First time director Steve Anderson cobbled together a movie that makes little sense and frustrates more than it entertains. Meant to be the wacky story of an average Joe - Jon Favreau's John Person - trapped in an off-kilter small town of weird folks, The Big Empty is a confusing tale of a boring actor who needs to pay some bills.
The Big Empty has some interesting characters and situations but the problem is the main character, Person. Faced with the bizarre or dangerous, most people would react with fight or flight. What does Person do? Not much of anything; for the most part he seems non-plussed. So we are left with off-beat characters interacting with someone who doesn't respond to their odd or violent behavior.
Add to this the poorly defined central female roles of Rachael Leigh Cook and Joey Lauren Adams. Cook's teenage Ruthie changes her personality part way through the film like she's actually a pair of good/evil twins, and Adams' Grace is devoid of anything beyond a cute smile.
The fun that The Big Empty does bring to the screen comes from sexy bartender Daryl Hannah, screenwriter/cop Kelsey Grammar, loony neighbor Bud Cort, and nosy motel manager Joe Gries.
The Big Empty has some interesting characters and situations but the problem is the main character, Person. Faced with the bizarre or dangerous, most people would react with fight or flight. What does Person do? Not much of anything; for the most part he seems non-plussed. So we are left with off-beat characters interacting with someone who doesn't respond to their odd or violent behavior.
Add to this the poorly defined central female roles of Rachael Leigh Cook and Joey Lauren Adams. Cook's teenage Ruthie changes her personality part way through the film like she's actually a pair of good/evil twins, and Adams' Grace is devoid of anything beyond a cute smile.
The fun that The Big Empty does bring to the screen comes from sexy bartender Daryl Hannah, screenwriter/cop Kelsey Grammar, loony neighbor Bud Cort, and nosy motel manager Joe Gries.