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After successful collaborations with Jackie Chan (Shanghai Knights, Shanghai Noon) and best buddy Ben Stiller (Zoolander, Starsky & Hutch) Owen Wilson ditched sidekick duty to test his leading man potential in The Big Bounce. While there can be no denying Wilson's charm, this adaptation of the Elmore Leonard caper about a surfer-cum-conman sank without a trace at the US box office and dives straight to video on this side of the pond.
Riding The Wave
Wilson plays Jack Ryan, a Hawaii-based beach bum who gets fired from his construction job by shady property developer Ray Ritchie (Gary Sinise). Taking an unusual interest in his predicament, District Judge Walter Crewes (Morgan Freeman) employs Jack to assist in the building of his new holiday development - but he's far from the Samaritan he appears to be. Likewise Jack has the wool pulled over his eyes by local femme fatale Nancy Hayes (newcomer Sara Foster), who seduces him into cheating boyfriend Ray out of $200,000.
Like other films sourced from Elmore Leonard's crime novels (Get Shorty, Jackie Brown), The Big Bounce is peppered with smart dialogue and populated by criminally cool characters. However, while this world may seem the perfect fit for the insouciant Wilson, the laidback mood translates as sheer laziness onscreen. Director George Armitage (Grosse Pointe Blank) is content to ride a wave of inconsequential plotting, merely coasting on the combined charisma of his stars and the Travelshop appeal of his Hawaiian backdrop.
The feeling that cast and crew are merely lapping up an all-expenses holiday in the tropics becomes overriding and, frankly, irritating, as what little story there is drifts to a dot on a pinkish-hued horizon. Admittedly there are a few funny flashes, but the only genuinely satisfying moment sees Wilson club Vinnie Jones over the head with a baseball bat. Is that wrong?
Life's A Beach
The A Con In The Making featurette confirms initial suspicions about the motives behind making this film, as Charlie Sheen (who plays Wilson's buddy in the film) blatantly admits, "This film is getting in the way of my vacation." Even Vinnie Jones laughs it up, adding, "We're just enjoying the sun in Hawaii." For Owen Wilson, there was added allure in working with model-turned-actress Sara Foster. Of the multiple takes it took to shoot their love scenes, he explains (with a Cheshire cat grin): "I'm a perfectionist. I don't wanna stop until I'm absolutely sure we've got it right."
In case you're seething with irritation at this point, the Wicked Waves featurette should cool your jets. Essentially this is a montage of outtakes featuring pro-surfers riding the blue crush in Hawaii, backed by a wishy-washy soundtrack. The effect is similar to watching one of those hypnotic video goldfish bowls.
If you're left wondering "How do they do that?" (no, not the goldfish), Surfing The Pipeline should answer your questions. Wilson chats about the training he underwent to stay upright on his surfboard, while secondnd unit DP Don King explains how he captured the waterborne action - or as he puts it: "The poetry of the surfers and their relationship with the water." Right on, dude. Leaving aside the inevitable spiritual surfer waffle, this is the only feature that attempts to demystify the filmmaking process. Other than that, The Big Bounce makes for a less than watertight proposition on DVD.
EXTRA FEATURES
