“The Big Bounce” (Warner Brothers)
The new Owen Wilson film, “The Big Bounce,” is a remake of a 1969 movie that starred Ryan O’Neal and his future wife Leigh Taylor-Young. That film was not a hit and it is doubtful that this new version will be either. Your enjoyment of the movie will depend largely on how entertaining you find the droll humor and aw shucks attitude of Wilson.
Wilson plays a drifter of sorts named Jack Ryan (Isn’t that the name of the Tom Clancy hero played by Harrison Ford). He is working in Hawaii on a construction site when he gets into trouble for hitting his foreman with a baseball bat. This lands him in jail but only for a short time. His bail is posted by a judge who has taken an interest in him.
Once free and now working for Judge Walter Crewes (Morgan Freeman), Jack meets a willowy girl named Nancy (Sara Foster). She is involved with the builder, Ray Ritchie (Gary Sinise) for whom Jack once worked. Nancy has a plan to steal some money from Ray and split it with Jack.
The movie gets more convoluted from this point on and ends up with murders occurring as well as large thefts. Elmore Leonard wrote the story on which this movie is based and he seems to think getting away with thefts and murder is great fun.
Wilson is an actor who is always pretty funny, but never seems to be extremely funny. In this movie he is moderately funny. Foster is okay as the girl, but she too is just acceptable and not outstanding. Freeman and Sinise just walk through their roles as does Charlie Sheen, who had better thank his lucky stars he has a hit TV series to fall back on.
The movie is rated PG-13 for profanity, violence and nudity.
One thing the movie does have going for it is the beauty of Hawaii. As a travelogue this film is a delight. The beaches, the hillsides, the lush tropical atmosphere – it all looks great. But the plot, the acting and the humor are strictly run of the mill.
“The Big Bounce” is a big bust as entertainment goes. It is one more nail in the coffin surrounding Owen Wilson’s career as a leading man. He better go back to making those Jackie Chan movies. At least in those he comes off funnier than Jackie.
I scored “The Big Bounce” a deflated 4 out of 10.
