Big Shots

I saw this movie when I was around 10 or 11 years old, and I loved it. I mean, come on, the story revolves around two 11 year olds stealing a Mercedes! I rented it for a flashback thrill in 1999 to refresh my memory of it. It is still a wonderful movie, so I bought it. Its a great movie to show to your little brothers and sisters or, if you have some, your own kids. There is a little violence, some swearing- but this is what kids love to see! I will treasure this movie forever, and never forget villains, the actor who play the German guy "Doc" is great! I always loved the main theme song to it, "Freedom Overspill," however I thought it was done by Peter Gabriel. I was wrong, it's Steve Winwood. But it's an easy mistake; Gabriel, Winwood, and Phil Collins can sound alike. See the movie! The kid in you will love it!

For some reason, 'Big Shots' has struck upon some sort of revival, as this seems to be the topic of many inquiries on the messageboards. I remember watching this film as a kid, and again when I rescued it from the video stores a few years ago. I loved it and still love it now, despite some of the innocuous family elements because it allowed the young characters (12 year-olds on the run) to have more independence and recognition that family films sometimes do.

Ricky Busker and Darius McCrary are the main characters of the story. You'll probably recognize little Darius right away, as he later enjoyed a pretty long run older brother 'Eddie' on the old ABC tv series, 'Family Matters.'

Obie (Busker) is broken hearted over the loss of his father, and takes off, kind of running away from his problems. Leaving his Illinois suburbs, he gets himself lost Chicago's South Side, where he befriends a runaway and professional con named Scam (Darius). Together, they embark on a wild adventure and get themselves in quite some trouble when they inadvertently get wind of some gangsters who go out of their way to eliminate the two "loose ends." With the help of Scam's knowledge of the streets, Obie's optimism, and a slick fellow named Johnny Red (the wonderful, late Paul Winfield), they can take care of themselves.

There's a subplot to the boy's adventures involving father's and families. Obie's father died, someone who he was extremely close to. He comes from a decent, upper middle-class home in the safe surroundings of the white Illinois suburbs. Obie's more structered, asking about religion and things like that.

Contrast this with his pal Scam, who grew up fatherless and presumeably, family-less, in the run down streets of Chicago's South Side. Scam operates under a different structure, a different set of rules, doing what he has to in order to stay alive. And in the end, Obie agrees to help Scam look for his father, as a sort of way of connecting Scam to his father in a way he can not with his own.

I loved this movie as a kid. The kids weren't annoying or excessively whining or sentimental (though Obie could sometimes manifest these qualities in the beginning). They were aware of things, of their families, their lifestyles, their surroundings. And they weren't afraid of things, despite being faced with some pretty relentless gangsters. They were cool kids!

Big Shots (1987) is a fun little film about two teens that are polar opposites of each other and the struggles they go through after forming a working relationship between each other. I enjoyed it very much when I was younger. The bad guys in the picture are painted with such broad strokes I was expecting them to all be chomping on big cigars whilst laughing out loud. The film is what it is and nothing more. Recommended.

B.

This Is an old movie but it was still pretty good. It is about a white kid (Obie) who runs away from his family after his father dies. He runs into a gang who beats him up and steals his bike. Then he meats a black kid who helps Obie find his watch that he lost if Obie will help him find his lost father. Good action. Eventuallt obie and his freind steal a car, get in trouble with the cops, and all sorts of trouble. It did get a little long though. 3/4 stars

Big Shots is one of those films that comes along only once, a rare few. What's so surprising in a film with an almost complete cast of unknowns, save for a few mains, and bit performers, the film is written by a guy who went onto pen some sleazy addictive sex thrillers, where this was one of his early efforts. The film which had a brief showing, a movie with morals, and is so more deserved of much better recognition, starts off with one of the most beautifully written scenes, between father and son, that's always stayed with me, so much more dramatic, as a family tragedy ensues shortly after. The unlikely duo of Obie and the black kid, Henry, I think it was, becomes a friendship like no other, as the pair run afoul of mobsters, police chases, a cigar chomping geezer who won't return a special watch, and other stuff that make's Elizabeth' Shue's Night on the town, seem small fry. Robert Joy is unforgettably funny as the clutz mobster, before becoming a raping mutant, 20 years later. He stays with me. It's the hairstyle. Big Shots is something different that becomes a real adventure, when an ending as warm as it's beginning. It doesn't pretend to be something fancy, or bigger than it is, and that's what I really liked about it. A solid well acted comedy drama, and sadly of 87's most neglected films. Paul's Winfield's small number of scenes, are worth the great performers attention.