Kevin Bacon: The Big Picture - Movie

The Big Picture
Cast :	Kevin Bacon, Jennifer Jason Leigh
Director :	Christopher Guest
Studio :	Columbia Tristar Hom
Format :	Color, Closed-captioned, Widescreen
Released Date :	January 01, 1989
DVD Released Date :	October 08, 2002
Language :	English (Dubbed), English (Subtitled), French (Subtitled)
Audience Rating :	PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
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Customer Reviews

Rating
Date	December 24, 2004
Summary	My wife is from Ohio
Content	The story of a young award winner of a filmmaker's competition going through the trials and tribulations of trying to get "his" first feature film made is given a wonderful treatment by Christopher(Spinal Tap)Guest. It's a cynical and hysterical look at how Hollywood is bent and how it can make anyone bend and eventually submit to its neurosis. Unlike many of favorable reviewers I'm not a fan of Christopher Guest's later works and that's not just because I'm envious of him being married to Jamie Leigh Curtis(lucky dog). I don't find Guffman or Best of Show more than mildly amusing at best. Save for Bob Balaban in Guffman(When Sparky comes back, I almost bust a gut). Sometimes artists do their best work up front. I like Woody Allen's first three pictures the best(What's Up Tiger Lily, Take the Money and Run, Bananas). I think this is the case here. Guest hit gold. Great script, terrific performances by an incredible ensemble cast. A near genius(I'm gonna steal one of the other reviewer's word here because it's so perfect, kudos and thanks) "turn" by JT Walsh delivering two of the greatest non sequiturs in film history(alas, another "great" dying so soon before his time like Warren Oates and Robert Shaw). Fabulous work by Martin Short, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Dan Schneider, Jason Gould, Wakter Olkewicz and seriously I could keep writing names for another 5 or 6 lines. There are tons of people in this sublime comedy. Its only drawbacks are that it has the misgivings of be made in the Eighties with all its trappings and a rather sloppy reunion scene(Bacon/McKean)that comes off as way too cloying. Other than that this is a rare comic treat for anyone who can see the cynical side of Hollywood. Someone said comparing this to The Player was like comparing Bagger Vance to Caddyshack. I'm not quite sure which one is suppose to be good and which is suppose to be sub-par. Caddyshack is a classic and so The Big Picture. I am a big, big fan of Altman and The Big Picture is even par with The Player. If either were more biting I would give the nod to The Big Picture. Though, Richard E Grant's performance is almost as good as Walsh's. Nick's(Kevin Bacon)flights of fancy are hysterical. This is an inspired and unfortunately one-of-a-kind comedy.

Rating
Date	September 27, 2004
Summary	One of the best films of the 80's!
Content	I don't know why this film didn't win any academy awards for that year. I love movies and this was one of the best I've seen next to "American Beauty" and "Fast Times at Ridgemont High". I went to art school in California back in the 80's and this film hit the nail on the head. It's so realistic about the movie industry and it's superficial personalities and players. This is how a movie should be made! Definately 5 stars!

Rating
Date	March 07, 2004
Summary	Great Little Picture
Content	This is a great comedy, with lots of memorable turns by some great comic actors. I see a reviewer below comparing this to "The Player" and that's a ridiculous comparison. That would be like comparing "Bagger Vance" to "Caddyshack". There are some signifigant lulls in this movie but overall it's a funny peek at the all too shallow Hollywood existence. Bacon is great, as is McKeon in a bit of a subdued performance by his standards, and Teri Hatcher has never been sexier....and that's saying something indeed. Her performance fueled many a teenage dream of mine back in the day.

Rating
Date	February 18, 2004
Summary	Quirky, satiric, but, ultimately, thin
Content	This oddball send-up of Hollywood begins when Nick (Kevin Bacon) wins a prestigious award for his expressionist student film. He becomes an instant "hot property" wooed by top agents and producers. Predictably, he gets sucked into his own hype and the glitz of Hollywood at the expense of friendships and love. What makes this film unusual is the cast of supporting characters, played by Fran Drescher, Martin Short, Teri Hatcher, J.T. Walsh, and Michael McKean. Jennifer Jason Leigh plays an irrepressibly surreal classmate who has a wacky but always optimistic view on life; her performance is one of the best in the film. Unfortunately, Emily Longstreth, who plays Nick's love interest, is old-fashioned and subdued, and has little chemistry with Kevin Bacon. Some of the scenes verge on the hilarious in their refreshing weirdness. Even the music is quirky, with Jennifer Jason Leigh's theme song sounding like a carnival in a fever dream. The fantasy sequences mostly fall flat, however, and the screenplay doesn't go far enough to elevate the film above the stale premise. I can understand why this is a cult movie, though, since some of the scenes/costumes/characters are so over-the-top that they become unforgettable. It's a shame Christopher Guest couldn't hold it all together.

Rating
Date	May 06, 2003
Summary	I'd heard about this movie for years, but...
Content	When this movie came on, I started out hating it, mainly due to the annoying theme/background music, but as the movie progressed I tried to ignore the music and grew to enjoy the movie's largely realistic depiction of Hollywood. "The Big Picture" was very funny -- in spurts, but the ending did seem contrived. Many of the fantasy sequences (aside from the ones concerning how Nick saw his movie in his head) were silly and gave the movie a "cutesy" tone that set my teeth on edge.

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