Day 41- Movie 36. Big Trouble (2002)

Ugh, I'm back to being 5 movies down. This is just relentless. Every single day I wake up, and I'm another movie behind. This week is going to be key- if I don't knock quite a few movies out, this challenge is going to be nearly impossible. So, get ready to read about a lot of movies over the next week.

Today I watched a little known film, Big Trouble. In addition to having a completely forgettable name (which might have contributed to it making only $7 million in theaters), this movie has mostly gone unnoticed over the last 8 years. I don't think I've ever heard anyone mention it, and I only vaguely knew of it myself. I was surprised to see the pretty impressive cast:

Tim Allen, Rene Russo, Stanley Tucci, Tom Sizemore, Johnny Knoxville, Dennis Farina, Janeane Garofalo, Zooey Deschanel, Patrick Warburton, Ben Foster, Omar Epps, Jason Lee, Sophia Vergara, Andy Richter, and DJ Qualls.

I don't care what kind of movie watcher you are, with a cast like that, this movie becomes a must-see. I am still just stunned at all the actors involved in this film. It's also directed by Barry Sonnenfeld, who's created some memorable movies over the years.

Unfortunately, the movie is a bit of a mess. The film moves at a frantic, breakneck pace. There are so many characters with so many story lines, and they all converge at different points in the movie. It's all the audience can do to hold on. The good thing about this is that the movie moves so quickly that there is little to no time to actually think about what's happening on screen. This is helpful, because the story is pretty ridiculous and far fetched. However, it almost never dawns on you while you're watching because things are moving so quickly. Only at the end of the movie does it become apparent that the film is somewhat weak.

Despite the ridiculous plot, this is a fairly decent comedy. In those big ensemble movies, it oftentimes feels like you never get to spend enough time with any of the characters. While that happens here and there, this movie does a very good job of making sure we have time enough to connect and understand the characters. That's rare to find. While I didn't love this movie, I admit the frantic pace kept me interested throughout the film. I would give this film a decent 6.5/10.

Has anyone seen this movie? What do you think- it is awful, is it horribly underrated? If you haven't seen it, I recommend checking it out. It's not a great movie, but it's worth seeing for the cast alone.