The Big Bounce on DVD

The Big Bounce is the kind of film that takes the same story you see in, it seems, every second movie these days, and adds a great cast, breathtaking locations, and a beautiful girl to make it watchable.

Jack Ryan (Owen Wilson) is a retired con man enjoying his mediocre life in Hawaii. He has a regular Joe job and likes regular Joe entertainment like ogling the ladies on the beach.

But when a lovely young lady in a bikini approaches him and makes a proposition he can’t refuse, he’s thrust back into the life he thought he was done with.

As is the case with any movie in the genre, there’s a huge cast of characters, and you never know who’s conning whom and who’s on whose side.

But everybody wants the prize, and they’re all willing to do just about anything to get it. And since Jack doesn’t have the resources that the bad guys do, he’ll have to use his wits to outsmart them.

You can’t complain about a cast that features Wilson, Morgan Freeman, Gary Sinise, Vinnie Jones, Charlie Sheen, Bebe Neuwirth, and newcomer Sara Foster showing off her assets. You can, however, argue the fact that half the impressive cast appears for what seems like a few seconds. It quickly becomes clear that the ensemble cast was most likely brought together to draw attention away from the fact that the movie itself is about as mediocre as they come. Honestly though, who doesn’t love Morgan Freeman and Charlie Sheen?

Sure, the Hawaiian landscapes are gorgeous, but considering Elmore Leonard’s novel was originally set in Cincinnati, it seems like an excuse for the filmmakers to get a free vacation while shooting the movie. But we guess we can understand where they’re coming from.

The movie features plenty of twists and turns in the tradition of most con man-conning-other-con men flicks, but having seen Ocean’s Eleven, The Score, Heist, and numerous others, they just aren’t all that surprising anymore.

But if you’ve run out of popcorn entertainment, The Big Bounce delivers the bare necessities. You can, however, do a lot better. And even with its cast, The Big Bounce failed to garner any box office success (in a nutshell: it bombed, big time!).

The DVD presentation is pretty standard, featuring (much like the movie) the bare necessities and not much more. Picture is shown in 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen, and is breathtaking. The scenery is chock full of good-looking stuff, with rich, bright colors and stunning detail. There’s no grain or dust, and Sara Foster’s skin always looks good (whether you’re talking about picture quality or not).

Audio is the typical Dolby Digital 5.1, and the front channels are used very effectively. Ultimately, the surrounds don’t have much to do other than the occasional crash of waves.

Extras include a short behind-the-scenes featurette that spotlights the usual cast and crew interviews with clips from the film, but isn’t really anything but an extended commercial. There is also a short featurette on surfing in Hawaii that isn’t nearly as exciting as it should have been, some stunt surfer outtakes, and the trailer.

The Big Bounce, from Warner Bros. Home Entertainment
88 minutes, anamorphic widescreen (1.85:1) 16x9 enhanced, Dolby Digital 5.1
Starring Owen Wilson, Morgan Freeman, Gary Sinise, Sara Foster and Charlie Sheen
Produced by Steve Bing, Jorge Saralegui
Screenplay by Sebastian Gutierrez, Directed by George Armitage

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