VideoDetective.com
The Big Kahuna (1999)
Released By: Universal Studios Home Video   Rating: R   In Theaters: N/A
Your video will start shortly...



More Videos:
Preview Details
User Reviews
Studio: Universal Studios Home Video
Genre: Comedy
MPAA Rating: R
Director: N/A
Language: English
Official Website: N/A
Theatrical Release: N/A
Home Video Release: N/A
Cast: Danny DeVito, Kevin Spacey, Peter Facinelli
Published ID: 226951
UPC: 025192078422,
Plot: Three salesmen working for a firm that makes industrial lubricants are waiting in the company's hospitality suite at a manufacturers' convention for a big kahuna named Dick Fuller to show up, in hopes they can persuade him to place an order that could salvage the company's flagging sales. Phil (Danny DeVito) is in his mid-50s; he's devoted his life to his job but emotionally has little to show for it. He's learned to live with the loneliness of a salesman's life, but is smarting over the recent collapse of his marriage and is trying to quit drinking. Bob (Peter Facinelli) is a quiet but observant newcomer in his 20s, recently married and adjusting to his first business trip. And Larry (Kevin Spacey) is a bundle of energy who likes to drink, smoke, and start arguments; he's openly confrontational with Phil and Bob and quick to pick up on their foibles and failings. Phil and Larry become more impatient and bitter as the evening wears on, especially when they learn that the big kahuna already dropped by the suite; wearing someone else's name tag, he had a few drinks, talked with Bob about the recent death of his dog and Christianity, and never mentioned placing an order. Screenwriter Roger Rueff based the script on his play {+Hospitality Suite}; Kevin Spacey was a co-producer as well as starring as Larry. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
IDDateTimeTitleReviewHelpfulVotesTotalVotes
Kevin spacey at his best
Added 10/10/2009

Outstanding dialogue and very deep insight into how religion, whether muslim, christian, jewish or any other kind, can bring us back to the dark ages, unless of course it was God's intent to keep us forever in the dark (ages)
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
The Big Kahuna
Added 6/29/2008

For any fan of Kevin Spacey this is a must see film. As a chamber piece it it snaps with excellent performances from all actors. As our characters come more and more sharply into focus the push and pull between the sense of doom or triumph becomes less and less about the achievement of their business gaols and more about their own self discovery, and how they will share these insights with each other. A must see for fans of films that focus on great dialog as apposed to action and FX.
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
Perfect casting!
Added 3/2/2008

This adaptation of Roger Rueff's play does not add more action just because it is in movie format. While not an action/adventure flick, this movie packs some really dramatic interactions. Three men on a business trip, all with complicated inner issues, try to focus on their sales objective, which is to land the "Big Kahuna" as new account. The casting of this movie was inspired. Kevin Spacey, Danny DeVito, and Peter Facinelli work well together and ring true as the characters they play. Wonderful movie!
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
One of the best movies ever made!
Added 3/27/2007

For a movie that basically takes place in a hotel room the entire time this movie is great in every since of the word. I can relate to each of the three characters in this movie especially Kevin and Danny's roles.
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
How Suite It Ain't
Added 10/26/2006

As a rule, I enjoy films based on plays because they frequently retain the discipline of theatre and avoid the cheap, sleazy, lazy, and gratuitous attention-getting devices for which movies are so well known. These pictures often boast well-developed characters, evolving situations that reveal complex motives, thereby building drama, and carefully hewn dialogue. The Big Kahuna, sadly, is a horse of another color - like Glengarry Glen Ross without the edge, energy, and exquisite contrapuntal timing.

Roger Rueff wrote the play, and the screenplay, Danny DeVito and Kevin Spacey star, Spacey also gets credit for production. Peter Facinelli rounds out this threesome of industrial lubricant reps holed up in yet another gruesome hospitality suite, desperately hoping to score. DeVito and Spacey are both terrific actors, and they make wonderful foils for each other, so, on paper it looks promising.

The Spacey character is most central; consequently, his flaws draw the movie down most obviously. Spacey is simply too cynical, bitter, and hollow to be interesting; he's toxic. DeVito, by contrast, is living in a gentle state of benign despair, toying with suicide the way a child might tease a scab. The Facinelli character is truly cardboard, a symbol - young, idealistic, and a born-again Christian who radiates mindless idealism.

For Rueff, this is a concept play, with a didactic agenda. By showing two worlds colliding, crass commercialism and intense religious faith, he wants us to notice how similar they are - indeed, he'd like us to conclude that there is only the thickness of a blonde hair separating a man who passionately sells industrial lubricant on the floor of a convention center from a man who passionately sells redemption while wearing a dress and standing in a pulpit. The concept in itself is interesting, but Rueff "tells," and tells and tells, he doesn't "show" through his characters. It is this interminable leading by the nose that causes the film to fail.

DeVito almost makes the sale at the film's end with a really beautiful speech, but by then it is too late. Also - perhaps one off color industrial lubricant joke too many. Avoid.

1 out of 4 people found this helpful.
Kevin spacey at his best
Added 10/10/2009

Outstanding dialogue and very deep insight into how religion, whether muslim, christian, jewish or any other kind, can bring us back to the dark ages, unless of course it was God's intent to keep us forever in the dark (ages)
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
The Big Kahuna
Added 6/29/2008

For any fan of Kevin Spacey this is a must see film. As a chamber piece it it snaps with excellent performances from all actors. As our characters come more and more sharply into focus the push and pull between the sense of doom or triumph becomes less and less about the achievement of their business gaols and more about their own self discovery, and how they will share these insights with each other. A must see for fans of films that focus on great dialog as apposed to action and FX.
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
Perfect casting!
Added 3/2/2008

This adaptation of Roger Rueff's play does not add more action just because it is in movie format. While not an action/adventure flick, this movie packs some really dramatic interactions. Three men on a business trip, all with complicated inner issues, try to focus on their sales objective, which is to land the "Big Kahuna" as new account. The casting of this movie was inspired. Kevin Spacey, Danny DeVito, and Peter Facinelli work well together and ring true as the characters they play. Wonderful movie!
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
Photos


There are currently no photos.
Shopping
IDPriceImageUrlPurchaseUrlIdTypeBindingStore
VHS
$0.98 @ Amazon
DVD
$5.65 @ Amazon
DVD
$9.98 @ Amazon