BIG NIGHT a half baked movie

i guess it's a pretty okay movie, even good... but how strewn it is
with cliches!

visual cliches recycled for the umpteenth time, dramatic cliches
between brothers, lovers, competitors, friends; cliches about
immigrant experience, about colorful tempramental italians, about
consumerism, about everything the movie touches. no newly dug up
truth, simply more cliches touched up with just enough indie charm to
fool people into thinking it's revelation about life, it's art.

it relies too much on quirkiness of characters rather than
illustrating their deeper individuality; for instance at the big party
a token fat black woman shows up and dances with a priest. how cute.
whenever tucci runs out of his ideas he goes for inane montage
sequences oiled over with italian pop songs. end result is charming
quaintness.. too charming, ultimately toothless, leaving with me no
more appetite for future tucci offerings.

what ian holm says sums up tucci's talent as a movie maker. holmes in
the movie is a master businessman. tucci's character's brother is an
ace chef. tucci's character is neither, a putz businessman and no
chef. in other words, there are hollywood bigshots who know how to
make money and genuine film artists creating their uncompromised work.
and then there are those like tucci who try to have it a little both
ways, giving us lukewarm independent movies that lurch a little toward
integrity and truth but then resort to pushing all the buttons on the
audience, trying to please anyone and everyone.