Monica (Janease Garofalo) and Walter (Patrick Warburton) are called in to investigate, while Eliot meets Anna (Rene Russo), commencing an affair with Jenny’s mother. Fearing another attack, Arthur finds a Russian arms dealer, hoping to purchase a rocket. Instead, he’s offered a nuclear bomb, but the deal is interrupted by local morons Snake (Tom Sizemore) and Eddie (Johnny Knoxville), who steal the weapons, forcing Frito-loving homeless man, Puggy (Jason Lee), to carry the device. Joining the evening are FBI Agents Greer (Heavy D) and Seitz (Omar Epps), who understand the importance of retrieving the bomb before its countdown clock begins.

“Big Trouble” is an adaptation of a 1999 Dave Barry novel, with the author bringing his famed wit and love for tightly woven confusion to the playground of Miami, home to a community of overheated people addicted to making poor life decisions. The screenplay is handled by Robert Ramsey and Matthew Stone, who work to keep Barry’s impish sense of humor, sustaining absurdity from start to finish (this includes a frog that squirts hallucinogenic fluid), which helps to digest the farcical speed of the picture, which is rarely laugh-out-loud funny, but remains consistently amusing, finding the writing delighting in the chance to manufacture accidents and misunderstandings from less than bright characters. The Florida setting is a big help, finding residents often dripping with sweat, bringing physical discomfort to an evening of mass confusion, and Sonnenfeld is committed to sustaining Barry’s rhythm, making sure “Big Trouble” moves like a bullet train, constantly greeting new characters or witnessing established ones slip deeper into frustration as everything goes wrong.

Specific comedic targets are enjoyable, including a running gag concerning Eliot’s purchase of a Geo, which is a source of extreme embarrassment for Matt, but “Big Trouble” works best as a big wave of moronic behavior and mishaps. Such energy supports Sonnenfeld’s kinetic visual style, which attempts to snowball a simple act of high school gamesmanship into a chase to recover a nuclear weapon. Storytelling pinballs around the collection of personalities, with Puggy selected as a narrator of sorts, but everyone gets some time in the sun, watching Eliot stew in a lousy job, finding hope with Anna, who’s very attracted to the depressed marketing man. Arthur’s long history of embezzlement is exposed, marking him for death, but he’s too caught up in his own ego to truly notice, more concerned about bullets meant for him damaging his television and keeping his tongue wrapped around Nina’s toes, much to her horror. Monica and Walter share a recently complicated relationship after some unintended exposure during an arrest turns Walter into a horndog for his partner. And Snake and Eddie are two fried Florida boobs who have no clue how to be decent criminals, ending up with a nuclear bomb to babysit as they try to avoid arrest.

The community spirit is sustained without stoppage from Sonnenfeld, who’s never far from a visual gag to squeeze humor out of the endeavor. Running just 78 minutes (before the end credits begins), “Big Trouble” wisely slashes the brake line, always moving forward as the network of befuddled people begins to realize what’s really going on with bombs, stolen money, and the limitations of a Geo. “Big Trouble” moves, which is the highest compliment I can pay the film, never getting stuck with superfluous additions to the plot or heavy introspection. Perhaps this thins out the dramatic potential of the picture, but nobody’s here for dimensional psychological profiles, just madcap antics from screwball citizens, and that’s what Sonnenfeld is mostly focused on.

Big Trouble Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The AVC encoded image (1.85:1 aspect ratio) presentation is another Disney catalog title acquired by Kino Lorber that hasn't been touched since the DVD days. There's no refreshing here for Blu-ray, just a lackluster viewing experience that's low on fine detail, delivering more of a softer look for the movie, with only the most cartoonish elements of sweat and grime emerging with any passable definition. Floridian locations are dulled throughout, losing dimensional appeal. Colors enjoy a grand boost of regional hues, with costuming taking command of the palette, especially outfits worn by Anna, who favors bright pinks and greens, along with her platinum hair. Still, there's fatigue all-around, finding skintones periodically too reddish and greenery drained. Delineation suffers, with a few evening adventures losing information with dark costumes and thick hair. Source is in decent shape. Some banding is detected along the way.

Big Trouble Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The 5.1 DTS-HD MA sound mix does well with the speed of "Big Trouble," offering a track that's not explicitly circular, but has its immersive moments. Atmospherics are generally preserved in the surrounds, providing a feel for bar and household interiors, while activity on school grounds and nightlife maintains emphasis. Dialogue exchanges are direct and enjoyable, securing thespian choices in accent and emphasis, giving the slapstick sharpness. Scoring is supportive without overwhelming the performances, maintaining a milder but detectable rhythm to the movie. Low-end shows some surprising heft, adding some rumble with airplane flybys and explosions, and the opening of the nuclear bomb trunk also handles with weight.

Big Trouble Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Commentary features director Barry Sonnenfeld.

• And a Theatrical Trailer (2:03, SD) is included.

Big Trouble Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

"Big Trouble" eventually leads to the controversial showdown inside of an airport. At least it was controversial, but now works again as dark comedy, staged by Sonnenfeld as pure buffoonery with a slight Kubrickian conclusion. Disney's hesitation back in 2001 was understandable, but today "Big Trouble" is just frivolous fun with solid performances all around (Farina is a standout as a hitman who hates Florida), and a fine representation of what Sonnenfeld is capable of as a director of minimal material, concentration on timing and character connection, which he pulls off with comfortable craziness.