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Amazon.co.uk Review
Critics tripped all over their big feet to praise Big Night and in doing so performed a grave disservice to this fine little film. They fooled audiences into believing it was a "super movie" instead of a home movie buoyed by friends and family. Consequently, many viewers were disappointed. Big Night is an intimate look at the immigrant struggle to attain the American Dream, set in New Jersey in the 1950s. Its disproportionate success gave co-directors Stanley Tucci and Campbell Scott, who also star in the picture, the green light to follow up with a smug, unsuccessful second venture called The Imposters. Tucci wrote Big Night with his cousin Joseph Tropiano and they based the story on the experience of growing up in a large, proud Italian family. The brothers in Big Night--chef Primo (Tony Shalhoub) and businessman Secondo (Tucci)--have come to New Jersey to open a bistro named The Paradise that serves the finest in traditional, authentic Italian cuisine. Their every move is foiled by rival restaurant Pascal's, which serves mile-high servings of spaghetti and meatballs and flasks of bad Chianti at exorbitant prices. Primo is disgusted by the fact that Americans want cheap pasta instead of risotto, so Secondo hatches a plan to boost business: rumour has it bandleader Louis Prima is travelling through and will dine at The Paradise that very night. Secondo gambles to bring the finest dinner ever cooked--at the risk of losing his shirt and being reduced to exile to the old country with his tail between his legs. Big Night is a film that will easily invite comparisons to other "food" fare like Babette's Feast and Eat Drink Man Woman but, though Tucci insists his story is "about the struggle between art and commerce and the risk of staying true to yourself", the media refused to let it stay a small, comparative work. The movie, and the buzza round it, became a parable for the essence of the film itself: art vs. commerce. --Paula Nechak
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Subtle and refined; if you want a blockbuster, stay away.,
By A Customer
This review is from: Big Night [DVD] [1997] [Region 1] [US Import] [NTSC] (DVD)
Having read other reviews of this film I feel compelled to inform anyone who plans to watch or buy this film that it was made to be a small, subtle yet passionate examination of people's hopes, dreams and values.Big Night is not a sensational Hollywood blockbuster, so if your expectations are such, please either adjust them or avoid the film altogether. If on the other hand you appreciate subtlety, good food, cultural differences and the universal struggle amongst family members, sit back and enjoy.
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Food glorious food,
By
This review is from: Big Night [DVD] (DVD)
Little seen little movie about two Italian brothers who arrive in America and push their life savings into a restaurant. Primo (played by a weirdly Steve Carrell-y Tony Shalhoub) is the aspirational businessman of the two who looks across the road in envy at Ian Holms gaudy homage to Italian cuisine, Secondo (played by co-director Stanley Tucci) the genius cook who would rather die than compromise. "Big Night" is a low key comedy with brilliant performances that pre-dates orgasmic foodie films such as "Chocolat" and "Eden", I was starving my the end and will hunt until the end of my days for a slice of Timpano. Excellent stuff.
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Unforgettable...,
By
This review is from: Big Night [DVD] (DVD)
Good films are unforgettable... and here's one. On the surface it's a quirky little story about two Italian brothers running a restaurant in New Jersey in the 1950's. One is ridiculously passionate about cooking superb food while the other tries to make his brother's passion commercially viable despite the fact that customers don't want what he cooks. Both are up against their more successful Italian neighbour who gives the customers exactly what they want. Not much then... but it's what goes on beneath this deceptively simple tale that makes it so good.
The tense, sincere and often very funny interactions between the two brothers are so believable that they make you really want them to succeed with the "Big Night" on which the future of their restaurant and their relationship depends. Against this background, the preparation of the dishes themselves becomes an all-consuming event, infused with the drama and expectation of a chef in full flight cooking, of necessity, the meal of his life. And, the subtle plot with its inevitable denouement is understated and, as a result, extremely effective. Brilliantly acted, charming and, in the end, quite moving, "Big Night" is a superbly reflective exploration into the dreams & hopes of two immigrants in an alien world where their values don't apply and where this threatens to destroy the most important relationship they have. Over-hyped on its release and now increasingly forgotten it's an unmissable gem of a film.
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