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Not so bouncy
I've never read an Elmore Leonard novel that I haven't enjoyed, but few seem to be able to translate his cool, matter-of-fact style onto the screen. The only decent ones were 'Get Shorty' and 'Out of Sight', which came effectively from the same stable (adapted by Scott Frank and produced at least in part by Danny De Vito). Both of those movies were sharp, packed with superb character actors, and set alight by brisk performances from the two leads, John Travolta and George Clooney.
From the beginning, 'The Big Bounce' takes its cue from Owen Wilson, making a rare appearance as the sole leading man (if you notice, he nearly always appears with someone else). Wilson is a laid-back, casual actor, and so the film goes the same way, becoming slow, even listless, even though it's barely 80 minutes long. There's no sense of menace, no threat, no danger, and whether or not you work out who exactly is scamming who, you're unlikely to care much either way. The performances are uniformly charming and it looks gorgeous, but it's a little bit too flat, too please with itself to really impress. |
