Kevin Spacey stole a room service table, table cloth and food to provide props for his latest film, Big Kahuna, The (1999). The movie, which co-stars DANNY DeVITO, was shot in just 16 days earlier this year - while Spacey was still in rehearsals for the BROADWAY production of THE ICEMAN COMETH And shooting was so rushed that Spacey, who produced the flick through his own company TRIGGER PRODUCTIONS, cut corners by stealing the vital props from his New York hotel while filming. Spacey says, "You got to do what you got to do. I was just doing my job." Director John Swanbeck adds, "All we had time for was instinct, pure, raw instinct. There was no time to think. If you think you fall behind."...
- 4/26/2000
- WENN
The title of this late-April release from Lions Gate refers to a major customer that three industrial-lubricant salesmen at a convention in Wichita, Kan., are anxious to do business with. Starring Oscar nominee Kevin Spacey, Danny DeVito and Peter Facinelli ("Supernova"), "The Big Kahuna" premiered at Toronto, launched the Cinequest fest in San Jose, Calif., on Friday and opens the Santa Barbara Film Festival Thursday.
Often savagely witty (and potty-mouthed) but inevitably swinging toward an insightful examination of serious life matters, "The Big Kahuna" -- based on screenwriter Roger Rueff's play "Hospitality Suite" -- always feels theatrical. But because the cast is this good and the running time's a frisky 90 minutes, the movie directed by John Swanbeck (a veteran stage director making his film debut) accomplishes everything it sets out to do, and discerning adult audiences will find it worth seeking out.
Set almost entirely in a hotel suite, "Kahuna" starts with 52-year-old Phil (DeVito) showing kindness and concern for new man on the team Bob (Facinelli), a disarmingly courteous and sincere young married man learning the ropes. Their chat about character and whether one is born with it or builds it up over a lifetime is interrupted when hard-charging Larry (Spacey), their very jaded colleague, shows up.
Horrified at what he believes is a second-rate hospitality suite for the coming evening's boozing and schmoozing, Larry focuses much of his energy on "educating" Bob on the way things are in their decidedly unglamorous line of work. Tempers flair, sensitive natures are bruised, personal battles with addictive tendencies are revealed and tension mounts as Larry and Phil place all their hopes on landing that one crucial account.
When it appears that they are defeated after the partyers have come and gone with no sign of their most wanted guest, Bob reveals that he indeed chatted with the "big kahuna" about everyday life matters -- in this case dogs -- not realizing who he was conversing with. Shocked and panicked, Larry and Phil pump the seemingly thickheaded Bob, who is clearly more interested in people and their problems than his business "function." But maybe he can save the day when he's sent by his comrades to another party to deliver a low-key but decisive pitch to the titular fat cat.
A round of soul-baring between Larry and Phil as they wait for Bob to return starts to explore their attitudes toward God and the Big Picture. Bob is a practicing Christian who believes looking lustfully at a woman is a sin, so it's not a huge surprise when he again proves to be a lousy salesman, leading to an ugly final showdown between him and Larry.
All three actors are perfectly cast. Spacey has the funniest lines, but his desperate professional is far from a soulless and greedy jerk. DeVito delivers one of his best performances as a crises-ridden man trying to rebound and contemplating changes. Facinelli has the good looks and discipline to go far, judging from his handling of the film's toughest role.
Director Swanbeck -- along with cinematographer Anastas Michos ("Man on the Moon") and editor Peggy Davis -- keeps the film visually interesting and ably pulls off sequences with long monologues in which one is able to fully absorb the nuances and universal truths of Rueff's ultimately redemptive drama.
THE BIG KAHUNA
Lions Gate Films
Franchise Pictures
A Trigger Street production
Director:John Swanbeck
Screenwriter:Roger Rueff
Producers:Elie Samaha, Kevin Spacey, Andrew Stevens, Joanne Horowitz, Bernie Morris
Executive producer:Gerard Guez
Director of photography:Anastas Michos
Production designer:Kalina Ivanov
Editor:Peggy Davis
Costume designer:Katherine Jane Bryant
Music:Christopher Young
Color/stereo
Cast:
Larry:Kevin Spacey
Phil:Danny DeVito
Bob:Peter Facinelli
Running time -- 90 minutes
MPAA rating: R...
Often savagely witty (and potty-mouthed) but inevitably swinging toward an insightful examination of serious life matters, "The Big Kahuna" -- based on screenwriter Roger Rueff's play "Hospitality Suite" -- always feels theatrical. But because the cast is this good and the running time's a frisky 90 minutes, the movie directed by John Swanbeck (a veteran stage director making his film debut) accomplishes everything it sets out to do, and discerning adult audiences will find it worth seeking out.
Set almost entirely in a hotel suite, "Kahuna" starts with 52-year-old Phil (DeVito) showing kindness and concern for new man on the team Bob (Facinelli), a disarmingly courteous and sincere young married man learning the ropes. Their chat about character and whether one is born with it or builds it up over a lifetime is interrupted when hard-charging Larry (Spacey), their very jaded colleague, shows up.
Horrified at what he believes is a second-rate hospitality suite for the coming evening's boozing and schmoozing, Larry focuses much of his energy on "educating" Bob on the way things are in their decidedly unglamorous line of work. Tempers flair, sensitive natures are bruised, personal battles with addictive tendencies are revealed and tension mounts as Larry and Phil place all their hopes on landing that one crucial account.
When it appears that they are defeated after the partyers have come and gone with no sign of their most wanted guest, Bob reveals that he indeed chatted with the "big kahuna" about everyday life matters -- in this case dogs -- not realizing who he was conversing with. Shocked and panicked, Larry and Phil pump the seemingly thickheaded Bob, who is clearly more interested in people and their problems than his business "function." But maybe he can save the day when he's sent by his comrades to another party to deliver a low-key but decisive pitch to the titular fat cat.
A round of soul-baring between Larry and Phil as they wait for Bob to return starts to explore their attitudes toward God and the Big Picture. Bob is a practicing Christian who believes looking lustfully at a woman is a sin, so it's not a huge surprise when he again proves to be a lousy salesman, leading to an ugly final showdown between him and Larry.
All three actors are perfectly cast. Spacey has the funniest lines, but his desperate professional is far from a soulless and greedy jerk. DeVito delivers one of his best performances as a crises-ridden man trying to rebound and contemplating changes. Facinelli has the good looks and discipline to go far, judging from his handling of the film's toughest role.
Director Swanbeck -- along with cinematographer Anastas Michos ("Man on the Moon") and editor Peggy Davis -- keeps the film visually interesting and ably pulls off sequences with long monologues in which one is able to fully absorb the nuances and universal truths of Rueff's ultimately redemptive drama.
THE BIG KAHUNA
Lions Gate Films
Franchise Pictures
A Trigger Street production
Director:John Swanbeck
Screenwriter:Roger Rueff
Producers:Elie Samaha, Kevin Spacey, Andrew Stevens, Joanne Horowitz, Bernie Morris
Executive producer:Gerard Guez
Director of photography:Anastas Michos
Production designer:Kalina Ivanov
Editor:Peggy Davis
Costume designer:Katherine Jane Bryant
Music:Christopher Young
Color/stereo
Cast:
Larry:Kevin Spacey
Phil:Danny DeVito
Bob:Peter Facinelli
Running time -- 90 minutes
MPAA rating: R...
- 2/28/2000
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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