Big Trouble (PG-13) ★★

This madcap comedy follows the adventures of several Miami residents--and a few out-of-towners--as they try to track down a suitcase with questionable contents.

Story

A mysterious suitcase brings together a down-on-his-luck dad, an unhappy housewife, their two teenage kids, a couple of hitmen, a pair of street hoodlums, two FBI agents, two Miami cops and a large, psychedelic toad. Oh, and a guy named Puggy. The dad, Eliot (Tim Allen), wishes his son, Matt (Ben Foster), didn't think he was a loser. The housewife, Anna (Rene Russo), wishes she could divorce her rich jerk of a husband, Arthur (Stanley Tucci), while her daughter Jenny (Zooey Deschanel) and Matt sort of have the hots for each other. Meanwhile, the cops (Janeane Garofalo and Patrick Warburton) keep catching Matt with a loaded squirt gun (don't ask). The hitmen (Dennis Farina and Jack Kehler), who both detest Florida, fly in from New Jersey to whack Arthur. The two really stupid thugs (Tom Sizemore and Johnny Knoxville) want to make a quick score and happen upon the suitcase, seeing it as their golden ticket. The FBI guys (Heavy D and Omar Epps) know what's in the suitcase and know it needs to be disposed of--quickly. As for Puggy (Jason Lee) and the toad, well, they just are. The fun and excitement lead them all (except the toad) to the Miami airport, where a showdown between the suitcase and the rest ensues.

Acting

In a cast of thousands, Allen and Russo are certainly at the emotional core of the film but unfortunately aren't allowed to do anything really zany, unlike the other cohorts. Allen has played several reluctant heroes lately (i.e., last year's Joe Somebody, but when is he going to play somebody wacky again? There are, nonetheless, some true standout comedic performances in Big Trouble, especially from Farina and Tucci. Farina, as an outside observer, has some of the better double takes while an over-the-top and obnoxiously noxious Tucci is a real hoot. Also good are Garofalo and Warburton as Miami's finest. Garofalo is simply the master of the deadpan response, and the chemistry with Warburton is clearly evident. It is also a nice change of pace to cast Heavy D and Epps as the cool and dangerous FBI agents, rather than the bumbling sort we get so used to. On the other hand, Sizemore and Knoxville (yes, the guy from MTV's Jackass) are just too stupid and sweaty to be believable--playing dumb does not always equal hilarious comedy. It's the toad, though, who steals the show. Big, green and able to shoot hallucinogenic fluids into your eyes, the bufo marinus (as it likes to be called) is priceless.

Direction

Based on Miami Herald columnist Dave Barry's novel of the same name, Big Trouble starts off fairly solid, as we are introduced to all the colorful characters. This is familiar territory for director Barry Sonnenfeld, having directed another great ensemble film Get Shorty, where we follow a bunch of characters all trying to get one thing. Shorty, however, is based on a witty novel by Elmore Leonard and, unfortunately, it's the material and not the direction that fails in Trouble. When Barry's material is at its best, as with his skewed version of the Sunshine State as seen through the eyes of the two assassins from Jersey, it makes for the most interesting parts of the film. Yet the story falls apart in the last third of the film as the masses make their way to the airport for the big climax. It gets very slapsticky, and loses the quirky tone it had set up in the beginning. There was also a good reason Disney held off releasing the movie last September--easily getting a suspicious metal suitcase through airport security would have made people very uncomfortable then. Now, it's just kind of silly.

Bottom Line

Big Trouble will generate more than a few laugh-out-loud moments, just not enough to sustain you through the rest of the film.