Elmore Leonard has become to crime movies what Steven King is to horror films. He’s the go to guy, always ready with an intriguing new novel for some hotshot director to adapt for their next hit. In the past few years, such great films as Get Shorty, Out Of Sight, and Jackie Brown have been based on Leonard books. That’s right, even Quentin Tarantino made a movie from one of Elmore’s stories. Audiences came to accept that when a film was rooted in a Leonard novel, it was sure to be good. So when the previews for The Big Bounce started showing, the most obvious attracting quality of the movie was that Elmore Leonard’s fingerprints were on the blueprints. Sadly, instead of delivering another dark comedy classic, The Big Bounce reminds us there truly are no sure things.

Owen Wilson stars as Jack Ryan, a con man who finds himself in the middle of an unnecessarily complicated plot to steal money from a sleazy businessman. Jack is brought into this caper courtesy of the construction owner’s young lover Nancy, an aspiring criminal looking to learn the ropes. We watch as what seems to be a romance blossoms between Nancy, played by Sara Foster, and Jack. The question is, are the feelings genuine, or just part of the con? Pretty much the entire film can be summed up with that one query. Every character seems to be in on the escapade, while doing their best to deceive each other.

While the plot’s been done before, see every other movie based on a Leonard novel for proof, it can still be done in a fresh and exciting way. Again, see every other movie based on a Leonard novel for proof. The Big Bounce is borderline fresh, but far from exciting. The script is full of clever dialogue, but the actual story plods along. Most of the movie moves so slowly that when the big caper comes at the end, chuck full of thoughtless twists thrown in to simply shock the audience, we just don’t care. Luckily, this saves us from being disappointed by the extremely anti-climatic conclusion.

Wilson shines here as the comedic leading man. As for the rest of the cast, there should be a law against wasting so much great talent. Morgan Freeman and Bebe Neuwirth flounder around as one-dimensional characters, while Gary Sinise receives all of five minutes on screen. We do, however, get to see Charlie Sheen prove that while his talents are perfect for cheesy sitcoms, he doesn’t belong anyplace near a major motion picture.

In the end, this film falls to the wayside on the heels of cracker-thin characters and a slow moving story that leads nowhere worthwhile. If you walk into the Big Bounce expecting something great, get ready for a big disappointment.

-Joe Lopez
Joemovie@aol.com

A action pack movie that set in Hawaii and week after week of lots of snow and low tempertures in Michigan, I found this film a welcome relief. Owen Wilson plays a drifter who ran into one too many shaddy people.Wilson gave a good performance as was Morgan Freeman and Charlie Sheen. Sara Foster grabbed my attention. I hope to see more of her. the film is based on the novel by Elmore Leonard and this is his best page to screen in years. Get out of the cold and see this film.