Larger Than Life (1996)

A motivational speaker discovers that the inheritance his father left for him is in the form of an elephant.

Director:

Howard Franklin

Writers:

Roy Blount Jr. (screenplay), Pen Densham (story)

Stars:

Bill Murray, Matthew McConaughey, Jerry Adler

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jerry Adler	...	Event Coordinator
Bill Murray	...	Jack Corcoran
Richard Alan Baker	...	Richie
Richie Allan	...	Man in Audience
Kimberly Thornton	...	Pyramid Woman
Anita Gillette	...	Mom
Maureen Mueller	...	Celeste
Jeremy Piven	...	Walter
Alex Neiwerth	...	Matthew
Alfa-Betty Olsen	...	Party Guest
Carrie Houk	...	Receptionist
Harve Presnell	...	Trowbridge Bowers
Tai	...	Vera
Earl Billings	...	Cop
Jeannine Hutchings	...	Outraged Woman

Storyline

Motovational Speaker Jack Corcoran is determined to get his career off the ground, but the biggest gigs he can get are the ones nobody wants. Then one day, he receives a telegram that his circus clown father has passed away, and has left a "huge" inheritance. When he gets there, he finds that his inheritance has come in the form of a elephant that was his father's pride and joy in circus acts. His main intention is to sell the pacaderm off. Jack must choose between loud and rude zookeeper Mo or attractive animal show owner Terry. As the two trek through the country Jack and the elephant develop a bond, and it changes his approach on life for the better.

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Plot Keywords:

elephant | inheritance | circus | telegram | clown | 

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Taglines:

He's got 5 days to go coast-to-coast. (There's just one BIG problem.)

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Genres:

Comedy | Family

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG for mild language

Details

Official Sites:

MGM

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

1 November 1996 (USA)

Also Known As:

Large as Life

Filming Locations:

Denver, Colorado, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$30,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$3,779,504, 3 November 1996, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$8,289,972, 15 December 1996

Company Credits

Production Co:

United Artists Pictures, Trilogy Entertainment Group, RCS

Technical Specs

Runtime:

93 min

Sound Mix:

DTS DTS-Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The airport scene was filmed in the San José, California airport.

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Goofs

As they are walking across the desert, there are multiple sets of elephant tracks in the sand, then on the far shot tracks in the sand from the camera crew.

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Quotes

[Jack is looking for a truck to take him and Vera]
Jack Corcoran: Heading west?
Trucker: [staring at Vera] Yeah.
Jack Corcoran: Can you take some more cargo?
Trucker: Is she afraid of mice?
Jack Corcoran: [frustrated] Are you hauling mice?

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Connections

Referenced in Nostalgia Critic: Space Jam (2008)

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Soundtracks

After You've Gone
Written by Henry Creamer and Turner Layton

User Reviews

Nothing special, but still fun – Murray carries it from start to finish

Jack Corcoran is an inspiration speaker who is trying to get his career moving to get the bigger gigs after having a best selling book. He bases his theory on his ability to get over his father's death just before his birth. He is surprised to find his father has just died and has actually left him an inheritance. He travels out to collect to find that his father was a clown and his inheritance is substantial -–in fact she's an elephant. Now he has less than a week to get across country to deliver the elephant to one of several interested parties.

Around about this period Bill Murray films kinda sunk to a bit of a low in terms of money making and quality. One thing has kept him a star however and that's himself – even an average film can be made enjoyable by him, and that's what happens here. The plot is predictable – who will he give the elephant to, the evil trainer or the jungle bunny? Will he make it in time? The answers are easy, but no matter. The message about loving animals etc are a little sentimental and don't sit well with the idea that we are actually watching an animal that belongs to a movie organisation such as the one being shown here as evil!

The comedy is also predictable – we know the elephant will knock things down and lift things up etc, but it's not overdone and is amusing to a point. It may not be rocket science but it will please kids for sure. For adults the physical nature of this comedy is tempered by a world weary Murray who really does make the film worth watching. He is a funny guy and although he is on auto-pilot here, he is still very good.

The film rests solely on his shoulders and he just about carries it off. The rest of the cast may well be made of faces but they are all in minor roles. People like Piven, Garofalo, Fiorentino, Jerry Alder, Presnell etc are all round the edges making it look tidy but really do little. McConaughey has a bigger, minor role but he isn't very good. His character is funny but he doesn't quite carry it off and I wonder if he is embarrassed by it now.

Overall this sort of thing usually stinks the place up, and this one doesn't. It's nothing special but is amusing enough to pass the time. This is mainly due to Murray doing his usual world-weary cynical act – we've seen it before but that doesn't mean it's not still funny.