So many characters, so little time (or development, for that matter).Barry Sonnenfeld’s loose-fitting “Big Trouble” connects dozens of characters together in a feature-length version of “Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon.”
There’s an ad agent and former Miami Herald columnist (Tim Allen) who can’t bond with his son (Ben Foster). The son’s preoccupied with his beautiful classmate (Zooey Deschanel), who tolerates her mom (Rene Russo) but loathes her stepfather (Stanley Tucci). The mom strikes up a relationship with the ad agent father, and the disgruntled stepfather purchases a bomb, which draws in even more characters … come to think of it, why didn’t they cast Bacon in one of these roles?The whole charade culminates with the stolen bomb being smuggled aboard a hijacked plane, which explains why Touchstone pulled “”Big Trouble”” from its original Sept. 21 release date in the wake of the 9/11 attacks. Totally understandable. Some airport hijinx on display here simply won’t fly in this day and age, no matter how far from the tragedies we’ve come, though they’ll forever exist as a strange Social observation on airport security in the pre-9/11 timeframe. We don’t laugh when we see this, we squirm – not the desired intent.Clearly, director Sonnenfeld yearns for the sprawling yet razor sharp wit of his 1995 hit, “Get Shorty.” If only columnist Dave Barry, who penned the original source material, had the comic endurance of novelist Elmore Leonard. Realizing the film’s potency lies with his cast, Sonnenfeld wastes absolutely no time parading his circus across the screen, hoping a Tim Allen-read narration will help keep things straight. Initial jokes rely on the sheer quirkiness of the cast, even though they’re given very little to do, and no reason to do it.After establishing its penchant for imaginative subplots, though, Matthew Stone and Robert Ramsey’s indifferent screenplay inexplicably abandons the film’s creative flow and begins recycling gags. Watching “Trouble” is like attending amateur night at a comedy club, where each contestant is limited to just one joke. Some of the humor is brave, and all of it is applied with broad strokes.Yet I have to believe there was plenty more material to be had in Barry’s original novel. Heavy D and Omar Epps, playing FBI agents on the trail of the bomb, dabble in Tarantino-inspired dialogue, hinting at how edgy this comedy could have been. Even Allen’s Eliot Arnold – the prototype Barry character – gets an amusing “”Die Hard”” agenda that he bats around with zeal.””Trouble”” throws a ton of comedic material against the wall and films whatever sticks. Problem is, gravity was working overtime.Grade: C-By Sean O’ConnellApril 5, 2002