Ostensibly, there's nothing at all wrong with this film. It's nice enough - characters that you can (mostly) identify with, a wonderful sense of forgiving family that we all either have or wish we had, and some predictably humorous fish out of water moments as we watch our two Italian protagonists struggle to get along in the States.
But there's nothing really beyond that - the problems faced by the two brothers, Stanley Tucci (who also directed) and Tony Shalhoub, are the same we've seen time and time again. Tucci, playing the self-centered but occasionally "adorable" (well I think that's what he's aiming for) Secondo, cheats on his girlfriend and paces around depressingly, presumably too hung up on the monetary problems he faces when he and his brother's restaurant looks like going bottom up to care about much else. And his brother Primo, played by Shalhoub, is so little more than a device to elicit more sympathy for the familial pains that they must all surely be feeling - unfortunately, it's hit and miss at the best of times.
Instead, the film's only moments of real resonance come in the humorous asides of the communal gatherings in the restaurant itself, relying not on the chemistry of the two brothers, but instead on the audience's preconceived notions of family and community and the occasional joke that actually hits its target.
The film isn't bad for a lack of trying, and it credit is due for the fact that it manages to come together at all. But the more subtle moments - like the silent final shot of the film - tend to say far more than the scenes which are overwritten to do exactly that. Big Night is a reasonable time waster and its occasional moments of humour do enough to relieve the boredom that might otherwise set in, but for the most part it is as dull as its horribly unimaginative title forebodes.
If you want a real feel-good film that focuses on food but doesn't leave such a bland taste in your mouth, try Ang Lee's superb Eat Drink, Man Woman.
But there's nothing really beyond that - the problems faced by the two brothers, Stanley Tucci (who also directed) and Tony Shalhoub, are the same we've seen time and time again. Tucci, playing the self-centered but occasionally "adorable" (well I think that's what he's aiming for) Secondo, cheats on his girlfriend and paces around depressingly, presumably too hung up on the monetary problems he faces when he and his brother's restaurant looks like going bottom up to care about much else. And his brother Primo, played by Shalhoub, is so little more than a device to elicit more sympathy for the familial pains that they must all surely be feeling - unfortunately, it's hit and miss at the best of times.
Instead, the film's only moments of real resonance come in the humorous asides of the communal gatherings in the restaurant itself, relying not on the chemistry of the two brothers, but instead on the audience's preconceived notions of family and community and the occasional joke that actually hits its target.
The film isn't bad for a lack of trying, and it credit is due for the fact that it manages to come together at all. But the more subtle moments - like the silent final shot of the film - tend to say far more than the scenes which are overwritten to do exactly that. Big Night is a reasonable time waster and its occasional moments of humour do enough to relieve the boredom that might otherwise set in, but for the most part it is as dull as its horribly unimaginative title forebodes.
If you want a real feel-good film that focuses on food but doesn't leave such a bland taste in your mouth, try Ang Lee's superb Eat Drink, Man Woman.