The Big Kahuna Review
by Michael Dequina (twotrey AT juno DOT com)April 30th, 2000
_The_Big_Kahuna_ (R) *** (out of ****)
_The_Big_Kahuna_ is based on a play (_Hospitality_Suite_ by Roger Rueff, who also wrote the screenplay), and first-time feature director John Swanbeck doesn't hide that fact. Aside from a couple of location (Wichita, Kansas) establishing shots and fleeting detours into the outdoors, the film is set in (as the title of the original play implies) a hotel hospitality suite that serves as the venue of philosphical debate between three industrial lubricant salesmen: hotshot Larry (Kevin Spacey, who also produced), veteran Phil (Danny DeVito), and neophyte Bob (Peter Facinelli). Not exactly the most promising jumping-off point for an exciting, thought-provoking drama, but that's exactly what _The_Big_Kahuna_ evolves into. As the bickering trio's arguments shift from business practices to how one should practice one's life in general, Rueff's script freely confronts thorny issues of loyalty, morality, and religion. No easy answers are offered, but enough food for thought is given to nourish just about any conclusions the audience may arrive at.
_The_Big_Kahuna_ is pretty much all talk, but the three actors bring to the words fire, feeling, and meaning. Spacey does a good job, but the role of a sarcastic, flamboyant slickster is one he can easily do while comatose. Swanbeck is able to draw out surprising range and poise from Facinelli, who had previously done little of note in such timeless classics such as _Supernova_ and _Can't_Hardly_Wait_; the deeply religious--but _not_ fanatical--Bob is the crux of the story, and Facinelli proves able to handle the demanding task. His performance is a revelation, but it's not the best; that distinction belongs to DeVito's. Usually called on to play the wacky person in the mix, DeVito's world-wise and -weary Phil is a beautiful work of gentleness and subtlety. In a film of large ideas and screaming voices, his center of calm speaks the loudest.
Michael Dequina
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