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  | Big Night
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| Great movie, cheap DVD | ||||||
| As most of the other reviewers have noted, this is delightful gem of a movie about the conflict between two Italian immigrant brothers who are trying to operate a restaurant. The older brother, Primo (Tony Shalhoub), is a culinary purist, the younger brother, Secundo (Stanley Tucci), is more pragmatic. The cast is rounded out with Ian Holm, Minnie Driver, and Isabella Rossellini. I deducted a star because the DVD is cheaply made. There is no director's commentary, and no alternative sound set up. My copy contains an insert that states that there are two English sound tracks, a Dolby surround sound and a 5.1 dolby digital. Surround sound is the default, but to play back the 5.1, "simply access the main menu, select Languages/audio setup, then select English 5.1 (dolby digital)." Simple enough. The only problem is that the main menu does not contain a "select languages/audio setup" option. It simply doesn't exist. Which makes the insert kind of funny. Bottom line, this is cool movie with a great sound track, but they need to take another shot a making a DVD. | ||||||
| People should-a come just-a for the food... | ||||||
| Primo (Tony Shaloub) is a traditionalist, a perfectionist, an artist; he is a chef without compromise. His younger brother, Secondo (Stanley Tucci), will compromise, bend, wheel and deal; he is a desperate businessman who cares about food, but is realistic. Unfortunately, their little restaurant is way, way ahead of its time. When their 1950s customers go out for Italian food, they want red-checked tablecloths and lotsa spaghetti and meatballs, not risotto and delicate wine. How can their restaurant stay in business? It can't, but they try to save it with an all-out feast for a famous Italian jazzman. If you're the least bit hungry when you watch this film, you've got trouble, because food has never looked this good. It's a quiet, slow movie, but you get to know Primo and Secondo completely, and you find yourself wishing their restaurant was in your neighborhood so you could go there and give them all your money. | ||||||
 Wonderful "Little Film" -- So-So DVD | ||||||
| Stanley Tucci, as actor, co-writer, and co-director (with Campbell Scott, who also plays a pitch-perfect small part as a car salesman), deserves a great deal of the credit for this small, intimate, delightful film. But the film resonates because it got so many of the little touches right, from the ensemble cast to the soundtrack to the editing to the cinematography. So there is a lot of credit to go around. Tucci plays Secondo, the aptly named younger of two Italian brothers who have emigrated to New Jersey from the Old Country. Secondo is the entrepreneur, the guy who wants the big Cadillac. Primo (Tony Shahloub), the older brother, is the magician of a chef. Primo is so good, in fact, that his culinary masterpieces go over the heads of the good folks of New Jersey. When contemplating a wonderful seafood risotto, a diner complains that she can't see the seafood, and that her desired side of spaghetti doesn't come with meatballs (inspiring the wonderful line, "Sometimes spaghetti wants to be alone"). Primo bemoans the fact that he is serving food to Philistines, but the sad fact is that most of the Philistines are eating across the street at Pascal's restaurant. Pascal, played with great zest by Ian Holm, knows that you have to give the customer what he wants -- even if it is culinary sacrilege. The contrasts between the restaurants, from the colors to the lighting to the clientele, could not be more staggering! Secondo laments to Pascal of his financial woes, but refuses Pascal's (repeated) offer to come work for him. Pascal, being a big-hearted guy, tells Secondo to pull of a "big night," with no holds barred. Pascal will invite his good friend, Louis Prima, who will come, eat, and love Secondo's restaurant. Then, the people will come. So the story builds to the big night (a side plot regarding Secondo's tortured love life notwithstanding), which is where the movie really takes off. Organizing the banquet scene into courses, "Big Night" revels in the wonders that can only be brought about by great cooking. The cast has a difficult task -- how do you emote rapture without going over the top? The ensemble cast, which includes Isabella Rosselini, Minnie Driver, and Allison Janney, nails this task just right. The cooking scenes are also hectic and impressive without going over the top, too. Following the big night, many truths are revealed, perhaps because it is impossible to deceive after having such a wondrous experience. If this film doesn't move you, or inspire you to get thee hence to an Italian restaurant, you have no heart! But again, the heart of the movie is its dedication to the small touches. From Primo using his cup to tamp down his espresso grounds to the making of a simple omelet, this movie gets it all just right. The DVD does not have much to offer as far as extras go. What it does have is one heck of little film. | ||||||
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