What a fantastic movie. I usually cant rest on transport of any kind but on a recent 12 hour flight from London to Tokyo "The Big Bounce" had me sleeping like a baby within minutes. When I did wake up and , suitably refreshed, decided to give the movie another go, I sat through the entire thing in a semi-catatonic state , waiting for something, anything to happen.
Owen Wilson is a small time conman / surfer dude who winds up in Hawaii and falls foul of local property developer and jet-set thug , Gary Sinise. In the meantime he finds himself cavorting with thrill-seeking, outlaw-loving supermodel, and "bit on the side" squeeze to Sinise, Sara Foster. He becomes bosom buddy and employee to local judge and hotelier Morgan Freeman and runs afoul of Sinise's henchman Charlie Sheen and foreman Vinnie Jones.
As capers go, and as casts go, it could have been, should have been, a a much better movie. Elmore Leonard is a sensational creator of quirky, multi-level characters but they just dont seem to work on screen. This movie failed for many of the same reasons that another Leonard adaptation, Get Shorty , couldn't make the grade. Great cast but falling someway short of embracing the spirit of the characters. Tarantino and his buddies came closest with Jackie Brown but the definitive Leonard movie has yet to be made. Wilson is likeable if limited as always, Sinise is fine in his occasional appearances, Foster is a capable if uninspired debutante and Morgan Freeman breezes through the movie with the casual indifference of a man who knows he's too damn good for it. A quick mention to Charlie Sheen who steals each scene he's in (admittedly the competition is minimal). Not desperately poor but not even in the same zip code as good.
Owen Wilson is a small time conman / surfer dude who winds up in Hawaii and falls foul of local property developer and jet-set thug , Gary Sinise. In the meantime he finds himself cavorting with thrill-seeking, outlaw-loving supermodel, and "bit on the side" squeeze to Sinise, Sara Foster. He becomes bosom buddy and employee to local judge and hotelier Morgan Freeman and runs afoul of Sinise's henchman Charlie Sheen and foreman Vinnie Jones.
As capers go, and as casts go, it could have been, should have been, a a much better movie. Elmore Leonard is a sensational creator of quirky, multi-level characters but they just dont seem to work on screen. This movie failed for many of the same reasons that another Leonard adaptation, Get Shorty , couldn't make the grade. Great cast but falling someway short of embracing the spirit of the characters. Tarantino and his buddies came closest with Jackie Brown but the definitive Leonard movie has yet to be made. Wilson is likeable if limited as always, Sinise is fine in his occasional appearances, Foster is a capable if uninspired debutante and Morgan Freeman breezes through the movie with the casual indifference of a man who knows he's too damn good for it. A quick mention to Charlie Sheen who steals each scene he's in (admittedly the competition is minimal). Not desperately poor but not even in the same zip code as good.