The Big Bounce (2004)

One of my all time favorites.

Good story, Not enough for a whole film

Absolutely Fantastic

At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

"The Big Bounce" is not a boring film, but it is certainly unremarkable. It is too often the case that the film feels like a six-episode television series that has been scrapped and then condensed down into a 100 minute feature. It is rich in character diversity and snappy put-downs; overflowing with a sense of people coming and going in and out of one another's universes that can often be refreshing and is laden with micro-narratives pertaining to heists; betrayals and collapsing marriages, but there is no finished product – no substance to really sink one's teeth into.Owen Wilson plays Jack Ryan (no, not that one) – a handsome conman who has served time for his petty crimes but now lies low on a Hawaiian island and works on a construction site. He's cool; calm and amusing. When he breaks the law, in infiltrating the glamorous surroundings of a beach house hosting a pool party so as to nab a couple of hundred in notes to tide himself over, he does it in such a way that we cannot quite hate him for it.Ryan lands himself in some trouble when he clobbers a foreman with a baseball bat following an altercation on his work-site that involves protesters unhappy at the desecration of their lands to make way for a new hotel. Fired, and told menacingly by the henchman (played by Charlie Sheen) of his ex-boss that he should leave the island, he finds solace in working as a handyman for Morgan Freeman's district judge Walter Crewes on a small holiday-camp he runs on the side.It is around this time that he meets Nancy (Sara Foster), a blonde twenty-something beach-bimbo with a backstory of city-based exotic dancing and a fetish for criminality – not a dangerous girl, but one who is fast and loose and too pretty for Ryan to turn away from when she demonstrates an interest in him. The reason for this is, of course, that he himself has a penchant for criminality, albeit petty burglaries. The relationship occupies the bulk of the film's middle third – Nancy, already having an affair with the chap who wants to build that hotel, is thus able to garner access to yachts and luxury villas otherwise off-limits where the endless teasing; flirting and talking plays out.Sadly, there is no real substance to this core relationship: Nancy is turned on by criminals and Jack commits crimes. Elmore Leonard, author of the novel from many years earlier upon which the film is based, would later bring a character similar to Jack Ryan together with a federal marshal in "Out of Sight" – two binaries that should repel but who eventually come to attract. Rum Punch, later adapted as "Jackie Brown", possessed at the core of it a far tougher love story to bring to life between the eponymous Brown and Max Cherry.Eventually, Nancy digs out that the man to whom she plays mistress possesses the sum of $200,000 nearby – located, as it happens, in a safe in one of these luxurious homes he owns. She hits upon the idea that they could steal it, but Ryan already has an angry foreman in a neck-brace out for payback; an on-off criminal accomplice in the form of Frank (Gregory Sporleder) saying he needs $1500 to pay off some bad people and a job to hold down for Crewes who has his own plans for Ryan...The film is not remarkably well made – it is bouncy in that way "Get Shorty" and "Jackie Brown" are without ever being frivolous, but does not amount to the satisfying experience those films were. We are provided with endless shots of surfers to transist between scenes, while the close ups of the rolling white waves as they crash into the beach as Nancy and Jack make love is just clumsy. On one occasion, there is a particularly silly sequence whereby Nancy nips back and forth between the first and ground floors of a house to appease Jack and another male visitor (with whom she is additionally having an affair) without the other knowing either of them is present.There is a certain style and a certain logic to the film, although I am perplexed as to why one character seems to spend the duration of the film trying to talk Ryan out of doing something which is crucial to a plan of his own that he has up his sleeve for later on. When all is said and done, this is tough to recommend as both a genre piece and as a standalone accomplishment.

The Big Bounce (2004): Dir: George Armitage / Cast: Owen Wilson, Morgan Freeman, Sara Foster, Charlie Sheen, Gary Sinise: Nobody really makes a big bounce in this film. That is not to say that it doesn't have entertainment quality. It has a catchy premise and several plot turns that play around trust and betrayal. What works against it is its methods of paying off crime. Director George Armitage presents beautiful Hawaiian photography. He previously made Grosse Pointe Blank, another film that featured a young anti-hero caught up in crime. This is not much of an advancement. Owen Wilson is appealing as a con man working a construction job that is being protested by locals. He spent time in jail for break and enter, and he also decks a construction supervisor with a baseball bat. Morgan Freeman steals scenes as a judge who takes interest in him. Sara Foster plays a schemer who seduces Wilson into stealing $200, 000. Other roles are either pointless or underused. Charlie Sheen for example, is amusing as a foreman but more might have benefited him. In other roles are Gary Sinise who is underused and Vinnie Jones who is totally unnecessary. This is a great cast with mixed results in terms of who benefits and who is underused. Very light weight comedy with its moments of comic bliss but it is no big bounce. It does contain several little bounces though. Score: 5 ½ / 10

We are in Hawái , there Jack Ryan a young ex-con who gets fired from his employment ,then he takes another job as handyman and cleaner of a judge and local hotel proprietary called Sam (Morgan Freeman). Meanwhile , he is enamored by a shady and gorgeous woman named Nancy (Sara Foster), she's lover to an unscrupulous mobster called Ritchie (Gary Sinese). Nancy proposes Jack to help her with the robbery Ritchie's safe with supposedly big amount of money. He reluctantly help her , but problems ,double-crosses , risks and dangers are arising.The film mingles intrigue , black comedy with cynical sense of humor , action , suspense and exotic landscapes including shores , islands , and beaches from Hawaii . The movie contains several ingredients for amusement and entertainment such as surf , yachts , sunny outdoors and sexy girls wearing T-shirt and bikinis . Owen Wilson as sympathetic drifter is nice and Sara Foster as sulky and seductive young is awesome . However, Morgan Freeman and Gary Sinese are miscast , but they usually play intelligent and upright roles . Other secondary actors as Charlie Sheen , Willie Nelson , Vinnie Jones , Bebe Neuwirth and Harry Dean Stanton are well. Wonderful outdoors and lush interiors are beautifully photographed by Jeffrey L. Kimball and lively and atmospheric music by George S Clinton . Screenplay by Elmo Leonard ,an old novelist and screenwriter specialist on noir plots and western and working from ¨Tall T¨,¨3:10 Yuma¨,¨Hombre¨ continuing with ¨Rosary murders¨, ¨Get shorty¨, ¨Jackie Brown¨ till nowadays . This film was previously adapted by Alex March (1969) with Ryan O'Neal and Leigh Taylor Young . Motion picture was regularly directed by George Armitage . Rating : Average but with lots of fun for the entire youth and it will appeal to noir comedy fans .

You can totally give this movie a miss, and would not of missed anything exciting, for even the most solid Morgan Freeman or Owen Wilson fans, There's absolutely nothing going on in this film. The humours boring, and Dull, the stuff thats suppose to make you laugh just makes the film more un-enjoyable! Completely Un-funny, and Completely boring! Vinnie Jones even gets BAT-tered by Owen Wilson! if thats not enough to go by, and put u off, i don't know what is! but on a bright note, It's always great to see Morgan Freeman, he has no need to do dull projects like this. As we all know Owen Wilson has his own unique style of humour, thats the main reason why we like him, i find him extremely funny normally but even understanding that, this still sucked! you were hoping a giant shark would jump out of the sea and eat the set, least that would've been amusing. But the best part of the film is, watching Sara Foster's sexy body! she's really fit, and not a bad actress either!Only buy this, if it's being given away!And watch the last 10 minutes, no need for the other 75mins.