neumu [ cinematronic ]




	The Big Bounce
	George Armitage Owen Wilson, Morgan Freeman, Gary Sinise, Sara Foster, Charlie Sheen, Bebe Neuwirth, Vinnie Jones, Willie Nelson, Harry Dean Stanton 2004		In the last decade, rousing films have been made from the witty crime novels of Elmore Leonard. But Leonard's "The Big Bounce" suffers by comparison to those more flamboyant, hyperactive screen adaptations of his work ("Out of Sight," "Get Shorty," "Jackie Brown"). With blasé Owen Wilson as drifter and con man Jack Ryan, "The Big Bounce" has a lead actor who slips into the skin of a roguish Leonard anti-hero and makes him credible as a surfing freebooter. Jack is hanging out in Hawaii after losing a job on a construction project commissioned by nasty real-estate developer Ray Ritchie (underused Gary Sinise). Shrewd local judge Walter Crewes (Morgan Freeman) offers Jack a handyman gig that keeps him in the area. Then, Ray's wanton, conniving, long-limbed lover Nancy (neophyte Sara Foster) comes on to Jack, tempting him with the promise of easy, ill-gotten gains. In order for Nancy's plan to succeed, she and Jack have to cope with Ray, Ray's foolish right-hand man (Charlie Sheen), Ray's loutish foreman (Vinnie Jones) and Ray's alcoholic wife (adroit Bebe Neuwirth). Despite a jocular supporting cast (including cameos by Willie Nelson and Harry Dean Stanton) and George Armitage's unfussy direction, this is merely a droll distraction with as much impact as a tropical breeze fluttering a palm frond.