Big Night: Food for the Gods
Rated R
Did you ever dream of building a business so successful that Big Names will drop by? Big Night dramatizes the obstacles that start-up entrepreneurs must scale. Foreclosure on their restaurant looms just around the corner when two brothers risk everything on one last scheme: a chance to attract a huge crowd with the appearance of Louie Prima, the singer for an entire generation of Italians.
Released in 1996, this film offers a feast for the eyes. Italian cuisine literally glistens here in an earthy celebration of exquisite pleasures. Whole fish jiggle in waiters’ arms like naked lovers; red-faced porkers recline expectantly on china platters. Fresh herbs precipitate fine-pointed debates. Flowers, too, cause such a ruckus that customers might as well order them off the menu. Theories on preparing pasta practically reach the level of theology. The audience eavesdrops behind the scenes as values clash in this sensuous tale of Mediterranean culture.
But the brothers’ dream of making money by the truck-load depends making peace with each other. Primo (Tony Shalhoub) rules the kitchen like a medieval monarch, believing in his own genius and challenging customers. He seems to anticipate his creations should feed the saints. Secundo (Stanley Tucci), on the other hand, struggles to make the accommodations needed to keep the paying patrons satisfied. His conflicting responsibilities, as both younger brother and chief realist, reach such a pitch that violence becomes inevitable.
Similarly, both men compete in the arena of romantic prowess. An Oedipus complex as big as the Coliseum grows ever more dangerous as both siblings attempt to play papa while clinging to the innocence of childhood. Naturally, in such a moral vacuum, the devil turns up for a power-play. His identity, though, remains secret until the very last scenes. Who makes the greatest tempter? Gabriella (Isabella Rossellini) exudes sultry sexuality. Phyllis (Minnie Driver) desires a happy marriage. Ann (Allison Janney) plays the object of more than one man’s desire.
Ian Holm’s performance as the bon vivant Pascal fairly flies off the screen. His famous roles also include Bilbo Baggins in the first two installments of The Lord of the Rings, Willis in The Madness of King George, and Sam Mussabini in Chariots of Fire, among many others. Fans of this artist will regret it if they miss his joi de vivre here.
Can the need for joy be satisfied by a lavish last supper? This film suggests that each course in an exotic Italian dinner brings us closer to the gods. Deities, of course, know the truth from the beginning. Mortals only possess it after a long series of misadventures, when they may scream with our heroes: “This place is eating us alive!” Big Night offers a virtual festival, which ends exactly like many a Roman orgy, no doubt — with bodies on the beach, in the waves, and even on top of the sparkling white linen. If cinema functions as food, though, Big Night achieves a gourmet’s delight!
Meg Curtis
Meg Curtis leads a triple life as a creative writer, a college professor and a medievalist. From western New York, she gained insights into wildlife and spiritualism. In Appalachia, she learned to love America’s oldest mountains. She has settled happily, with three southern cats and a basset hound named Mr. Willoughby, in Freemansburg, Pennsylvania..