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While staying fairly faithful to the book up until the end, which is less dark, the biggest problem would have to be the screenplay written by the duo Matthew Stone and Robert Ramsey. Responsible for some of the biggest “comedy” flops: Man of the House, Soul Men, and Intolerable Cruelty, the duo seems unable to catch a break and have no new films lined-up. The biggest fault is trying to have Puggy (is it only me or is that name horribly annoying?) be the narrator throughout the film. This idea was dropped promptly after the narration during the beginning and never returns until awkwardly at the end. Even at the start Puggy suggests that he might not be the best narrator since he is locked in a trunk for a chunk of the movie. I guess it is nice to see the writers admitting to their mistakes during the movie itself. I figured that this device was used in the book so they kept it, but upon further investigation this was one of the film’s own inventions. While the movie is already brisk, this was another five minutes Sonnenfeld could have beneficially chopped off.

Waiting a little over six months, Disney set Big Trouble for release April 5, 2002. Even then, they felt the film was unreleasable to a wide audience due to its 9/11 content. Dumped into 1,961 theaters with next to no marketing this go-around, Big Trouble earned a small $3.5 million opening weekend, placing ninth. The film quickly dropped out of theaters and by week five was practically on the road to DVD. Winding up with $7.3 million ($9.9 million adjusted) and with an overseas release less than an afterthought, the movie hit DVD with the sole extra of a director’s commentary that October.

Big Trouble does live up to its name in terms of release, but with a fun title like that, there is little laughter to go around. With a satisfying cast, director, and a few good slapstick set-ups (including a great bit between Farina and Kehler, keep finding reasons to hate Miami), Big Trouble isn’t all problems. If anyone deserves a timeout, it would be the writers who do a decent job at adapting the plot of the book, but not the humor. Big Trouble only brings small chuckles.

Verdict: With Us

5 out of 10

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