Film Reviews

Big Nothing

• Rating:
• Director:
• Starring: Alice Eve
• Details: US / 86mins (15A).

If Big Nothing was a Native American, it'd be called Crazy Ass because trying to describe the story is a non-runner. With the plot changing every two minutes and the upper hand switching back and forth just as quickly, the film is delivered with such lightning pace that you'll stagger out of the cinema light-headed, holding onto the walls for support. But I'll give it a go anyway: frustrated novelist Charlie Wood (Schwimmer) is married to cop Penelope (McElhone) and, feeling guilty about not pulling his weight at home, lands a job in a call centre. There he meets the eccentric Gus (Pegg), who needs an alibi for an internet blackmailing scam he's got planned. In need of money fast, Charlie agrees to take part - and it's here that, after only ten minutes, the scam falls apart. Then it falls apart some more. And just when you think it can't get worse, to quote Monty Python, it burns down, falls over and sinks into the swamp. That's when the real sh*t hits the fan. First-time writer Billy Asher, together with director Andrea, apply the one principle of Murphy's Law - what can go wrong, will go wrong - and took it as far as it could go. Mixing black comedy with edge-of-your-seat tension, Andrea needed sound performances from his three leads to pull it off. Schwimmer's talents as a serious actor may be forever tainted in people's eyes because of Friends, but he's on top form here as an everyday guy caught up in something that's way, way above his head. Pegg matches him as the wannabe con artist and his flippant attitude to everything is one of the comic highlights, while Eve supplies more than just eye candy. Big Nothing is a bit silly and ridiculous - but it's also a lot of fun.

Review by Gavin Burke