Big Night

Stanley Tucci and Campbell Scott codirected this drama. The cast includes Stanley Tucci, Tony Shalhoub, Ian Holm, Isabella Rossellini, and Minnie Driver. The film is set in the 1950s and follows two Italian brothers who have traveled to the land (USA) of opportunity to build a restaurant. The elder brother (Tony) is a fastidious chef who will not allow food corruption at any cost. The siblings are hoping for an Italian singer to attend the restaurant's "Big Night" celebration and assist boost revenue. I enjoy food movies. The film's start will tempt you into its delectable formula of a gala narrative. It has both sad and comic narratives, and its few unique characters will cheer you up. There isn't one scene that will bore you.

It may boast an impressive roster of actors and hearty servings of indie charm, but moments that are intended to be funny mostly come off as awkward, with characters’ bizarre and confusing behavior making the scenes more uncomfortable than entertaining. Possibly it may get better with more viewings… but I’ll likely never know.

One of the best films for a screenwriter to watch for the subtext alone. Entertaining to see the greats in their earlier days and projects that made them.

Delicious plot and brilliantly acted.

Let me start by saying, that most of these stars are for the performances. Because there were some issues going on here. I thought the script was well written, and even amusing at times, but a lot of the character interactions felt off to me. (Especially between Driver and Tucci). I usually enjoy the simple, mostly one location, stories, but I had a harder time getting into this one. The overall pace of the film was on the slow side, and many of the scenes dragged on longer than they needed to. Some scenes made no sense at all, since they had nothing to do with they story. And the ones that were relevant, were largely uninteresting. Tony Shalhoub and Stanley Tucci both gave wonderful and passionate performances, as did the supporting cast, which is a large part of why this movie worked as well as it did. (Special shoutout to the late Ian Holm, who brought so much charm and intensity to his role). Some of the direction didn't make sense to me though. I liked that there were a number of nice long takes through out the film, but I didn't, and don't, care for characters switching back and forth between languages during dialogue, like they did a number of times. I can see why the critics were so into this picture, but I wasn't feeling it as much. Despite Tucci and Shalhoub's obvious chemistry together, not much actually happened plot wise and I was teetering on the edge of boredom for a good chunk of the runtime.

If ever a movie could be described as "delicious", this is definitely the one! Do not watch this under any conditions if you haven't eaten in the last 6 hours. The last half of this film is basically a delectable dinner filled with an assortment of eccentric guests, wonderful wine and the most mouth-watering courses imaginable. And the movie surrounding it ain't half bad either! This motion picture somehow flew under my radar - I knew of it but never felt compelled to watch. And I'm so glad to have discovered it. As much as it's about food, it's also about family - Tucci and Shalhoub have extraordinary chemistry together and will forever be brothers in my mind. The whole cast is outstanding - and what fun to see singer Marc Anthony in a supporting role as their restaurant employee. Ian Holm was worthy of an Oscar nomination, and I may have thrown one to Isabella Rossellini as well - she is absolutely glowing here. If you loved the Italian family of MOONSTRUCK, I think you'll find a lot to appreciate here. Especially the food! And the ending is perfection!

Hard to beat this one. The music, atmosphere and message are so terrific. I would be hard pressed to think of many better movies that highlight the struggle/reward of work and the beauty of a kitchen. Magnificent!

It's ok. Secondo needs a lesson in knowing who to trust. Could see the bullsht by Pascale a mile away. But Secondo gets mad at Primo? Idiot.

Incredibly boring. The mid-90s shouldn't feel like such a bygone era, but I've rarely seen a movie so glacial and tepid, yet high scoring

If you love food, or fabulous nuanced acting, or love in all its glory then this movie is for you.