REVIEW: ‘Trouble’ in Dave’s world
GRADE: B+
If you like to read humor written by Miami Herald columnist, Dave Barry, you’ll probably come out of this movie wearing a smile and holding your rib cage.
On the other hand, if the name Dave Barry is about as familiar and inviting as a body cavity search, then you’ll probably be slightly bothered that you dropped $6 on a flick that measured – including previews – under an hour and one-half. But what else are you going to see? Singles Ward? Puhleeese.
Big Trouble runs at breakneck speed, quickly introducing characters, establishing mainstays in the plot, whisking the viewer from one Miami locale to another. Barry has written a virtual domino effect of humorous scenes. I found it quite refreshing to be in and out of this movie, instead of the usual overkill and belaboring always present in sterile, ho-hum, tired Hollywood comedies.
I can’t completely reveal the plot, but I’ll give you a sniff.
Tim Allen is Eliot Arnold – a former newspaper columnist turned advertising guru and divorced father of one boy. Arnold narrates most of the movie, splitting time with Puggy (Jason Lee), a Jesus/Moses replica who enjoys munching Fritos and hauling illegal weapons for two Russian bar owners. Puggy, recently removed from Boston, is homeless, finding shelter in a tree in the backyard of Arthur Herk (Stanley Tucci). Puggy also has found work, earning free beer and Fritos from two Russian arms dealers (Lars Arenta-Hansen and Daniel London) posing as seedy bar owners.
Arthur Herk wants a bomb and his employers want to kill him. His wife (Renee Russo) thinks he is a complete nimrod, and her teenage daughter (Zooey Deschanel) shares the same opinion. Eliot has a thing for Mrs. Herk, and Eliot’s delinquent, closed-off son has a thing for Mrs. Herk’s daughter. Take all that and mix in two die-hard New Jersey hit men, a Hispanic maid who thinks Puggy is Jesus and a pair of lowlife, two-bit criminals, and you have the cast for Big Trouble.
Big Trouble is charming, fast-paced and fun. If you see this and you don’t like it, check your humor reserves, because school has probably drained your supply. And when you’re in the mood to hurt small animals, you’re not in the mental state to giggle. My advice: Order a large pizza with extra cholesterol, set fire to you textbooks (safely, of course), and run through the TSC butt-naked. That ought to ease some stress.
That and jail. Have fun.