Review of The Big Kahuna (1999) by Alex M — 20 Jan 2004

[size=3]Looking at one of the more underappreciated films of recent years, it's easy to see why many audience members didn't particularly enjoy [i]The Big Kahuna[/i]. It's essentially a filmed play, and a play with not too many grand moments or memorable monologues. In a way, it's a play (and script) that combines the subject matter of [i]Glengarry Glen Ross [/i]with the style of [i]Waiting for Godot[/i]. Personally, I have no objection to a filmed play...if the actors and the dialogue are enough to make us forget the lack of action or cinematic technique. Such was not the case with another film with Kevin Spacey in it, [i]Hurlyburly[/i], but it is most definitely the case here. As two middle-aged salesmen with conflicting styles, Spacey and Danny De Vito are brilliant. Spacey is so high strung most of the time that it could be hard to like his character, except that he is extremely inventive verbally and hides a layer of true emotion, so he endears himself. De Vito, meanwhile, is a far more sympathetic character: an aging, quiet man who has matured beyond worrying about sales figures and looks at the frantic Spacey with a kind of sad wisdom about life. The film basically chronicles the conversations of these two central characters as they wait for (and then talk about) a sales conference in a hotel room they have rented. Also present is a third, younger salesman (played by Peter Faccinelli) who is not particularly interested in selling industrial lubicrants but is [i]very [/i]interested in promoting his religious beliefs. What emerges is a fascinating battle of personalities as Spacey obsesses about sales, Faccinelli obsesses about religion, and De Vito looks on with detached amusement. [i]The Big Kahuna [/i]does have an interesting point about the relationship between selling and religion, and it also presents three men of different ages who have fundamental differences in their world view. The director John Swanbeck essentially gets out of the way of the actors and the script (and when he does make his presence felt, it is usually not in a way that improves the film). And so [i]The Big Kahuna [/i]is left with only its themes and with actors to explore them. When the principal actors are Kevin Spacey and Danny De Vito, that is not a bad quality to have.[/size].

[size=3](BASIC)[/size].