Big Trouble (2002)

The lives of several Miami denizens, from ad agents to gunrunners to street thugs to law enforcement to school-children, intersect with humorous and dangerous results.

Director:

Barry Sonnenfeld

Writers:

Dave Barry (novel), Robert Ramsey (screenplay)

Stars:

Tim Allen, Rene Russo, Stanley Tucci

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Tim Allen	...	Eliot Arnold
Rene Russo	...	Anna Herk
Stanley Tucci	...	Arthur Herk
Tom Sizemore	...	Snake Dupree
Johnny Knoxville	...	Eddie Leadbetter
Dennis Farina	...	Henry Desalvo
Jack Kehler	...	Leonard Ferroni
Janeane Garofalo	...	Police Officer Monica Romero
Patrick Warburton	...	Police Officer Walter Kramitz
Ben Foster	...	Matt Arnold
Zooey Deschanel	...	Jenny Herk
Heavy D	...	FBI Agent Pat Greer (as Dwight 'Heavy D' Myers)
Omar Epps	...	FBI Agent Alan Seitz
Jason Lee	...	Puggy
Sofía Vergara	...	Nina

Storyline

A chain of events starts with the arrival of a mysterious suitcase in Miami. Arthur Herk, a corrupt business owner, wants to get his hands on the case. At the same time, two hit men want him whacked. Tired of his constant fixation on drinking and television, Herk's wife Anna and daughter Jenny decide to find new love interests in divorced dad Eliot Arnold and his son Matt. To add more complication, two thieves decide to steal the case and lead a Miami police team and two FBI agents on a wild goose chase that ends inside the Miami airport terminal.

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Plot Keywords:

time bomb | suitcase | airport | fbi agent | suitcase bomb | 

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Taglines:

They have forty-five minutes to save the world. They need forty-six.

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Genres:

Comedy | Crime | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for language, crude humor and sex-related, material

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

5 April 2002 (USA)

Also Known As:

Belea mare în Miami

Filming Locations:

Florida, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$40,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$3,545,204, 7 April 2002, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$7,262,288, 16 June 2002

Company Credits

Production Co:

Touchstone Pictures,The Jacobson Company,Sonnenfeld Josephson Worldwide Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

85 min 74 min (TV)

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The song heard in the Hummer that Dwight Myers aka Heavy D, Omar Epps and Janeane Garofalo sequester on the way to the airport, is "Big Trouble" sung by Myers himself.

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Goofs

During the Geo test drive, the mountains in the background look suspiciously like those in Los Angeles. Miami isn't near any mountains.

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Quotes

Arthur Herk: [making an opinion on who might have shot his TV] I'll tell you who did it. It's probably some goddamn kids. 'Cause these goddamn kids today, they all got goddamn guns, and they're all sniffing glue!
Officer Monica Romero: Any additional insights, Mr. Herk? Any information can help us to protect you.
Arthur Herk: I seriously doubt that you or any other member of the police force in this town could protect their own dicks with both hands.
Officer Monica Romero: Thank you for that observation.

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Alternate Versions

DVD includes a condensed 7 minute 49 second-long edition of the film focusing on scenes containing important plot points.

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Connections

Referenced in MIB ADR (2002)

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Soundtracks

The Odd Couple
Written by Neal Hefti and Kenyon Hopkins
Courtesy of Paramount Pictures Corporation

User Reviews

A Fun, Frenetic Farce That Didn't Deserve To Be A Bomb!

When my husband and I heard that Barry Sonnenfeld was going to direct the film version of Dave Barry's first novel, we were pretty excited. Both men have a similarly nutty knockabout comic sensibility with a touch of the surreal, and this wacky farce about a motley crew of Miami citizens embroiled in a race to recover an atomic bomb seemed like the perfect vehicle for them to pool their talents on. Well, it was! Hubby and I had a grand time -- but alas, we seemed to be among the very few moviegoers who even gave the flick a chance! I guess it didn't help that BIG TROUBLE's originally-scheduled December 2001 release was delayed due to worries that a plot involving smuggling an A-bomb through laissez-faire airport security would seem more disturbing than funny after the horrific events of 9/11/2001. Maybe most audiences are still too spooked right now to appreciate the satiric possibilities in Sonnenfeld & Co.'s cynically funny, Billy Wilder-esque treatment of these elements -- but I hope that down the line, folks will give BIG TROUBLE a chance, because really, it's like what might have resulted if Billy Wilder had ever had an opportunity to direct The Marx Brothers. We were laughing throughout! The ensemble cast is superb, from Patrick Warburton and Janeane Garofalo as members of Miami's Finest, to Tom Sizemore and Johnny Knoxville as dunderheaded crooks, to Tim Allen and Rene Russo's chemistry as single (well, unhappily married in Russo's case) parents who get drawn into the shenanigans when their respective teenage kids Ben Foster and Zooey Deschanel (both delightful -- I wouldn't be surprised if these two became big stars someday!) accidentally foil a hit on Stanley Tucci (hilariously obnoxious as Russo's dreadful second husband) by Jack Kehler and Dennis Farina (spoofing his earlier role in Sonnenfeld's GET SHORTY adaptation). Everybody gets a moment to shine, even Jason Lee as a hippy-dippy drifter and Sofia Vergara (who looks remarkably like a Latina Denise Richards) as Tucci's put-upon maid. C'mon, give this unfairly underappreciated gem a chance when it hits home video!