Roll-M - Movie Reviews

by Susan Sackett

Big Trouble (starring Tim Allen, Rene Russo, Stanley Tucci, Janeane Garofalo; screenplay by Robert Ramsey and Matthew Stone, based upon the book by Dave Barry; directed by Barry Sonnenfeld; Rated PG-13.)

When Dave Barry named his first novel Big Trouble, he probably wasn’t thinking about this also being a movie title.  It’s just too easy a setup to say that Big Trouble would seem to have big trouble aplenty in making it at the box office.  Don’t get me wrong; Barry is my favorite humorist of all time.  I own every book written by the syndicated columnist for the Miami Herald. I even have a copy of Big Trouble in my shelf.  And in my opinion, Dave should stick to writing humor columns, not full-blown novels.

The story is so weird as to defy recapping.  There’s a man in a tree, a hallucinogenic- squirting frog, a dog with Martha Stewart’s head, assassins, cops (including Garofalo, whose talents are wasted yet again in this movie), FBI agents, and Tim Allen as the Dave Barry clone. I am not making this up!

And then there’s the controversial airport finale, with terrorists and a nuclear bomb.  The film was originally scheduled to be released last September but was quickly pulled after 9/11.

The movie really isn’t that bad.  It clocks in at 85 minutes and is chock-a-block with talented actors, a top-flight director (Sonnenfeld directed Get Shorty, a much funnier romp), and a frenetic, madcap pace.  If you enjoy farces, this is your chance to see a sometimes-witty bit of mayhem that won’t have you rolling in the aisles, but you’ll have a few out-loud laughs.

Rating 2 ½ / 5

E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial: 20th Anniversary Edition (starring Dee Wallace, Henry Thomas, Drew Barrymore, Peter Coyote, Robert MacNaughton; screenplay by Melissa Matheson; directed by Steven Spielberg Rated PG.)

Excuse me while I plagiarize myself.  Twelve years ago, I wrote a book called The Hollywood Reporter Book of Box Office Hits.  My entry for E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial written back then still holds true today, I am happy to say.  Here is my introduction to that passage:

 “If there is a person alive on this planet who has not yet seen or heard of E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial, then they are, in a sense, very lucky.  Lucky, because they can still experience seeing E.T. for the first time.  It’s like your first taste of ice cream in the summer, the first time you saw the vast ocean, or the first ray of sunshine after a three-day downpour.”

Twenty years later, we are oh-so sophisticated in the new 21st century, and yet, this warm tale of a boy and his pet alien who tries to “phone home” still touches the heart.  Director Steven Spielberg has taken his magnum opus and tweaked it, ever so slightly, for this re-release.  Things like replacing the word “terrorist” with “hippie” when Elliott’s mother disses his Halloween costume, and digitally erasing the authorities’ guns and replacing them with walkie-talkies; giving the little alien some digital facial and body expressions, and adding a quick scene here or there – none of these really either add to or detract from the original.  (Oh, and moving Drew Barrymore’s name up to third from fifth place in the newly-designed credits is brilliant – who would have predicted the six-year-old tyke would end up as the only cast member currently enjoying star recognition?)

If you or your children/grandchildren have never experienced watching E.T. on the big screen in this era of video/DVD, once again, you are lucky.  Not all re-releases are worth the bother, but this film’s updated edition is not to be missed.

Sometimes, you can phone home again.

Rating 5/5