'The Big Bounce'
(Owen Wilson, Morgan Freeman, Charlie Sheen, Sara Foster, Gary Sinise / PG-13 / 87 mins / Warner Bros.)
Overview: This adaptation of Elmore Leonard's novel takes place in Hawaii, where Jack Ryan (Owen Wilson), a charming petty criminal, forms a partnership with a local businessman, Walter Crewes (Morgan Freeman). At the same time, he becomes romantically involved with a woman who's a bit of criminal herself (Sara Foster). Together, they hope to scam a developer (Gary Sinise) and his buddies (Charlie Sheen, Vinnie Jones) out of some cash.
Verdict: In a movie who's tag line is 'Who's scamming who? A comedy about taking a chance on paradise', 'The Big Bounce' tells the tale of surfer/drifter/con man Jack Ryan (Wilson) as he makes his way to Hawaii and lands a job caring for Walter Crewes (Freeman); a judge on the island. Of course his new gig leads to an involvement with an beautiful, enterprising woman (Foster), who's really the lover of a real estate tycoon (Sinise) - a shady businessman and longtime rival of Judge Crewes. Ryan, naturally, has to choose between the woman, the money, or the honorable path. And so, as per-Hollywood at this time of year, we have an age-old tale spun (originally in 1969 and starring Ryan O'Neal and Leigh Taylor-Young) of slapstick comedy, nose-to-nose sarcastic humor and lame jokes scattered around for all to fall over! Even the fact that the great Elmore Leonard acts as a consultant on the production doesn't help this movie from sinking in the quicksands on which it tries to gayly run!