Morgan Freeman — he’s always good, right? And Gary Sinise has done a lot of quality work. Owen Wilson has been in some dogs, but he’s funny, and don’t forget “The Royal Tenenbaums.” And isn’t George Armitage the guy who directed “Grosse Point Blank?” And the script is from a book by Elmore Leonard, who wrote “Get Shorty.” This has to be pretty good.
The lights go down, the previews run, the pop-culture cavalcade of “no smoking” and “please turn off your cell phone” promos flies by, and then the music starts — a vaguely mystery/suspense overture, which prepares us for a fun con-job film like a modern, Hawaiian version of “The Sting.”
Then, for five minutes or so, “The Big Bounce” seems like it really could be pretty good.
Jack Ryan (Wilson — not the Tom Clancy hero) is a decent-minded laborer whose job is distasteful to him. He’s working for Ray Ritchie (Sinise), who’s building a hotel despite local protests. When Jack justifiably assaults his obnoxious foreman (Vinnie Jones, “Snatch”), he grabs the attention of local laid-back bigwig Walter Crewes (Morgan Freeman).
Soon we meet Nancy (former model Sara Foster), Ritchie’s hottie plaything. We sense that she, like everyone else, has “an angle,” but we only guess this because we know it’s a con-game movie. None of the characters ever seem to have more than the most superficial motivation for their actions.
Wilson brings his usual average-Joe charm to Ryan’s minor-league-criminal character — a sort of Midwestern surfer-dude who may or may not be smarter than he seems. It is difficult not to like him but also difficult to care much what he does in scene after scene of weak punch lines and contrived comic circumstances.
Foster is well cast as a character whose primary attribute is being pretty. Her interaction with Wilson and the other actors is empty. Nancy and Jack are supposed to share some thrill derived from doing illegal things — the “bounce” of the title is meant to describe this feeling.
The irony is that at no point does the audience feel any of that thrill. The film is flat, flat, flat.
“The Big Bounce” would have benefited from casting more dynamic actors. Though it is intriguing to think of Morgan Freeman in a comedy, his strength is understatement. That’s exactly what this film doesn’t need.
After seeming momentarily compelling, the characters fail to develop any depth, and this is why we cannot get caught up in the who’s-manipulating-whom aspect of the film.
The angles and connections are not enticingly revealed but rather shown plainly without any tension at all. We barely feel even a passing interest as we are told who is in on what.
“The Big Bounce” is well under 90 minutes, and, though the dull character interactions hardly leave us wanting more, another fifteen minutes of obfuscation might have at least built some curiosity.
A preview for “The Big Bounce” might make one think, “Well, it doesn’t look great, but I like some of the people involved, and at least it’s set someplace warm.”
In the middle of a Wisconsin winter, the tropical scenery turns out to be the film’s best feature. Beyond that, it is merely a disappointing example of how a number of talented people can combine to make something completely pointless.
Grade: D
