Movie Review for Big Bounce, The

Summary: Jack Ryan is a likeable drifter whose talents lie just outside the law. Hoping a change of scenery will bring him luck, Jack heads for Hawaii. There on the exotic North Shore of Oahu, he soon discovers that whether he is looking for a new con or a little romance, temptation is everywhere. Jack takes a job working construction for Ray Ritchie, a shady real estate developer who is building a resort despite protests by local Hawaiians. Almost immediately, Jack has a run-in with Ray Ritchie’s foreman, Lou Harris, and cold-cocks him across the jaw with a Louisville Slugger. Bob Jr., Ritchie’s right-hand man, warns Jack to get off the island if he knows what’s good for him. Jack happily ignores Bob Jr. Impressed with Jack’s knockout ability, North Shore District Judge Walter Crewes offers Jack a job while taking an unusually keen interest in Jack’s past crimes and uncertain future. Enter Nancy Hayes, a thrill-loving local who specializes in good looks and petty crime. When Nancy tries to seduce Jack into helping her double-cross Ray Ritchie and steal $200,000 of his payoff money, Jack is intrigued, but hesitant. This could be the perfect score, or the perfect setup.

                         Reviews of Big Bounce, The
By Ty Burr of Boston Globe (7/0)
            ...Bounce is all wink and no substance.

By Roger Ebert of Chicago Sun-Times (7/0)
            The movie doesn't work. It meanders and drifts and riffs.

By Michael Wilmington of Chicago Tribune (7/0)
            ...refreshing and icy-cool...

By Margaret A. McGurk of Cincinnati Enquirer (7/0)
            ...what ends up on screen is only sporadically entertaining.

By Paul Clinton (CNN.com) of CNN.com (7/0)
            Director George Armitage and screenwriter Sebastian Gutierrez have managed to hit every wrong not...

By Jeffrey M. Anderson of Combustible Celluloid (7/0)
            Cheerfully sunny, lightweight entertainment.

                         Reviews of Big Bounce, The
By David Levine of E! Online (7/0)
            ...mess of a movie...

By Simon Braund of Empire Magazine (7/0)
            It's sexy, offbeat fun for the most part, but it's way too laid-back for its own good and, in the...

By Walter Chaw of Film Freak Central (7/0)
            The picture is thus misogynistic enough to be a Michael Bay film, but it's not nearly as exciting...

By Victoria Alexander of FilmsInReview.com (6/1)
            An insult to the audience while the cast gets a paycheck and an all-expenses paid vacation in Haw...

By Kirk Honeycutt of Hollywood Reporter (7/0)
            This goof on an Elmore Leonard crime story misses the mark both as comedy and thriller.

By Kirk Honeycutt of Hollywood Reporter (7/0)
            ...misses the mark both as comedy and thriller.

                         Reviews of Big Bounce, The
By Andrea Chase of Killer Movie Reviews (7/0)
            There is more thrill-packed excitement in the frequent shots of the languid Pacific trade winds r...

By Manohla Dargis of Los Angeles Times (7/0)
            There may once have been a real movie rattling inside the empty studio package known as The Big B...

By Nick Carter of Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (7/0)
            Only slightly successful in living up to the material.

By Sean Burns of Philadelphia Weekly (7/0)
            A movie that more than once confuses the line between laid-back and lethargic, it wanders around ...

By Laura Clifford of Reeling Reviews (6/1)
            Owen Wilson has the amazing ability to charm his way out of the most dreadful material

By Robin Clifford of Reeling Reviews (6/1)
            My reaction, as the film struggles to its end, was to wish it to just be over.

                         Reviews of Big Bounce, The
By James Berardinelli of ReelViews (7/0)
            The Big Bounce has many of the same problems as The Big Sleep, but few of its strengths.

By Mick LaSalle of San Francisco Chronicle (7/0)
            ...the picture is a mess.

By Sean Axmaker of Seattle Post-Intelligencer (7/0)
            Running under 90 minutes, the film feels pared away, with surfing shots and beach views cut in to...

By Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat of Spirituality and Practice (5/2)
            Yet another screen adaptation of an Elmore Leonard novel, but this one just doesn't work.

By Rob Blackwelder of SPLICEDWire (7/0)
            Winningly wry and roguish Owen Wilson seems very much at home in the cheeky, tropical-noir world ...

By Mike Clark of USA Today (7/0)
            ...bouncier than expected.

                         Reviews of Big Bounce, The
By John Beifuss of Commercial Appeal (Memphis, TN) (3/5) Login Required (Login Required)
            Wilson's spaced-out surfer style seems to have infected the entire project (or maybe it was Willi...

By A. O. Scott of New York Times (3/5) Login Required (Login Required)
            ...a loose and lazy caper...

By Roger Ebert of Chicago Sun-Times (3/4) No reference
            The movie doesn't work. It meanders and drifts and riffs.

By Matt Brunson of Creative Loafing (3/4) No reference
            Director George Armitage brings to the project the same degree of playful insouciance that inform...

By Robert Denerstein of Denver Rocky Mountain News (3/4) No reference
            This one lands with a thud, failing to deliver even a mild Hawaiian punch.

By Kevin Carr of Film Threat (3/4) No reference
            While it winds the plot up tight enough, it unravels like a messy Chinese yo-yo instead of spring...

                         Reviews of Big Bounce, The
By Robert W. Butler of Kansas City Star (3/4) No reference
            Pure disaster.

By Jami Bernard of New York Daily News (3/4) No reference
            The character of Jack is just a walking attitude, and the movie feels like a slapped-together jok...

By Lou Lumenick of New York Post (3/4) No reference
            ...so utterly inconsequential it fades from memory long before it's even over.

By James Berardinelli of ReelViews (3/4) No reference
            The biggest problem with The Big Bounce is its tone.

By Peter Travers of Rolling Stone (3/4) No reference
            ...except for a rare scene of shaggy charm, nothing works. Nothing.

By Joe Baltake of Sacramento Bee (3/4) No reference
            The Big Bounce smacks of one of those films that, after sitting on some studio shelf too long, wa...

                         Reviews of Big Bounce, The
By Mary Brennan of Seattle Times (4/3) No reference
            For all its twists and turns, Bounce never really goes anywhere.

By Chauncey Mabe of South Florida Sun-Sentinel (3/4) No reference
            A travelogue pretending to be a movie.

By Peter Howell of Toronto Star (3/4) No reference
            Given a choice between shovelling my driveway or going to see The Big Bounce again, I would choos...

By Chris Hewitt of Atlanta Journal-Constitution (3/4) Not Reachable
            ...definitely not worth the effort of going to a theater and shelling out cash.

Movie Distributors
Warner Bros. Pictures Distribution

Production Companies
material
Taormina Industries Inc
Shangri-La Entertainment

Movie Studios
Warner Bros. Pictures
Inc.